Are you supposed to pack the soil tight in to your flower pot ?

[popolino77]

I have a 2 gallon flower pot i filled it about 80% full of soil i did not pack the soil in i did not push the soil down i just padded it down lightly when i filled my flower pot . my plant is a autoflower and it is 19 days old above soil. The soil looks like it is shrinking becoming less and less every time i water my plant . i filled my flower pot 80% full of soil now my flower pot looks like it is 75% full of soil. Is this ok ? And should i have packed the soil tightly in to my flower pot ?

 

[Upinsmoke535]

This is normal. You don't want to pack the soil down hard by hand. Doing so wouldn't give your roots the ease to grow efficiently or access to oxygen. As you water over time the roots will take up the space and the soil will sink a bit. It is up to you if you top them up or not.