Miracle Grow or cheap potting soil

[death racer]

i use miracle grow and it works great my plants look healthy one has already started showing its white hairs, but miracle grow doesnt always work for everyone it can cause problems so its best to research the soil they sell at the stores near you before you decide.

[SilentHawk36]

I used for 1/2 my grow a miracle grow organic potting soil. Then i threw in some extra perlite about 1-2 cups for each hole (btw 4 holes=1 bag of soil) and just a dab of general nute 10-10-10. Going to check on my plants on sat and suspectin they will be about 6-8 inches tall.

But it is true. Miracle grow soil is usually loaded with nutes for people who are use it for flowers. It is best to avoid miracle grow generally unless you know for SURE its organic.

Hope this helps a little,

Hawk.

[incognito570]

i added epsoma garden lime to my mix and its readily avialable to help with any ph problems that arise. Im also using Neptunes fish/seaweed 2-3-1 formula once a week also. My first set of plants are 8 weeks old and 3-4 ft long. They are tied to the ground. PH checks out good so its workn for me.

[Dazed4now]

I've used miracle gro and cheap soil, none of them worked good for me
what i would suggest is to go to your local garden store and get some potting soil with no nutrients in it and is a mixture of peat moss, perlite, and soil
then go buy your own nutrients and just add them to the potting soil so you know exactly how much nutrients your feeding your plants
and also get some soil test kits to
good luck

[stinkyattic]

Watch out for peat moss. It has a low pH, and holds too much water. The combination of acid/waterlogged is deadly.

Extra perlite is a good idea. My best plants ever were grown in a third perlite, 2/3rds plain topsoil (bagged, not from my yard!). I also mixed in mycorrhizae and liquid fish. Growth was very good.

You have to water more often if you use lots of perlite, but the payoff in aeration and root development is worth it.

My current mix is vermiculite and seaweed compost, because the perlite-laden soil looks too obvious when discarded. However I'm going back to perlite because it drains MUCH better.