Sandpaper,
As long as it said POTTING on the bag, it is for pots.
If it's not for pots it says Garden Soil, or Top Soil.
If you bought the cheapest thing they had, get rid of it anyway. That stuff is crap and I wouldn't plant anything in that.
Wait til you get the money so you can buy Miracle Grow potting mix.
Remember, don't go cheap on your potting soil or potting mix. If you put the money out on something decent, your plants will thrive and you just might get 2 years out of it.

The "mushy mess" has too many fines, so more fines from peat or manure won't help. To save it you need something coarser, but too expensive might be a bad gamble.

If the mush is finer than coarse sand, grit, or fine gravel, one of those might help.

My home depot has coarse builder's sand for $3 a bag. It might be worth a test at that price. Say 10 or 20 percent sand.

(Avoid fine sands, patio sand, play sand. You want course, sharp, or horticultural.)

You could add perlite to it, but probably better to just buy a better mix, or make some 5-1-1 mix from scratch.

For what it's worth, this guy is in some of that $3 sand.

I really don't know if this "mush" is redeemable, but with 20 gallons, a $3 test seems a small gamble.

This post was edited by johns.coastal.patio on Thu, Jun 5, 14 at 17:37

Thanks for the advice!

As they say " Same difference" :D (I think)
They are probably both soil(dirt)less. You have to check the quality to see what you are getting.
.