Yes, I know how silly this question sounds, but hear me out Isn't the difference, well, that an unfertilized mix, like ProMix, doesn't contain any fertilizers/nutrients while many pre-made soil mixes do? This is, for example beneficial when you want to start seedlings.
BUT...as soon as you use an unfertilized soilless mix like Promix and start to feed your plants with, say, Hydro nutes, doesn't it become essentially the same as other soil mixes? Or would plants use up all nutrients so that your unfert mix becomes "nutrient-less" in between feedings again? I don't think so. Unfertilized mix would also accumulate them, salts etc..like any other soil, correct?
So in other words, question, WHY would I want to grow plants in, say, ProMix? UNLESS of course for seed starting where I want a neutral medium for a short time. Is it because I have more control over the amount of nutes that I give? While commercial pre-fertilized mixes have already nutrients in them, so there is danger I overfeed, or that a pre-fert mix soil may contain less than optimal nutrients?
This just because I started to wonder about the "silliness" to get special mixes without anything but then feeding plants, essentially turning the mix into fertilized soil. But then I could as well buy a normal soil mix from the store around the corner..and just feed plain water for a longer time...(until the "internal" nutrients are depleted...)
BUT...as soon as you use an unfertilized soilless mix like Promix and start to feed your plants with, say, Hydro nutes, doesn't it become essentially the same as other soil mixes? Or would plants use up all nutrients so that your unfert mix becomes "nutrient-less" in between feedings again? I don't think so. Unfertilized mix would also accumulate them, salts etc..like any other soil, correct?
So in other words, question, WHY would I want to grow plants in, say, ProMix? UNLESS of course for seed starting where I want a neutral medium for a short time. Is it because I have more control over the amount of nutes that I give? While commercial pre-fertilized mixes have already nutrients in them, so there is danger I overfeed, or that a pre-fert mix soil may contain less than optimal nutrients?
This just because I started to wonder about the "silliness" to get special mixes without anything but then feeding plants, essentially turning the mix into fertilized soil. But then I could as well buy a normal soil mix from the store around the corner..and just feed plain water for a longer time...(until the "internal" nutrients are depleted...)