8/1/2024
Potting Mix Versus Pyrolysis
Ellen C. Wells
The folks at Sun Gro Horticulture have a new potting mix for your consideration. Sunshine Black Bear Indoor & Outdoor Potting Mix is what they’re calling a “climate-conscious” potting mix. That’s because it’s formulated with a carbon-rich biochar, which contributes to carbon sequestering.
Biochar is created through the process of pyrolysis using forest by-products. The remnants of pyrolysis is a sustainable alternative to perlite and helps with aeration and drainage in the mix. Black Bear does have Canadian sphagnum peat moss in it, which is made using responsible peatland management practices—it’s even certified through the Veriflora Responsibly Managed Peatlands program.
This Black Bear Potting Mix can be used in indoor and outdoor containers, baskets, boxes and fabric pots. Each of the 1.5 cu. ft. bags stores 2 lbs. of carbon that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere as 7.2 lbs. of carbon dioxide gas. A whole truckload of these bags can store the CO2 volume equivalent of driving 5,300 miles. It’s currently available in several states and pending approval in California, Oklahoma and
Oregon. Visit sungro.com/retail-products/sunshine for more. GP