Soil Questions

[reppinWV]

I just went out and bought a bunch of bags of hyponex potting soil, I am planning on mixing it with the existing dirt were i am going to plant or put it in 5 gallon buckets..I was wondering if this is a good idea and if this soil works well..Also i bought miracle grow moisture control potting soil and was wondering if that is any good also..

[FuzzyNugget]

Stay away from miracle grow soils or anything else with fertilizer added beforehand. The back of the bag will list Nitrogen, Phosphorus or Potassium contents and these are bad. They tend to burn seedlings and clones so stay away from them. Make sure that if you're using soil from the ground that it is free of pests and bugs and if you're bringing it in from outside there's no chance in hell that it will be so be prepared to fight. You best weapon is knowledge. Don't spray anything on a plant that you wouldn't mind smoking later. Spend time using the SEARCH function in the forums as well as all over the net. Knowing more now will help you spend less later and will make the experience much more fun. You should definately look into some nurseries nearby where you live for pearlite and maybe some peat moss. Pearlite is that white stuff that is usually mixed with commercial pottings soils and helps to break up the soil and allow it to drain better. Vermiculite absorbs water and also helps break up the soil a little. Peat moss holds water and can help to loosen up soils that have alot of clay and is usually a bit acidic. Adding powdered limestone to the soil can help bring up a low PH and is said to "sweeten" the soil.