Soil Discussion...

[chuckdee123]

welcome to the soil thread. i'm a newbie who is currently growing in cheap regular planting soil from home depot because i didn't know any better when i planted.. :confused2:
anyway, share the soil you use..do you add anything to your soil? what is key in your opinion in keeping good soil?
help the kid out...
keep it lit
:48:

 

[Locked]

I get my soil from Home Depot as well....I think I am one of the few people who uses a Miracle Grow soil. I use MG Seed Starting Mix...it's the only MG soil I know off that has none of that time release fertilizer in it...it works great. I wld not use any of the other MG soils however...the ones with the added fertilizer will cook your seeds.

 

[Alistair]

Some of us use Fox farm Ocean Forest soil. For my seedlings I have the FFOF soil cut with 50% seed starting soil. For bigger plants I don't cut the FFOF soil. Either way, I add a tablespoon of dolomite lime per gallon of soil. Plus, I think the next time I will add a some perlite in order to make the soil a bit more airy.

 

[nouvellechef]

Cedar Grove in WA. Only thing added is hort lime from HD, Lilly Millers Soil Sweet, fine grade. Huge bag For cheap and MJ plants luv it.

Edit: I do 1tb per gal in veg and 3tb in flower.

 

[parkone]

Black Gold Organic

That's it, done! $8 a bag

 

[nouvellechef]

I used to use Black Gold outdoors. Also good choice. Can get expensive, I pay $1.50 a cubic ft. FFOF and Blk gold are alot more though. Both great if $$ ain't no prob.

 

[warfish]

I found some stuff from miracle frow called Organic Choice potting mix. I cant see anywhere on there that any fertilizers have been added. Looks like decent stuff, going to mix it with some perlite and give it a go.

Warfish

 

[FA$TCA$H]

used that, not too bad, roots were doin good at transplant. found pro-mix brand with coryzzila, sp? good ph, no nutes to speak of, really impressed me and the kids like it much better. waterin less often now also. $$

 

[Locked]

I found some stuff from miracle frow called Organic Choice potting mix. I cant see anywhere on there that any fertilizers have been added. Looks like decent stuff, going to mix it with some perlite and give it a go.

Warfish

Be careful with that stuff...I hve used it and had problems...it's on the hot side...I am sticking with the MG Seed Starter Mix...it's like 3 bucks for a 8 quart bag... I bought 5 bags last time I went to Home Depot...

 

[legalize_freedom]

I found some stuff from miracle frow called Organic Choice potting mix. I cant see anywhere on there that any fertilizers have been added. Looks like decent stuff, going to mix it with some perlite and give it a go.

Warfish

Like Ham said be careful with this stuff....it has NO perlite at all in it for aireation, and compacts very tightly smothering root systems, I tried it in some tomato pots, Topsy turvy's, (the upside down deals) very little drainage with this soil...I would not use it unless you amend it with a bunch of perlite, and some hort lime.

 

[Locked]

Yeah lf is right about it compacting to...I had forgotten about that...I thought oh it's organic it has to be good...well it wasn't...I hve a huge bag of it left...going to add it to my outdoor gardens in the spring...

 

[warfish]

Well now I'm glad I only purchased a small bag, hehe I did set up a 1 gallon starter pot with it. I used a healthy portion of perlite in it so hopefully it doesnt pack too much I also flushed a few gallons of water through the 1 gal of soil im using. I guess I will cross my fingers and hope for the best, lol.

Warfish

 

[legalize_freedom]

yeah man...I mean it might be decent soil, it just needs amended, I thought the same thing ...I think it's just another marketing scheme..."organic" stuff sells...that word, and "green" etc...

If I remember correctly that stuff also had a bunch of useless matter in it, does yours have a bunch of tree bark...mulch looking stuff...I was not happy with it, but I did the same thing Ham is doing with his, I mixed it in with my garden soil...I bought it because the bags at meijers were damaged, and I got them for 50% off...I didn't buy it with my weed in mind, more for potted garden plants.

 

[FA$TCA$H]

WARFISH, thinkin back, HL and LF are right it packed up, and had the 'extras' LF mentioned. didn't hold moisture that well. guess thats why i like the pro-mix, better. with the perlite in it ya should be ok till ya find some mo better. i'm not gonna use it again, sorry if i made it sound like it was ok. just a stepping stone till i coud find better. $$

 

[warfish]

Sigh,
If I didnt value the opinions of the people here I would ignore this thread and leave my 2 plants as are. But I came here to learn and give my girls the best chance possible to do there thing for me. So I am about to head out to the store and get the MG seed starter stuff with no nutes, lol I do really love the info here. Much better to avert disaster by learning from you all
Thank you,

Warfish

 

[chuckdee123]

^i hear you warfish haha... i'm in the same boat. i hope putting all my trust into you guys pays off! i'm sure it will.

so i just went to read the bag of soil i'm using and found out that i am in fact a dummy. it says right there super big FOR GROUND PLANTING DO NOT USE IN POTS. haha i know. i'm a smart one.
its MG brand vegetable planting soil. it brags about how it feeds your plants for three months so i'm assuming this is nute heavy and ALL BAD.

i'm gonna transplant them. i'm glad i made this thread. thanks everybody!!

 

[legalize_freedom]

CHUCK....nothing "stupid" about learning bud! We have all been there at one time or another...I've been growing for 20+ yrs, and still learning, and doing dumb things without thinking or asking for help. The key is that as long as you listen to the people who have already made the mistake, hopefully you won't have to repeat it. Good luck with the transplants ...to both you and Warfish.

Don't use anything with time release nutes!

 

[warfish]

Now I'm extra thankful I started these 2 little ones in rockwool cubes. At least the transplant wont be too bad, hehe
Thank you all again for the great info and support

Warfish

 

[Locked]

^i hear you warfish haha... i'm in the same boat. i hope putting all my trust into you guys pays off! i'm sure it will.

so i just went to read the bag of soil i'm using and found out that i am in fact a dummy. it says right there super big FOR GROUND PLANTING DO NOT USE IN POTS. haha i know. i'm a smart one.
its MG brand vegetable planting soil. it brags about how it feeds your plants for three months so i'm assuming this is nute heavy and ALL BAD.

i'm gonna transplant them. i'm glad i made this thread. thanks everybody!!

Bro we hve all made mistakes...I hve gone through a bunch of different soils before finding one that works well for me...I just cld not pay the outrageous amount of money they want for shipping soil online...I hve no shops around me besides Lowes and Home Depot...there are no dummies here...just lots of people trying to learn as much as we can...don't be so hard on yourself...

Everyone Ive seen use MG Organic Choice got a really bad fungus gnat infestation after they planted...

Well now I know where those lil gnats i got during the summer came from..it was when i used the MG Organic....I never put 2 and 2 together....thanks ME...

 

[jmansweed]

Pro-mix or Sunshine mix #4 - 50/50 with " Flower Power " for my mothers and/or flowering plants. It provides nutes for about 5 or 6 weeks with very few additives. The Pro-mix has added Myco and roots really flourish with this combo - and it's all organic. IMO I'd mix Pro-mix or the Sunshine mix with FFOF also - that stuff can be a bit heavy.

For the majority of my grows I use Pro-mix only with added organic solubles. As far as those gnats are concerned I think you guy's are right. Soil stored outdoors frequently harbors them. Even in colder conditions small populations can " over winter ". It's worth spending the extra $ to buy the indoor stored soil.