The Wonders of Fort Vee Potting Soil
by Ivana Zivkovic
We love Vermont Compost Company! We use their Fort Vee blend for all of our seeding needs and it has always helped our plants get a healthy start, even in the dim days of February.
Their soil and compost products aren’t readily available in New York State but are widely used by farmers along the East Coast. This year, John picked up an extra haul of 20-quart bags on his annual drive up to Vermont. They are now available for sale for any window gardening or seedling needs you may have.
The company has been making this blend for over 25 years and takes great consideration for the environment when selecting ingredients. I thought it would be nice to walk through the ingredients in this fun mix.
Ingredients
Compost
The mix is over 70% compost which is made in house using:
Wasted hay and animal bedding
Manure from cows, chickens, and horses
Food scraps from local businesses and homeowners
Well-aged compost is used to inoculate the soil with microbes and stable proteins for long-term nutrient release. The compost is aerated by their laying hens, as seen below!
Compost is a great source of life and energy for plants but is structurally dense. The next few ingredients help create space within the soil so that water, nutrients, and plant roots can move through the mix.
Sphagnum peat moss sourced from Canada
Widely grown in Canada, sphagnum peat moss is a controversial media because it is mined from bogs often without regard to the plant and animal life around it. Peat moss is used in farming because there are few alternatives. It has a unique cell structure that creates all of the pockets needed for movement and growth, can help prevent Pythium root rot and works dynamically with the plant. Vermont Compost sources their peat moss from members of the Canadian Peat Moss Association who are committed to responsible harvesting and bog restoration.
Granite and basalt harvested and crushed locally
Rocks are the original source of vital minerals and it is wonderful that they are all abound in the mountains of Vermont.
Granite is a source of slow-release potassium which acts as a mover of water, nutrients, and carbs in a plant. Basalt provides a slew of micronutrients and silicon, which helps plants stay strong when exposed to stress. Having a small amount of rock in a potting mix can encourage plant roots to find new paths which also strengthens young seedlings.
Coconut Coir and Vermiculite
Both are used to give loft to the mix and help with water retention and drainage. You can see the long, light brown coconut coir fibers in the Fort Vee Mix. Coconut Coir comes from the husks of coconuts and is being used in greater proportion. Vermiculite is a mined mineral that expands like a worm when heated.
Gypsum
A small amount of this amendment helps to make calcium available and helps keep all of the soil particles flocked together.
Blood Meal, Bone Meal, and Kelp
These amendments provide all of the goodies to help seedlings early on. While most of the other ingredients provide stability, these are here to get the seeds going. Blood meal provides a very reliable source of nitrate for early plant growth. Bone meal is a source of phosphates, helping with energy transfer, essential for photosynthesis. And kelp! A wonderful enigma of the sea that helps activate seeds from the start.
Fort Vee potting mix differs from other mixes you can find in that it uses high-quality compost and other well-sourced ingredients that act as a waste diversion! The soil comes in woven bags and is always hydrated just the right amount, to retain all of the life and possibility within. Check out the difference:
Potting Mix Comparison
Typical Organic Potting Soil
Fort Vee Mix