Cheap soil mix

Discussion in 'Growing Marijuana Outdoors' started by ElementGREEN, Apr 30, 2012.

  1. Very good point. I am receiving many mixed opinions, but I have really began to get an idea of what I want. Using native soil is not currently an option, as the soil is very dry and crumbly and rocky. Being on a budget I am really leaning toward miracle grow, but at the same time I've read so much of Cortos posts that I really respect his opinions. I really don't care too much about growing top notch reefer, but I know that if I am successful I will kick myself for not putting a little more effort into mixing a better soil. I know a 1st time guerilla grow isn't the best time to do this, but I think what I'll do is try MG in one of my spots, and a simple peat mix in the other spot. That way Ill really get an idea of what to stick with for my future grows.
     

  2. Great idea, ElementGREEN. Let us know this fall what worked best for you.
     
  3. I just wanted to add my two cents into the thread regarding soil types. Soil is obviously important, and the better the soil, most likely (I say most likely, because the soil is just one of many components) the better the product.

    However - last year I was strapped for cash just like you. I picked up a bunch of bags of Miracle Grow Organic soil at about ten bucks a pop, then I added my own perlite to the mix, as well as some all purpose organic tomato fertilizer amendment (had a lot of fish products in it, as well as worm castings). The bud I grew was fine.

    Just my 2C :D
     
  4. So you guys wouldn't recommend miracle grow for seedlings though? Cause I just don't want my little girls to be shocked when they are tranferred from a peat moss mix to miracle grow. Any experience clodhopper?
     
  5. groovy discussion going on here :smoke:
    reasonable, rational and helpful

    dont mean to thread jack this but its on topic with the soil mix

    corto, i thought i read somewher that u said 5 cups of lime per bail of peat that you are adding to soil mix.

    seems kinda high, i keep finding numbers, from a couple google searches, that indicate that its best to use ~2 cups per bail of peat

    i could hav just totally misread what u actually recommend so forgive me if i did
    also would u change the amount significantly if you were planning on using the mix in a swampy or bog like area?

    in an attempt to not completely thread jack-> everybody here is right in there own way, there are advantages and disadvantages to making your own soil, often price vs peace of mind, and it can go it both direcitons. you can totally grow in MG, like Smoke said, it will work. but some people hav ther own recipes of making soil or amending soil that they find works best for them
    and i would let the seedlings get atleast 5 or 6 inches, or when the leaves start to yellow just slightly, to throw em in some nutrient rich soil or start feeding nutes, thats just me :D

    good luck and happy growing :wave:
     
  6. Sure man, Karmapharmer, no problem. It's Dankohzee who gave me the ratio 5 cups of powdered dolomite lime per bale of peat. I wouldn't wait until the plant goes yellow (stress) and would recommend using a seedling mix (peat lime perlite castings, see Dankohzee's sticky). Then use a stronger mix for the bigger plant. I wasn't criticizing any mix but just saying that peat is not a problem and is what is used by MOST organic growers (mix with lime). Chems are fine but are known by MOST growers as giving a poor taste and not burning well (due to the salts in the chems). I don't have any brands here so use peat and manures, kelp, guanos.
     
  7. Using peat as a seedling mix to transplant into mg soil is fine, mixing large amounts of peat into mg soil will cause issues as the peat will hold the mg nutrients and chemical salts,

    So you said your gona do a side by side using mg and your own soilmix, what do you plan on using in your mix? Aim for 30% organic matter, 50% sphagnum peat moss, and 20% perlite (dont use mg perlite it has chemicals, perlite can bu substituted with crushed lava rock ot rice hulls)
     

  8. Yeah, actually that's exactly what I was planning on, since that's a widely agreed upon ratio.

    But I ended up using miracle grow seedlings mix, which is like 95% peat moss and the rest is perlite. Was super cheap and came with enough for like 20 seedlings at least. I literally just planted them, so I'll let u guys know how it goes.
     
  9. Wow, this Jiffy pot/peat moss mix is drying out insanely fast. I soaked all the mix in water, let it drain for like 15 min the misted the top fairly heavily, the planted the germinated seeds about an inch deep. I came back about 6 hours later to water, and the mix was like completely dry. I misted it heavily, let it sit, the misted some more and just left it. U guys have experience with any of this? Worrying me just a little. I don't want to dry or drown the new seeds... Could it be that I have a fan running in my grow box? If I didn't the 2 24 W cfls get pretty warm.
     
  10. I went ahead and put sandwich bag over each pot and rubber banded them on, so hopefully that will help reduce moisture loss. One more question, do u guys cut slits in the bottom of the jiffy cups?
     
  11. I don't know if you already got soil by this point in time but like you I had to start my grow with limited funds. I went to a local nursery and they usually have a huge pile of used potting soil, they give it away for free and even load it. I mixed that 1/5 with some really good soil amender compost stuff and filled 10 huge holes for around 35 bucks.
     
  12. Not sure if anyone around here has seen this at their local Home Depot, but I saw it on the pallets for the first time this year. So I bought some up to try it out.

    Earthgro Potting Soil - Scotts Miracle-Gro


    http://www.scotts.com/smg/products/earthgro/pdf/EarthGro Potting Mix.pdf


    They claim it's a blend of organic materials that needs no additives. Well when I opened the bag it seemed a lot more natural then the other Miracle Grow products. No time released nutes, none of the chemical balls, no radioactive blue/greenish unnatural particles like the other MG soils have in them.

    I have a feeling this is being marketed for MJ growers. It's very airy, light, and rich looking. Even though it says it needs no additives, I still added composted manure and hummus, perlite, and some Jobes organic tomato dust (http://www.southernstates.com/catalog/images/Product/large/10207969.jpg)

    I put a sick plant in this mixtures and it bounced back like a champ!
     
  13. SmokeMB, I bought the earth gro potting soil a few years back really because I was short on money and it looked like a decent product for the rice, I added wormcastings, perlite, mexican bat guano, kelp meal, and bone meal and had decent results.
     
  14. How are the seedlings coming?
     

  15. Well it's sad but my outdoor operation went to shit. I thought fungi was one of the last things I had to worry about but they ate all 5 of my plants! I'm starting an indoor op soon, and this time I'll definitely use a fungicide! I may start a journal, idk. I'll post if I do though!
     
  16. The thing is that miracle grow is just a simple mix of perlite, peat moss, and dirt so you are kinda wasting your money... your basically just buying those thing pre mixed at some level which probably isn't adequate. I would get the MG Moisture Control for guerrilla type grows for easy to understand reasons.. and then mix it.
     

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