Start the seed, pot the plant and feed the bed from one family of bags.

How we stock it at Green Zone

Coast of Maine lives in our soil room. Sprout Island seed starter and the Quoddy lobster compost were on the floor when we photographed the store in October, and Stonington and the Indoor Houseplant Mix are on the soil room menu.

We stock it because it covers the whole range of plants we see at the counter. Someone starting tomatoes on a windowsill, someone repotting a monstera, someone topping up a raised bed: there's a Coast of Maine bag for each. It also has a story the big national brands can't tell. Coast of Maine is a Maine company. Two gardeners living on the Maine coast started it in 1996, and they built it on things others threw away, like lobster and mussel shells and fish bones. Its main office is in Portland, Maine.

The lineup

Sprout Island Blend Seed Starter

A compost blend made for starting seeds and rooting cuttings. It's enriched with lobster and crab shell meal, kelp meal and worm castings, with peat, perlite and mycorrhizae in the mix.

Where it fits: Seeds and cuttings, before the first transplant

Stonington Blend Grower's Mix

A potting mix for large container plants, built to balance moisture, drainage and airflow. It's peat, composted manure, coir and perlite with mycorrhizae, fed with lobster and crab shell, kelp, alfalfa and fish bone meals plus castings. Coast of Maine suggests 15-gallon containers for best results.

Where it fits: Big containers indoors or out

Indoor Houseplant Mix (Cape Neddick Blend)

A compost-free mix for indoor houseplants and flowers: aged bark, peat, perlite and chunky coco coir for drainage and aeration. Coast of Maine names peace lilies, spider plants, philodendrons and monsteras.

Where it fits: Houseplants and tropicals in pots

Quoddy Blend Lobster Compost

A compost of composted manure, peat, aged bark, and lobster and crab shell meal. It's made to revitalize soil and balance water holding, drainage and aeration in gardens, beds and borders.

Where it fits: Vegetable and flower beds, trees and shrubs

Coast of Maine says the shell in Quoddy comes from the waters of its home state. The Sprout Island and Quoddy bags on our floor both carry the OMRI Listed seal.

How it fits your grow, in 3 steps

Step 1. Start seeds and cuttings in Sprout Island.

Coast of Maine says to moisten it with warm water until it's damp but not soggy, fill the tray to within a quarter inch of the top, and tap it to settle. Once seeds come up, it calls for 12 to 14 hours of light a day with the light kept close, so seedlings don't stretch.

Step 2. Move up into the bag that matches the plant.

Houseplants go into the Indoor Houseplant Mix, in a pot with drainage holes, watered until water seeps out the bottom. Plants headed for a big container go into Stonington. Coast of Maine says to move them at the fourth or fifth set of leaves, water them a day or two before, pre-water the new pot, and leave the soil loose. Then give the plant time. Transplant droop usually eases in 1 to 3 days, and a rough one can take up to a week. Allow 5 to 10 days before the next big stress.

Step 3. Water by weight, and feed the ground with Quoddy.

Stonington is dark, and Coast of Maine says that makes dryness hard to judge by eye. So lift the pot and water when it's clearly lighter, then let it dry back. In garden beds, Coast of Maine says to work about 2 inches of Quoddy into the top 4 to 6 inches of poor soil, or spread 1 to 2 inches on top of an established bed. Change one thing at a time. First signs show after one full watering cycle, and new growth gives the verdict in about 7 to 10 days.

Who it's for, and who it's not for

A good fit if

• You grow a few plants: vegetables, herbs, flowers or houseplants, in pots or in the ground.

• You want one family that covers seed starting, potting up and the garden bed.

• You like a brand that tells you what's in the bag, down to the lobster and crab shell.

Not the right fit if

• You want a full living-soil recipe you mix yourself and reuse. Look at the BuildASoil system.

• You want a bottle-fed program you follow from a chart. See FoxFarm or Athena.

• You want to pick a bag by how much food is already in it. Roots Organics builds its line that way.

Common mistakes we help people avoid

Starting seeds in soggy mix. Sprout Island should be damp, not wet, when the seed goes in. A tray that stays soaked is where seedlings struggle.

Packing the new pot tight. Coast of Maine says not to pack Stonington down. After a full watering and drain, about 10 to 20% of the pot should still be air, and mixes settle and lose that air over time. Firm gently and let water do the settling.

Watering dark soil by eye. The top of a dark mix can look wet when the pot is drying out, or the other way around. Lift the pot instead.

Potting straight into Quoddy. Quoddy is a compost. Coast of Maine's directions are to work it into soil or spread it on top of beds. For pots, start with Stonington or the Houseplant Mix.

Keeping an open bag for seasons. Coast of Maine says to store Stonington cool, dry and out of the sun, and to use it before the date printed on the bag, because that date is for the mycorrhizae in it.

Reading one yellow leaf as hunger. One to three of the oldest, lowest leaves fading over several days is routine. Check new growth before you reach for more food.

Frequently asked questions

Is Coast of Maine a local brand?

It's a Maine company. Its founders were gardeners on the Maine coast, and its main office is in Portland, Maine. It lists production sites in Maine and in Pennsylvania, so we don't promise where any one bag was blended.

Which bag is for houseplants?

The Indoor Houseplant Mix. Coast of Maine makes it compost-free, with bark, coir and perlite for drainage. Keep it moist but not waterlogged.

Can I root cuttings in Sprout Island?

Yes, Coast of Maine makes it for that. Its directions: stick the cutting in moist mix, loosely bag the pot, keep it warm and out of full sun until new growth shows, and tug gently after a few weeks to check for roots.

Are Coast of Maine soils organic?

Coast of Maine sells its line as "Organic & Natural". The Sprout Island and Quoddy bags carry the OMRI Listed seal, and Coast of Maine posts OMRI certificates for Sprout Island, Stonington and Quoddy. If you need a certification for one product, read that bag.

Do I need to check pH in Stonington?

Less than you'd think. Amended soil buffers its own pH, so the number on your input water matters less than in a bottle-fed mix.

Do you ship soil?

No. Bagged soil is pickup only at the store.

Keep going

• Departments: Soil & growing media · Living soil & amendments · Houseplants · Seed starting & cloning · The soil room

• Grower answers: How often should I water, and why is she drooping? · How can I tell when my plant wants more food? · Yellow leaves: is it a deficiency, and is this too much?

• Living soil from a recipe: BuildASoil: the living soil system

• More deep dives: FoxFarm family · Roots Organics family · The microbe shelf: mycorrhizae, enzymes and humics

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