what soil?

[louise22]

I want to grow plants for my birds, what soil is safe? I'm seeing ones say peat free...does it matter if it has this or not? Are any of these ok?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I want to grow plants for my birds, what soil is safe? I'm seeing ones say peat free...does it matter if it has this or not? Are any of these ok?

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I prefer to use soil that is organic and not enhanced with chemical fertilizers. Most Miracle Grow products are not organic but they do make some planting soils that are labeled organic. The one in the black and yellow bag called Performance Organics, I believe, may be better. I had a very strange experience with Miracle Grow potting soil that turned me off on their regular potting soil. I has poured a large bag into a heavy duty black bin and put it on my enclosed porch to use to transplant some seedlings. I put a short handled metal and wood spade in the soil. My porch is not hot and sunny. One day I smelled smoke and went out in the porch and noticed it was filling up with smoke that was coming from the bin with the Miracle Grow soil. The shovel handle was hot to touch and smoke was coming from the soil with no visible open flame! I carried to bin outside and doused it with water from the garden hose to extinguish the smoldering soil. Thank God I was home or my house may have burned down! I called Scotts who owns the Miracle Grow brand to report the incident and they told me they had never heard of such a thing happening, if course. I had not put anything else into the bin with the soil other than the metal shovel. I looked into it and learned that the chemical fertilizers that are in the soil are like the chemicals used to make the bombs that blew up the Oklahoma City Federal Building! Since then, I have not used any soils that contain artificial chemical fertilizers. I'd rather not take chances with these chemicals for many reasons. I now only use organically enriched soils for my plants and gardens.