I try to buy decent potting soil as I pot up a large number plants every year and have many house plants. Quality, organic potting soil is expensive, so I will sometimes reuse old soil (if I think it is relatively disease- and weed-free), recharge it with finished compost and coffee chaff (a peat and perlite substitute). In a pinch I bought a less expensive potting mix and did not read the ingredients for the dreaded "forestry byproducts," aka tree bark leftovers from making mulch (I suspect it is swept off the floor). Shredded tree bark is a bad substrate in which to actually grow plants, it robs the soil of nutrients as it breaks down and provides a great habitat for various fungi. Well, the photo above was from a purchase of one of these cheap soils. It is mostly all shredded bark with a little dirt thrown in! I hope this was a fluke in production, but I will not be buying this "container mix" again (plus the harsh chemical fertilizers!):
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