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soil MG garden soil stunted growth?

PepperWhisperer

PepperWhisperer

This year I decided to try a few plants in pots since my main in-ground pepper plot is already overloaded. I filled up some 10" plastic pots with Miracle Gro Organic Choice Garden Soil dropped in a few seeds per pot and set them outside. Germination went fine, I got about 90% to come up. Some kind of pest attacked my crop just after the first true leaves appeared and cut down the majority of the seedlings like they were trees. I wasn't too sad since I was going to have to thin them anyway. About the time the second set of leaves appeared I was getting suspicious. The leaves were very small and the overall growth of the plants seemed to be taking longer than normal. The peppers all stalled after 3 tiny sets of leaves and stayed that way for more than a month. I finally decided to move what was left to the ground and one of the plants has started to respond well, putting out 2 new sets of larger leaves already.

I treated these plants the same as I have every other seed I started so I can only conclude that the MG garden soil is no bueno for pepper culture. Any ideas why? Anyone have the same issue?

FYI the ingredients in the soil are forestry products, peat moss, poultry poo. Seemed OK to me.
 
Two problems.

-The garden soil mix says on the bag it is not for containers.

-I will assume there was no perlite or anything else added to help in drainage.

These two conditions I have noticed myself seem to stunt growth. But it is not the product, just how it was used.Thier mixes are not bad but in my own experience you have to read the labels and sometimes its a must to amend the soil. Miracle Gro compacts easily. Every time you water it gets more and more compacted. The roots cant move or breathe, water cant drain, and the plant may eventually die if conditions are too bad.

Try adding some perlite to the soil mix.
 
Another possibility is some sort of insect damage to the root system -- you say they were attacked by most likely cut worms (These larvae wrap around tiny seedlings (only attack things they can completely wrap themselves around) and cut them down at soil level then feed on the seedling so sounds like what happened to yours) when very little so there is the possibility that they also were attacked by something munching on the root system as well which would stunt the growth also.
 
DatilDaddy said:
Two problems.

-The garden soil mix says on the bag it is not for containers.

-I will assume there was no perlite or anything else added to help in drainage.

These two conditions I have noticed myself seem to stunt growth. But it is not the product, just how it was used.Thier mixes are not bad but in my own experience you have to read the labels and sometimes its a must to amend the soil. Miracle Gro compacts easily. Every time you water it gets more and more compacted. The roots cant move or breathe, water cant drain, and the plant may eventually die if conditions are too bad.

Try adding some perlite to the soil mix.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Hot Pooper said:
Wait...you GERMINATED them in MG soil? I hope I just read that wrong.
Miracle Gro=CRAP
Click to expand...

especially the organic choice, i found chunks of plastic in the soil mix, not very organic if you ask me.

you can use it as a base and add amendments like perlite and peat to help lighten it up, but by that point you have already spent as much money as a decent soil mix costs.
 
I'm glad you posted this, PepperWhisperer. I made the same mistake. I didn't realize there was a difference between potting soil and garden soil. Now I know.
 
One of the mistakes I made along time ago was using the garden soil instead of the potting mix....you don't want to use the garden soil, you want the potting mix...much lighter...
 
try also using compost. Someone told me onetime mg is like a snickers bar to the plant (sugar rush that will not last long) you want long term on those babys.
 
JDFan is also right. Somehow I missed the whole sentence saying they were cut like trees. Thats what those worms do. Why all seedlings were not affected I dont know.
 
To be clear, the damaged peppers looked like the tops had been taken. They were like standing tree trunks with no canopy. I really suspected some mammalian perpetrator, possibly even of the 2-legged, 2-year-old variety (He has been seen plucking leaves off of other plants...).

Soil compaction is possible, but really I have to still blame MG if that is the case, since I have used all kinds of non-specialty soils in the past to start peppers in and have had zero problems.
 
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