Safest Soil for Gardening Tested for PFAS “Forever Chemicals” — Guide

Are you looking for the safest soil for gardening? Mamavation sent many popular garden soils to an EPA-certified laboratory testing for PFAS “forever chemicals.” Unfortunately, many organic garden soils came back with detections. Would you like to know which garden soils had non-detections? You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you other consumer studies like best showerhead water filters, best air purifiers, & safest outdoor grills & BBQs, now join us as we bring you the results of garden soil tested for PFAS, “forever chemicals.”

Disclosure: This consumer study is released in partnership with Environmental Health News. Scientific review was performed by Dr. Craig Downs, Executive Director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory. Donations were provided by Environmental Health News and Mamavation community members. Note that Mamavation has only “spot-checked” the industry and thus we cannot make predictions about brands and products that we have not tested. Products and manufacturing aides can change without notice so buyer beware. This post contains affiliate links, with some to Amazon, which means Mamavation will receive a portion of those sales and we will use that to pay ourselves back for the testing. You can also give a tax-deductible donation to our consumer studies here through Environmental Health Sciences. Thank you!  

Mamavation Finds PFAS “Forever Chemicals” in Organic Garden Soils

Mamavation’s EPA-certified laboratory found per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS “forever chemicals”) in 18 popular garden soils. These chemicals are linked to serious health effects, which we will discuss later. Because PFAS “forever chemicals” are so problematic to normal hormone action, Mamavation has commissioned our own scientific studies on PFAS in food products to make recommendations for the safest garden soils. Continue reading Mamavation’s article on these products to find which brands have the safest garden soils according to our laboratory.

For this consumer study, Mamavation sent 18 popular garden soils from 11 brands to an EPA-certified laboratory looking for specific PFAS compounds. Because Mamavation only tested one product per brand, we cannot claim to know if these issues are, in fact, industry-wide or brand-wide. However, based on our “spot-check” of the industry, this is what we found:

• 83% of garden soil had detectable PFAS “forever chemicals” according to our lab. That’s 15 out of 18 garden soil products tested had PFAS.
• 61% of garden soil had quantifiable levels of PFAS “forever chemicals” according to our lab. This means the levels of PFAS found were high enough to quantify. That’s 11 out of 18 garden soil products.
• 80% of organic gardening soil had detectable PFAS “forever chemicals“, which ends up being 8 out of 10 Organic products tested.
• One brand of organic Miracle-Grow had over 20 types of PFAS.

Dr. Craig Downs, Executive Director of Haereticus Environmental Laboratory, had this to say after his scientific review, “PFAS contamination of garden soils is extremely worrisome. A number of scientific studies have shown that PFAS contaminants in the soil can be taken up by the plants and sequester in the leaves (e.g., spinach), fruit (e.g., tomatoes), and roots (e.g., carrots). Studies have shown that PFAS contaminants can accumulate in vegetables above the recommended attention and action limits. This potentially poses a risk for everyone who consumes produce from plants grown in contaminated soil.”

Recent Studies & Lawsuits on PFAS Have Demonstrated Widespread Contamination in Garden Soils

The last five years have seen lots of study and movement around PFAS “forever chemicals” and soil. Not only have two very popular garden soil companies been sued, but many studies have found PFAS in garden soil.

• Miracle-Gro Lawsuit filed in 2025 says Scott’s falsely represents that the Products are organic even though they contain synthetic, nonorganic, and harmful forever chemicals known as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
• The Kellogg Organics Lawsuit, filed in 2025, alleges that Kellogg falsely represents that its products are “organic” despite containing PFAS such as PFOA and PFOS.
• The National Collaborative PFAS Project was released in January 2025 with Phase I findings. They found PFAS in biosolids and soil nationwide. The study is designed to evaluate the incidence and mobility of PFAS in soils with a history of land application of municipal biosolids. Partners from 23 sites in 17 states across the country provided soil samples from land application and control plots (no biosolids applied). Samples represented a variety of different soil types, depths to groundwater, climates, and irrigation methods.
• Study in 2024 found the release potential of PFAS from a commercial biosolid-derived compost.
• Australian study in 2022 looked at 19 different commercially available composts, garden soils, and potting mixes for the presence of 38 per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The concentration of 38 PFAS in all the products ranged from 1.26 to 11.84 µg kg. The concentrations of legacy PFAS such as PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS in all the tested samples were (mean concentration 0.47, 0.60, and 0.58 µg kg.)

How Do PFAS “Forever Chemicals” Get Into Garden Soil

There are many known sources of PFAS that can find their way into garden soil. This may not be an exhaustive list, but here are many ways we believe the contamination may find itself present.

• Biosolids: Where does all that sewage go? When sewage from households and businesses is sent to a wastewater treatment plant, the liquids are separated from the solids, producing a semi-solid, nutrient-rich product known as “sewage sludge” or “biosolids”. It’s then treated according to the regulatory requirements set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and returned to the land. How? Farmers are sold biosolids as soil conditioners or fertilizers, which can have high amounts of PFAS.
• Compost: Biosolids are the #1 reason why compost may contain PFAS. Many commercial garden composts, soil amendments, and “organic” bagged mixes include or are made from biosolids, which can contain PFAS. Then breaking down packaging known to contain PFAS can contaminate compost as well. Grease-proof wrappers, plates, pizza boxes, and takeout containers (even some labeled “compostable”) contain PFAS for water/oil resistance. When food scraps and contaminated packaging go into commercial compost streams, the PFAS tranfers to the final product.
• Manure: PFAS gets into manure by first contaminating water, soil, or animal feed on the farm. Crops absorb PFAS and Horses and cows consume what is present on the farm and that comes out in their manure.
• Other organic materials like peat, worm castings, or plant-based fertilizers may have low background levels from environmental exposure.
• Irrigation with Contaminated Water: Water is contaminated in several ways. Industrial discharges & discharges from toxic products we bring into our homes find their way into rivers, streams, and groundwater. Products such cosmetics, non-stick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, cleaning products, pesticides, & old carpeting contaminate drains and sewers. Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used at airports, military bases, and fire-training sites also contain very high PFAS levels, which can find it’s way into groundwater, etc. Then farmers & home gardeners draw from surface water (rivers, lakes, canals, ponds), groundwater wells, and municipal reclaimed water systems, which all could contain PFAS.
• Atmospheric Deposition and Airborne Sources: Airborne sources of PFAS are very common.They start as direct emissions and indirect release of volatile precursors. Industrial facilities release both particle-bound PFAS and gases. Wastewater treatment plants release PFAS into the air when sludge in aeration basins are burned. Landfills offgas PFAS from contaminated waste. Firefighting foam (AFFF) sites aerosolize PFAS during use of fires at airports and military bases. PFAS is also incinerated when houses or buildings burn. And finally, on urban dust and vehicular emissions from cars and such in cities can all contribute to PFAS found in the urban dust and vehicular emissions — in cities.
• Historical Use of PFAS: Some areas are known to have PFAS “forever chemical” contamination such as airports, military bases, printing presses, landromats, chemical manufacturing plants, semiconductors, textile and carpet mills, petroleum refining. leather tanning, construction, automotive, aerospace, and pharmaceutical industries.

Mamavation’s Investigation of Garden Soil and 40 Analyte PFAS Testing

Garden Soil was purchased between June of 2024 and February of 2025 on the East Coast and then on the West Coast.  Each product was recorded in our database and then sent directly to the lab within its original packaging.

• Perflurobutanoic acid (PFBA)
• Perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA)
• Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
• Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
• Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
• Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
• Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
• Perfluoroundecanoic acid (PFUnA)
• Perfluorododecanoic acid (PFDoA)
• Perfluorotridecanoic acid (PFTrDA)
• Perfluorotetradecanoic acid (PFTeDA)
• Perfluorobutanesulfonic acid (PFBS)
• Perfluoropentansulfonic acid (PFPeS)
• Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• Perfluoroheptanesulfonic acid (PFHpS)
• Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
• Perfluoronanesulfonic acid (PFNS)
• Perfluorodecanesulfonic acid (PFDS)
• Perfluorododecanesulfonic acid (PFDoS)
• 1H,1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (4:2FTS)
• 1H,1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (6:2FTS)
• 1H,1H, 2H, 2H-Perfluorodecane sulfonic acid (8:2FTS)
• Perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA)
• N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamide (NMeFOSA)
• N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamide (NEtFOSA)
• N-methyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoacetic acid (NMeFOSE)
• N-ethyl perfluorooctanesulfonamidoethanol (NEtFOSE)
• Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA)
• 4,8-Dioxa-3H-perfluorononanoic acid (ADONA)
• Perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid (PFMPA)
• Perfluoro-4-methoxybutanoic acid (PFMBA)
• Nonafluoro-3,6-dioxaheptanoic acid (NFDHA)
• 9-Chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanonane-1-sulfonic acid (9CI-PF3ONS)
• 11-Chloroeicosafluoro-3-oxaundecane-1-sulfonic acid (11CI-PF3OUdS)
• Perfluoro(2-ethoxyethane)sulfonic acid (PFEESA)
• 3-Perfluoropropyl propanoic acid (3:3FTCA)
• 2H,2H,3H,3H-Perfluorooctanoic acid (5:3FTCA)
• 3-Perfluoroheptyl propanoic acid (7:3FTCA)

Product Brands We Tested
To help our community make safer choices, Mamavation sent a wide range of popular garden soil to our EPA-certified laboratory for PFAS testing.

Below is the complete list of garden soils included in our investigation. Sign into MAMAGATE below to view all results.

• Back to Roots Organic Potting Soil
• Garden Kellogg Organics Patio Plus Premium Outdoor Potting Mix Organic Plus
• Grow Well Proven Organic Garden Soil Farm Grade Organics for Home-Grown Success Professional Farm-Grade Soil
• Harvest Organics Potting Soil
• Kellogg Garden Organics All-Natural Garden Soil for Flowers & Vegetables
• Kellogg Organic Raised Bed & Potting Mix Premium Outdoor Container Mix Organic Plus
• Miracle-Gro Raised Bed Soil 
• Miracle-Gro Performance Organics In-Ground Soil (Purchased East Coast)
• Miracle-Gro Performance Organics In-Ground Soil  (Purchased West Coast)
• Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for Veg & Herbs 
• Miracle-Gro Potting Mix
• Miracle-Gro Garden Soil for in-ground use
• Miracle-Gro Organic Raised Bed & Garden Soil Quick Release Natural Fertilizer
• ProMix Premium Organic Garden Mix Compressed Pack
• ProMix Premium All Purpose Mix
• StaGreen Flower & Veggie soil plus fertilizer
• Timberline Soil Cow Manure & Compost
• Vigoro All-Purpose Potting Mix Specialty Blended for Indoor & Outdoor Containers & Pots