About Soil Versus

Soil Versus is an independent reference for US home gardeners. It starts with the names you see on the shelf: perlite and vermiculite, potting soil and garden soil. Each comparison explains how the terms relate, the roles described in published sources, and what to check on a particular bag.

Why it exists

Garden-center bags use names that overlap, such as potting soil and potting mix, or coco peat and coco coir. The front of a bag rarely says how one name differs from another. We answer that naming question without recommending a product or a recipe, and point you to the label fields and tests that can answer the rest.

Expertise and evidence

No soil scientist or horticulturist writes Soil Versus, and nobody tested products or grew plants for it. So every statement traces to an extension guide, agency page or published study, and the method page lists what the checks can miss.

Ownership and independence

The site owner pays for Soil Versus. It has no affiliation with any university, extension service, government agency, manufacturer or retailer. Naming a publisher as a source implies no endorsement in either direction.

The site sells no products and does not rank brands. We choose claims for their relevance to the comparison and the evidence available to support them.

There is no advertising at present. If introduced, it will occupy marked positions on comparison pages, outside the answer, drawing, context and limits. Advertisers will have no role in selecting claims or conclusions. The privacy page describes what the site stores.

Corrections and sources

If you find a statement that does not match its source, send the page address, the sentence and the relevant source passage to support@soilversus.com. We correct or remove a wrong statement and change the comparison’s “Updated” date. The contact page also covers source suggestions and drawing reuse.