question about new miracle gro soil

[michaelpeg]

I used miracle gro all purpose potting soil on my previous grow and yesterday i picked up a bag and noticed that the osmocote has been replaced with a new kind of time released food. The new food is round white/clear balls that vary in size and when you squeeze them a little they pop releasing a clear liquid. Does anyone have any experience with this new miracle gro? it seems as though all the food would be released at one time once the shell of the food disolves.

michaelpeg Reviewed by michaelpeg on 09-24-2010. question about new miracle gro soil I used miracle gro all purpose potting soil on my previous grow and yesterday i picked up a bag and noticed that the osmocote has been replaced with a new kind of time released food. The new food is round white/clear balls that vary in size and when you squeeze them a little they pop releasing a clear liquid. Does anyone have any experience with this new miracle gro? it seems as though all the food would be released at one time once the shell of the food disolves. Rating: 5

[Dutch Pimp]

thanks for the 'heads up'...:thumbsup:...I just bought 2 jumbo bags for use this winter. I'll have to watch for any changes.

ps...don't buy MG potting soil bags that have been stored outside during the winter...they will have gnat eggs in them.
Buy now...if you are gonna need soil this winter/spring...IMO.

[michaelpeg]

thanks for the 'heads up'...:thumbsup:...I just bought 2 jumbo bags for use this winter. I'll have to watch for any changes.

ps...don't buy MG potting soil bags that have been stored outside during the winter...they will have gnat eggs in them.
Buy now...if you are gonna need soil this winter/spring...IMO.

no problem bud. thanks for the tip, I picked up a bag off the top rack, last time I had all kinds of tiny critters jumping around in the soil, although no damage was done, still unpleasant.

[michaelpeg]

apparently this is not new and this food is also called osmocote i have seen it mentioned in posts as far back as 2008, wonder why I haven't come across it. The osmocote I am used to is orange and in pellet form. sorry for any confusion. Someone on another site told me that the fluid filled balls probably vary in size because the bigger ones probably have a thicker shell but contain the same amount of liquid which would cause them to open at different times.

[michaelpeg]

update: This soil is garbage, check your bags before buying. In my previous miracle gro grows, by week 4 my plants would be close to a foot tall, I treated them as I always do in miracle gro and here is what they look like in this new shit at week 4. extremely dissapointing as I just wasted 4 weeks on this little runt and I will now be without weed for a long time. I plan to stomp it into the ground and dump the rest of the soil outside after this post.

[Rusty Trichome]

In the MG 6 month soil, .06% of the nitrogen is for immediate release. The rest is supposed to be slowly released every time you water, one layer at a time, at a basically balanced NPK rate. (MG isn't very clear on this in their response e-mails) For this reason, I flush very well before use. (clears-out most of the immediate-release nitrogen)

Heat and overwatering can screw that all up though. Not a perfect science, but good enough if you can keep from overdosing them via additional nutrients and crap. No additional nutrients needed during the vegetative stage, but you'll want a good source of micronutrients, like molasses or a micronutrient additive product for proper growth.

It's not necessarily the soil, or the plant's ability to deal with the soil. It could well be you haven't found the right combination of nutrients, watering, flushing, patience and avoiding overdosing them. As with any soil or medium, it takes some getting used to by the gardener.

These are about one month (perhaps 5 weeks) in MG 6 month potting soil that were just transplanted into 5 gallon nursery containers and switched to flowering. The reason they were in MG in the first place, was that my local nursery closed it's doors during the summer. I have since gotten my old potting soil, which they are in now. Were I still in the MG, I wouldn't have done anything different though. (flush the MG well before final transplant, and transplant a week before switching)

They are between 8" and 14" tall here, but it's a gifted strain I'm getting to know. Also, I did switch them to 12/12 early as a result of a failed SuperSoil experiment, and an idiot future son in law spinning my timer instead of flipping it off like I asked. Amber and I have been without meds for about two weeks as a result of this unfortunate series of events.

Not sure why the yellowing on the one plant, but has since greened back up. Am using my normal Tiger Bloom with no problems. I have stopped using the Big Bloom on 'em though. Only additive they're getting now is molasses at 1/2 tsp per gallon per week. (half my 'normal' dose)

[michaelpeg]

Hey rusty thanks for reply, I dont think it is a patience problem or overdose problems. I have only watered them 5-6 times total. Does mg have micronutes at all? Maybe the ph is different in this soil? im used to just using plain tap water on my mg plant. It used to be so easy this is my first problem with Mg. Your plants however look nice, more like what I am used to.
Also do you ever have mold problems on your soil after lights out after watering the day before?

[Rusty Trichome]

Still have 'em, or did you toss 'em?

Mold only happens if the soil is retaining water too long or if you are overwatering them. (keeping the soil too moist for too long)
Adding extra perlite to the soil, and/or adjusting your watering schedule fixes this problem. Be sure to let the soil dry between flushes, (and watering after flushes) too.

Miracle Grow says their time-release nutrients have all the micronutrients a plant will need, but I'm doubtful that's true. You might want to try unsulphered molasses one a week or once every two weeks. Don't overuse the molasses though. 1 tsp per gallon of properly ph'd water every two weeks, or 1/2 tsp per gallon once a week should be fine during the growth phase.

[michaelpeg]

yeah I kept it. Im thinking it was an underwatering issue or too much nutes sitting in the pot for too long. Out of frustration I gave them a heavy flush thinking it would over feed the crap out of them but the next day the leaves went from droopy to standing up and growth has been good. The only time I get mold is when i use my 7 gal pot, I was just wondering since you use a large pot as well if you had the same problem. thanks for the tip on the flush before using the soil, I will be doing that from now on and I think it will make a big difference.

[Stellybutton]

Hey rusty thanks for reply, I dont think it is a patience problem or overdose problems. I have only watered them 5-6 times total. Does mg have micronutes at all? Maybe the ph is different in this soil? im used to just using plain tap water on my mg plant. It used to be so easy this is my first problem with Mg. Your plants however look nice, more like what I am used to.
Also do you ever have mold problems on your soil after lights out after watering the day before?

This is my first time trying the new MG. It seems to retain water longer than the origional in the green bag. My girls turned yellow because I was useing the watering schedule from the origional green bag MG.