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Miracle Grow is not bad

G

gitguymertin

Although I am new here, I've noticed a lot of people here dislike miracle grow soil. I have come to love miracle grow soil actually. My mom bought me a bag or organic miracle grow potting mix and I thank her so much for it, my plants love it.

Although I did have a bad experience with it, it showed me that the soil just needs some preparation. I used the organic soil to plant three jalapeno seeds. They were doing good in the soil the first few days, until I started seeing a bunch of aphids. I gave up on the plants at this point.

But I didn't give up on miracle grow. Taking advice I learned from a marijuana growing forum (these guys are smart), I pour boiling water through the soil before using it. This kills any bacteria or aphid eggs within the soil, leaving you with almost perfect soil. I have never even had a problem with damping off. Call me crazy, but I planted chocolate bhuts and Trinidad scorpions in the miracle grow yesterday and I already see one hook, expecting 3/4 of the plants to be hooks by the end of tomorrow. Never even had a seed not germinate in this stuff.

Maybe its a miracle (bad pun?) but this stuff has been treating me great. I plan to use it for all my plants from here on out.

Post your thoughts about miracle grow soils here, good times you've had with it or bad times you've had with it
 
I use Miracle grow organic as a base, with a few amendments

I add coir for water retention, and large bark chips or washed stone for increased drainage.

I've never had a problem with aphids that was soil related, but a near-by apple trees' infestation did give me problems last year.

I've been using it 3 seasons now and given my space restrictions it works great for me.

Would probably be cheaper just to blend the ingredients and make your own version though, it runs $10 a bag here
 
fireface said:
I use Miracle grow organic as a base, with a few amendments

I add coir for water retention, and large bark chips or washed stone for increased drainage.

I've never had a problem with aphids that was soil related, but a near-by apple trees' infestation did give me problems last year.

I've been using it 3 seasons now and given my space restrictions it works great for me.

Would probably be cheaper just to blend the ingredients and make your own version though, it runs $10 a bag here
Click to expand...

My mom said she got it for a few bucks. Either way if it was ten bucks a bag it'll go a long way for my small scale growing.
Maybe the aphids are from me leaving the bag open and in the shed or maybe I just got a bad batch. Might go to the pet store and buy the little rocks that you put in fish tanks for added drainage. Heard peppers like it too.
 
i don't use miracle products, not because i don't like them, i just found a better way and don't need their expertise.

personally, i think the Scott's people employ top notch scientist to produce top notch products. perhaps they are not on the leading edge but for the average grower, that just wants to drop seeds in soil and have it produce plants, i bet it works just fine. of course, if you are trying to grow butch T's in miracle gro as soil but all your other conditions are not right for growing butches, then you are going to have a failed product. but don't just blame the soil.

so getguy, just remember that, so your next post isn't...my scorps started out so well, i did everything right, why aren't my scorps growing... just like we see on so many posts.

hope your plants are super charged all season.
 
Your seeds popped overnight? Either you are mistaken or IT'S A MIRICLE! :D

Oh yeah you should be told this too, no pics didn't happen :D
 
Hooks in one day? Really? Who wants to bet those hooks are weeds from the non-sterilized potting mix?

My opinion on MG is, the regular stuff has far too many nutrients for pepper plants. If it were cut significantly with peat moss/perlite or something else with little nutrients it might be ok, the drainage is pretty good and it's pretty light. I haven't used the Organic potting mix, but pretty much everyone and their mom says it garbage and I'm not going to pay the type of money they charge for it to find out.

You can't judge a potting mix after one day anyway. People germinate seeds in paper towels and straight vermiculite, that doesn't mean they're great growing mediums.
 
gitguymertin said:
Although I am new here, I've noticed a lot of people here dislike miracle grow soil. I have come to love miracle grow soil actually. My mom bought me a bag or organic miracle grow potting mix and I thank her so much for it, my plants love it.

Although I did have a bad experience with it, it showed me that the soil just needs some preparation. I used the organic soil to plant three jalapeno seeds. They were doing good in the soil the first few days, until I started seeing a bunch of aphids. I gave up on the plants at this point.

But I didn't give up on miracle grow. Taking advice I learned from a marijuana growing forum (these guys are smart), I pour boiling water through the soil before using it. This kills any bacteria or aphid eggs within the soil, leaving you with almost perfect soil. I have never even had a problem with damping off. Call me crazy, but I planted chocolate bhuts and Trinidad scorpions in the miracle grow yesterday and I already see one hook, expecting 3/4 of the plants to be hooks by the end of tomorrow. Never even had a seed not germinate in this stuff.

Maybe its a miracle (bad pun?) but this stuff has been treating me great. I plan to use it for all my plants from here on out.

Post your thoughts about miracle grow soils here, good times you've had with it or bad times you've had with it
Click to expand...

Yes, you can amend MG and make it "usable" but you will be much happier if you drop the chemicals and get growing organic. Even "organic" MG isn't organic. No product made by MG goes out the door without them adding their "proprietary miracle grow blend" of chemicals. None. This I know. There are plenty of companies out there that offer the main ingredients to a great soil at your local nurseries. Peat, verm, perlite, and other organic materials. Its so easy and a lot cheaper to mix your own soil.
 
Pepper-Guru said:
No product made by MG goes out the door without them adding their "proprietary miracle grow blend" of chemicals. None.
Click to expand...

I just found out a couple weeks ago that they even add the chemical fertilizers to perlite. Yes, perlite. :surprised: The numbers are pretty small but still, why can't they just sell a damn bag of perlite without adding stuff to it...

I doubt I will ever buy another MG/Scott's product again, personally.
 
Avon Barksdale said:
Hooks in one day? Really? Who wants to bet those hooks are weeds from the non-sterilized potting mix?

My opinion on MG is, the regular stuff has far too many nutrients for pepper plants. If it were cut significantly with peat moss/perlite or something else with little nutrients it might be ok, the drainage is pretty good and it's pretty light. I haven't used the Organic potting mix, but pretty much everyone and their mom says it garbage and I'm not going to pay the type of money they charge for it to find out.

You can't judge a potting mix after one day anyway. People germinate seeds in paper towels and straight vermiculite, that doesn't mean they're great growing mediums.
Click to expand...


Amen, brother. +1
 
gitguymertin said:
Call me crazy, but I planted chocolate bhuts and Trinidad scorpions in the miracle grow yesterday and I already see one hook, expecting 3/4 of the plants to be hooks by the end of tomorrow.
Click to expand...
:welcome: Crazy :rofl:

as nova pointed out pics or it didnt happen :P

MG gets a bad rap however it does matter what state you buy it in here in iowa its not bad but still full of junk chunks odd crap ect. for what they want you to pay for the stuff its obv not worth your time to have to amend clean sterilize ect just go to local nursery they will gladly give a big ol bag of killer potting mix at there cost.

Best of luck to you on your grow
 
Its the nutrients that they put in their soil that is the biggest problem in my opinion. Early sprouts certainly don't need all the nitrogen and other nutrients, or all the sticks and filler. I prefer to add my own organic nutrients and only when plants reach a decent size where they need it. Making your own mix is easy, usually cheaper, and you have total control of whats going into into your "soil".
 
Miracle Grow started selling their granule fertilizer long before getting on the bandwagon selling their potting soil mixes, ok I admit to using their seed starting mix on occasion (no ferts included) but outside of being overpriced, the potting soil contains to much peat/pulverized pine needles and is difficult to use in hanging baskets (dries out too fast), plus where I live the big box stores are over-stocked and even store their inside container mixes outdoors, which can easily contract algae spores, fungal insects,etc (not a great idea to use when firing up the grow room), aphids=I've been there, and I haven't found an organic insect spray nor oil that works, but Ortho makes an insect spray thats safe an flowers and veg. that kills the bugs and they don't re-appear. Good luck on your grow and keep researching, you'll find what works best for you
 
Just what fertilizers do people use anyway?

If a new potting mix I use nothing until the plants are grown (most potting mixes use slow release fertilizers anyway). Then when the plants are mature I use a bit of 'blood and bone' mix and when they're podding use a bit of potash.
If the potting mix is old I add a bit of NPK slow release fertilizer when transplanting to bring it up to about the same as new potting mix would be.

That's pretty much it for me, no constant fertilizing, no PH testing, no 'nutes', mag cal etc etc (Blood and Bone Mix has calcium and magnesium anyway).

Though due to recommendations from non chilli people about their veg I have used a bit of seaweed or fish emulsion liquid fertilizers. But the main reason why I'm asking is I am a newbie and want to know am I doing it wrong?
 
Miracle grow seed starter does have nutrients. :)

"Water-absorbent formula with sphagnum peat moss and perlite, specially blended for fast germination of seeds. Enriched with Miracle-Gro® plant food to help build strong roots"
 
I forgot to mention I set the seeds on wet paper towels for 24 hours before planting, but none if the seeds even had a root showing. Ill get pictures up in a bit once this rain stops. Don't feel like walking through the rain to get to the garage
 
The difference between the plants I have potted in Pro-mix vs. MG is remarkable. I can add some pictures if anyone is interested.
 
POTAWIE said:
Miracle grow seed starter does have nutrients. :)

"Water-absorbent formula with sphagnum peat moss and perlite, specially blended for fast germination of seeds. Enriched with Miracle-Gro® plant food to help build strong roots"
Click to expand...
I was looking at some of this stuff ystrday. Apparently its better for sprouting because its "lighter" than just plain soil:
http://www.homedepot.com/Outdoors-Garden-Center-Landscape-Supplies-Soil-Soil-Amendments/h_d1/N-5yc1vZbx67/R-100582409/h_d2/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053
I might use it next season as I already have my seedlings started. I'm a small scale farmer anyway. If I was large scale, I'd do what another poster [Pepper-Guru (?)] suggested and get some generic soil from the local nursery by the wheelbarrow-load :D .
 
I use MG potting soil a lot myself. Only real complaint I’ve had is it MUST be sterilized before use, though to be fair, so have all the other brands I’ve tried in an attempt to avoid indoor soil borne pests….It irritates me to even think about it.
 
Capitone said:
I use MG potting soil a lot myself. Only real complaint I’ve had is it MUST be sterilized before use, though to be fair, so have all the other brands I’ve tried in an attempt to avoid indoor soil borne pests….It irritates me to even think about it.
Click to expand...
Do you use the method the OP mentioned to sterilize it? I ask because I've never sterilized soil before because I'm new to growing (< 2 yrs).
 
I picked-up some MG plant food the other day just as an insurance policy. They didn't have any chili-specific, food although they had african violet food but it didn't indicate the proportion. The plant food I got reads: 8-7-6. Will that work w/ Chili's?
 
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