I recently planted some germinated seeds in a pot of Miracle Grow early Wednesday morning. This is my first attempt ever at trying to grow plants and I was pleased when I woke up this morning to see that two out of the four seeds I planted have already poked up through the surface . I was wondering, when should I put my plants on the 12/12 cycle so they start flowering? Is it a matter of timing or wait until the plant gets to the height I want? Also, does it really matter if I use plain old water instead of some special nutritious concotion? I plan on making banana compost for when the flowering stage comes cause I've heard that's when it needs potassium.
WHY DO NOOBS USE MIRACLE GROW SOIL!!!!!! dont be surprised if the little bugger doesnt survive or yellows early, that MG time release soil is garbage imo. If it does survive, dont water it anymore until it really dries out to the touch. Looks like you drowned it. Use plain tap water if its all you have. Let it sit out in a jug or pitcher overnight to gas off some of the crap in the tap water and let it settle. NO nutrients with that soil until the second month. PH balance your water if you can to 6.0-6.5 you can use pool strips. 12/12 after a month or so.
Their or many threads in this forum that will answer all these and many more of your questions if you take the time to sort thru them. But depends on a few things when to start your 12/12....rule of thumb Veg till 1/3 of the height you would like them to grow. LOL water... yes atm just use water unless you live were I do ph is 9+ :-( . I'v learned the girls at least we hope their girls, will tell you what they need. Theirs so many different opinions on what to feed when to feed makes my head spin.
[quote name='"Vicarious87"']WHY DO NOOBS USE MIRACLE GROW SOIL!!!!!! dont be surprised if the little bugger doesnt survive or yellows early, that MG time release soil is garbage imo. If it does survive, dont water it anymore until it really dries out to the touch. Looks like you drowned it. Use plain tap water if its all you have. Let it sit out in a jug or pitcher overnight to gas off some of the crap in the tap water and let it settle. NO nutrients with that soil until the second month. PH balance your water if you can to 6.0-6.5 you can use pool strips. 12/12 after a month or so.[/quote] I was thinking the same thing, haha. So many posts today with newbies using MG.....i always wonder why no one researches their soil, its so important A simple google search of 'miracle grow marinuana' will return a zillion "dont do it's!!!! ".
Yes. Check out the sick plant section, more than half the people there are using MG or MG organic (which contains human waste btw, gross).
Problems with MG soils: waaaay too hot (too many nutes), some contain time release ferts which are also bad news, terrible drainage, easily compacted, the list goes on. I just finished my first grow, and in my research, the first thing I learned is Miracle grow = bad......as such, im amazed at how many people still use the crap. Some people have some success, but the vast majority will have tons of issues. Why set yourself up for headaches right from the get go when there are so many better choices out there?
I started out with MG, even though I knew it was not optimal. But I was forced to due to budget constraints. Thankfully, I was able to get FFOF within a week of putting them into the MG, so they were only in there about 3 or 4 days before I moved them to FFOF. The MG is pure CRAP, IMHO. It doesn't drain well at all either. When I transplanted out of the solo cups with the MG, the bottom was a bunch of caked up mud, i.e., it wasn't draining for shit. I'm glad I got into FFOF fast. Otherwise, my current healthy, vibrant plants would probably be in the trash already. Get them in something better fast, you will not be disappointed. However, if you keep them in MG, you WILL be disappointed.
Because its at Home depot which know one should shop at for garden stuff. Sorry but I don't understand why when budgeting the soil is what always gets screwed. This is the most important part and the difference in price between really good soil and bad soil is a matter of maybe $5. I have a friend who keeps doing this and then asks why his stuff sucks compared to mine. Soil Soil Soil you could have the best light nutes and air and if you soil sucks than you wasted your money on the rest because it just wont matter.
Not true. My local home depot carries pro mix which is a fantastic medium that i personally use. Garden centres have some useful stuff, people just need to do their homework before running out and buying.
And budget contraints arent a reason to use MG. you could make your own mix with some peat moss and perlite that will be far superior and cheaper than using miracle crap.
You might find a rare depot that has something but all depots I have gone to have miracle garbage. I just hate home depot anyway. Didn't shop there for nearly twenty years and finally broke that since they were the only company left that had the build products for my grow room.
Anybody know a good specific brand soil I can find in lowes, home depot? id really rather not order it online
Yeah I already knew MG wasn't the best of all soils lol. I got it free and I figured it'd be a good place to start (since this is my first attempt and all) I check them this morning and all my plants have sprouted little leaves I'm gonna go and get some better soil now because I'd really hate for them to die D:
[quote name='"Sensi Girl"']Yeah I already knew MG wasn't the best of all soils lol. I got it free and I figured it'd be a good place to start (since this is my first attempt and all) I check them this morning and all my plants have sprouted little leaves I'm gonna go and get some better soil now because I'd really hate for them to die D:[/quote] I see this type of faulty logic a lot in the beginner forums. Your soil/medium is HUGELY important....you could have the best equipment money can by and do everything right, but if your soil sucks, so will your results. Why set yourself up for failure by going with a terrible soil (and miracle grow isnt just 'not the very best', its one of the worst) just to save $10-15 over buying a great soil. Just because its your first attempt, why not give yourself every chance of success? Again, if $ is a concern, it is easy to make a very cheap mix yourself. Basically, there is no good reason to use Miracle Crap.
There are many quality soils that are a better price than MG. You just need to hit up a garden store. A small bag or MG is what?... $5-7? A bag twice that size of good soil runs between $10 and $15. So you actually SAVE MONEY using good soil. The stuff I use runs $30 for 4 bags (2 cubic ft per bag). It's a great deal for great soil. They just don't sell it at home depot or walmart. I have to hit up the gardening stores for it.
[quote name='"mjmama25"']There are many quality soils that are a better price than MG. You just need to hit up a garden store. A small bag or MG is what?... $5-7? A bag twice that size of good soil runs between $10 and $15. So you actually SAVE MONEY using good soil. The stuff I use runs $30 for 4 bags (2 cubic ft per bag). It's a great deal for great soil. They just don't sell it at home depot or walmart. I have to hit up the gardening stores for it.[/quote] Great points!