I did my first grow last summer and I screwed up. I used "miracle grow" soil with slow release plant food already in it, from germination all the way through. The fertilizer killed many of the early seedlings, and of the plants that did make it to flowering all were male.

So I want to start my seeds in "regular" soil now. The problem is, I don't know what to buy. The hardware store near me has "organic" potting soil, but it sounds like it may have fertilizer in it too, just the "organic" kind. I'm not sure that would be any better.

There also is "potting mix". Is that good? It doesn't say it has any fertilizer in it, so I guess that would be good but I just want to check. There is also something called "vermiculite", but I'm not sure what that is.

Thanks for your help. I'd like to get my seeds started this weekend...
jsn9333 Reviewed by jsn9333 on . what soil to use? I did my first grow last summer and I screwed up. I used "miracle grow" soil with slow release plant food already in it, from germination all the way through. The fertilizer killed many of the early seedlings, and of the plants that did make it to flowering all were male. So I want to start my seeds in "regular" soil now. The problem is, I don't know what to buy. The hardware store near me has "organic" potting soil, but it sounds like it may have fertilizer in it too, just the "organic" Rating: 5