Looking to purchase a soil for my 2nd grow

I've heard good things about Dr. Earth products. I will see if they carry it. For now she seems to be doing well in what we have her in. If I don't like the results I will invest in a soil like Dr.Earth or Fox Farm. What do you guys think of Schultz soil products? I was in Tractor Supply the other day and bought a bag for my other plants. Ever since my epic MG fail last year I wont even plant my Basil and Tomatoes in MG lol. Seems like the NPK of Schultz is lower/different than MG. I read someone on here was using it, I forget who it was though.

I will be starting another plant in the next week or so. However, the seeds are from a friend and I do not think they are an auto flower. So the timing right now should be fine for an already growing Auto and a reg seedling to share a grow spot for a little while. But, I need more soil for that grow anyways so if one of my local stores has Dr. Earth i'll buy it. I am slowing learning which of the local stores has good soil. I am trying very hard to steer clear of the Big Box stores.

the soil may not be as important as picking a good quality fert. having said that, I'm not a botanist or soil chemist or anything like that. But I've learned that methods of the past, meaning 5-10 years ago, tended to be no good because people were buying liquid ferts and not using them properly. Picking a fert like Dr. Earth means that you have to give more time to the growing, but it's less worrisome for the grower. There will be no more questions about pH and you shouldn't have much in the way of deficiencies. If you do just a quick shot of an additive should solve the problem. The companies that make liquid ferts have come out with feeding schedules in an attempt to help growers know how much to feed, but even then people can screw things up. There are many Dr. Earth ferts and you'll only need one. It might be smart to get a fert with micro nutes as well, like boron, sulphur, etc. as I don't think the Dr. Earth ferts contain everything. Perhaps the best thing to do is contact the company and see what they say, if micro nutes are something that needs to be purchased separately. the value to dr. earth is that it mimics natural fert processes, using bacteria and fungi, and once in the soil you don't have to guess as to how to fert anymore. I've noticed that over the last six months or so, not very many people come to this forum looking for help. It used to be that there were at least 5 new posters every day with problems coming here wanting help only to be put on a circle-jerk. One rule to follow in investing is not to through good money after bad, meaning if your investment isn't working, throwing more money into it is probably a waste. Same things can said about plants. If the fert method you're using isn't right, pumping in more fert will just make it worse.

Thank you for your very well put response. You make absolute sense! Since explaining my situation to you guys on here and talking to you and Shovehandle about my soil dilemma, I am sold on the Dr. Earth's. I will look intensely around here. Hopefully one of these farming/garden places will have it. Dr. Earth's sounds pretty idiot proof too. That is exactly what I need. Like I said above.. My brother is helping me with this grow and I don't want to over complicate things for him since he is doing the watering's.

You are absolutely right about getting caught in a circle on here. When I first joined to research soils and nutes on here, there was soo much info and soo many opinions it makes growing seem impossible for a noob like my brother and I. I just want to keep it simple and successful. I'm not growing to have a warehouse full, I just want to enjoy it. However, I don't want to completely jeopardize quality either.

I'll keep a look out locally for Dr. Earth's products. If I don't have any success locally I will just order it online.

Quick question.. Is Dr. Earth's like a pretty generic grow product? Its not something that's specifically aimed at growing weed right? I just figured I'd ask because if it is, the nearest place for me to buy weed oriented grow products is like an hour and a half away...

I don't think there are ferts designed for your plant specifically, however, it's a particular delivery method that has been developed by the owner. I think he's a chemist named Milo Shamas. Just google search and you'll see. Ferts are developed for three different types of fert methods. The powder ferts, the crystals, and the liquids. Crystal ferts and liquids tend to provide a lot of nutes per smaller unit, meaning they tend be strong. Powder ferts are really active until they're in soil and hit with water which is when the bacteria come to life and start breaking things down.