compacted soil please help

so the soil in my pots seem to be way to compact and i think its suffacting the roots every time i water i been watering every 4-5 days as the soil seems to be retaining water and not draining well . is there anything i can add to the soil now ?

Try adding a little sand to the top of the soil....as you water it should work its way in. Some may not recommend this...but you can aerate the soil just like you would in a garden...gently use a small fork and stir the top inch or so of soil,being careful of the roots. If you're feeling really adventurous, remove the plant from the pot,gently and carefully loosen the root ball with your fingers, and replant in a soil that has sand or perlite mixed in. Make sure you have plenty of drainage holes, and that they're not getting blocked...you can put a little piece of clay pot by each hole to keep it free of debris.Good luck.

bigbak said:

so the soil in my pots seem to be way to compact and i think its suffacting the roots every time i water i been watering every 4-5 days as the soil seems to be retaining water and not draining well . is there anything i can add to the soil now ?

Click to expand...

I've transplanted when faced with this problem. Make sure its nice n healthy before you move it to avoid any shock. Carefully loosen the roots, depending on the size use a fork or ur fingers. turn it upside down, carefully supporting the base of plant. It should slide out fairly easily. Prepare a better mix in another pot, add perilite\coco\sand\ any aerating mix. Then just plop it in new pot, add more mix to cover and there u go. The more draining the better from my experience. To air my soil, i start with a good mix, i use roots organics soil, in the camo packaging. I add expanded clay only to mix to make even more airy, aurora innovations' roots mix is very airy to begin with. Gl with ur girls!