Sorry for the dramatized post title, but time is of the essence. Is there anyway to mix a soil/soiless mixture from either Meijer, Homedepot, Lowes, or Wally World that wont kill plants (mainly a seed germinating into a seedling?). I am about 4 hours from a hydro shop, so I can't by anything like rockwool or FFOM. If you know of any products that these major chains carry that wont kill plants then let me know, please. I am willing to buy and mix whatever. Thanks, DD
yea bro, Use Miracle grow Organic Choice. I use this soil every year just add perlite and a little dolomite lime (pulverized Lime can be found at home depot for 2$ enough for like 10 years lol) and maybe some other ammendments like bone meal or blood meal.
Barely any lime, like im talking half a handful per 10 gallons of soil. I would mix the perlite at about 30% of the mixture/
No no no. I have to recommend against the MG. It's terrible for mj when there are so many better choices. You can't control nutes properly with MG because of the timed release crap they put in it. There is even a thread on here where someone with 5+ years experience growing used MG as a little science experiment to see how it fared. The plant in MG turned out the worst. Try to find something without time released ferts. Alternatively, mix peat moss, vermiculite and perlite together for a nice soilless mix. It's what I personally use.
Bro i Use Organic Choice every year, there is even a thread posted by dankohzee (spelling) showing him starting 10-20 plants in it and not a single one burned throughout the grow cycle. This is the only Miracle grow that is any good but it sure is pretty damn good.
yeah i believe the regular miracle grow have the time released shit but the organic doesn't so it should do all right. i'd even mix it with some perilite to help with drainage and such.
The "regular" MiracleGro is crap. As for the organic MG it's not clear -- it is organic, but even "organic" can mean that they add nutrients. MG purposely is vague about that, so it's a bit of an unknown. You can use any organic potting soil as a base, Home Depot usually carries a 40 lb bag for under $2. Add to that some sphagnum moss, worm castings, and perlite and/or clean sand, and you'll have a nice home for your babies. You might need to shop at a nursery/specialty garden store for the worm castings (Walmart carries them but only in season). Remember that mid-winter is not the time that stores are carrying a full spread of garden supplies, but the good news is that they will be stocking up soon. Also keep in mind that you need to stay away from MiracleGro peat moss and MG perlite, they add time-released ferts even to those products. Again a nursery or something other than a "big box" store is more likely to carry the alternative products that aren't MiracleGro.
Last year i had plants i started on July 23rd and they got to over 3 feet by the end of Octobor when they were finished. I only Used MG Organic with added Perlite and Bone Meal and honestly it was some of the best tasting nugs i have ever had. Plus this stuff is half the Price of FoxFarms Ocean Forest.
The M.G. Organic is actually not that bad at all and I know a couple of commercial growers who use it as the main part of their soil mixes because it's so cheap and effective. Walmart (at least the ones out here) carry a brand of non-fertilized peat and perlite mix that works fine if you throw some extra perlite in for better drainage. Basically any peat mix is going to be okay to get started with assuming it has plenty of aeration and drainage.
I germinated in strait MGOC will never happen again, but she is doing great now. It is great for a base. look for a bag of organic seed starter(Ace's) as well it should have a mix of perlite, peat moss, vermiculite in it, and what ever other organic amendments you would like; I like granulated egg shells and a couple other top secret additives which can not be disclosed here. Another guy said he would pick the wood chips out... Good Luck....
Curious to why you wouldn't start your plant in it again if your plant made it and is doing great now?
Its can get clumpy and hold moister real bad, because of the wood chips it can be really airy as well. The root in the starter cup pretty much went strait to the bottom no outward growth at all before I transplanted. Seedlings like a much more tolerable growing environment then that of strait that strait organic mix, thats why i changed it. Maybe i got lucky maybe it doesn't matter but there is definitely nothing wrong with Organic choice from my humble experience with it so far.
Well you do get what you pay for. I'm glad your grow didn't go to crap with the MG, however why not give your plants the best possible conditions to grow in. I don't think anyone would claim that the MG organic is the best possible soil you could use to grow with. With another kind of soil your plants might have been 4 feet tall with 20% bigger nugs. If you have good experiences with the MG organic, by all means keep using it, but there is a reason most experienced growers stay away from anything MG.
I use alot of ammendments on it trust me. But honestly for the price i have found it to be the most consistent Soil you can get. Ocean Forest costs twice as much and you still need to add perlite to it. I am a very experienced outdoor grower who mainly deals in deep swamp grows. This year i plan on taking tons of pics so maybe just maybe I will instill upon the community the benefits of using Miracle Grow Organic Choice (cheap, available everywhere,). It even has a nice rich feeling too it.
[quote name="FLjester" post="6665022" timestamp="1265143589"]I use alot of ammendments on it trust me. But honestly for the price i have found it to be the most consistent Soil you can get. Ocean Forest costs twice as much and you still need to add perlite to it. I am a very experienced outdoor grower who mainly deals in deep swamp grows. This year i plan on taking tons of pics so maybe just maybe I will instill upon the community the benefits of using Miracle Grow Organic Choice (cheap, available everywhere,). It even has a nice rich feeling too it.[/quote]I'd sub to that thread...
you can pick up jiffy seedling starter soil @ walmart its peat moss vermiculite/perlite and a bit of lime for ph buffer. works great and drains well. best of all no added nutes so you wont burn your babies.
Sounds like your in michigan..menards by me carries promix now...Before we had a hydro store I just looked for a good peat based soil without added nutrients and added perlite
Go to Lowes and but Pro Mix. If they sell it at mine I'm sure they sell it at yours. Mix that Pro Mix with Bone meal, Blood meal and some perlite. And use the Espoma line products for nutes when needed. Pretty cheap all around.