Starting plants from seed is a lot of fun, but it’s not so much fun to watch them wither and die shortly after germination. (Trust me.) One way to gain an advantage on those pesky pathegens that prey on young seedlings is to use a sterile potting mix, rather than soil from the garden. You never know what problems come along with soil from the garden. If you’re going with a potting mix anyway, you might want the further advantages a soilless mix brings. Here’s my rundown on what’s in the potting mix if you leave out the soil, and why you’d bother to in the first place.