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shopping What the heck did I buy?

W

wordwiz

Was out delivering papers today and stopped at a place I get a lot of stuff from. He (a True-Value store) had bags of potting soil - $4 for 40 pounds and since I like to do business with those who do business with me, I bought a bag. It is called "All American Potting Soil" The bag says it contains 45-55% aged pine bark, topsoil, sand and perlite.

If it contains perlite, the stuff has been smashed into microscopic bits - no trace of it. Absolutely no pieces of mulch, not even a piece as large as a hair. My hands, after filling some seed flats look exactly as they did after spreading humus. A very dark black, very fine coating of whatever.

It also has some kind of a gray, sticky stuff that when damp is nearly impossible break apart, but once it dries grinds into a powder.

Tried Googling but didn't have any luck. I don't want to transplant 54 seedlings into dirt, am and wondering if anyone has run across this?

The stuff is in a microwave now - it is so fine it should be great to mix my lettuce seeds is before sowing.

Mike
 
I bet the gray stuff is clay with a bit of the the black top soil in it. It sounds nice, though.
 
Speaking of "what the heck did i buy?" I bought the Rapitest Mini pH meter off ebay and the thing is a complete piece of garbage. No matter what I stick it in the needle doesn't move! even if I pour vinegar into the soil the damn thing still reads pH 7... haha oh well you get what you pay for! I ended up investing in a nice digital pH meter today, hopefully I'll have a little better luck! Good luck with your soil though!
 
ExtremeBurn said:
Speaking of "what the heck did i buy?" I bought the Rapitest Mini pH meter off ebay and the thing is a complete piece of garbage. No matter what I stick it in the needle doesn't move! even if I pour vinegar into the soil the damn thing still reads pH 7... haha oh well you get what you pay for! I ended up investing in a nice digital pH meter today, hopefully I'll have a little better luck! Good luck with your soil though!
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Pepper Ridge Farm said:
You get what you pay for and for 4 bucks what did you expect?
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ha ha ha

my exact thoughts..

toss the ph metre into the trash mate...

4 $ soil, hmmm try it on something that has fast growth and see the results...

:lol:

my 2 cents...but i want 1 of them back..
 
cheezy,

It certainly appears to be extremely good something... I'm leaning toward humus. We added some to mom's garden last year and the texture, plus how it dried on my hands is about the same.

Mike
 
ExtremeBurn said:
Speaking of "what the heck did i buy?" I bought the Rapitest Mini pH meter off ebay and the thing is a complete piece of garbage. No matter what I stick it in the needle doesn't move! even if I pour vinegar into the soil the damn thing still reads pH 7... haha oh well you get what you pay for! I ended up investing in a nice digital pH meter today, hopefully I'll have a little better luck! Good luck with your soil though!
Click to expand...

Don't know if I have the Mini tester or not, but mine works correctly, even if it is not as precise as a digital meter. IIRC, the cost was about $14 and it is a 4-in-1 tester: pH, moisture, light and fertility.

Mike
 
Gotcha wiz. Guess it sounds stranger in the telling than it is first hand.

Your description made me think it was concrete or something mis-labelled.;)
 
Well, I should find out in a few days if it is good or not. Transplanted six each of six varieties of toms last night. I have some Ferti-lome left and am going to move another 36 plants this evening.

Mike
 
I'm getting really urinated off. I stopped at the store I bought the stuff from and asked them what was in it - they couldn't begin to tell me any more than the label. Did a Google search for Markman Peat Company from Iowa that sell the stuff - probably the only company in the world that doesn't have a web site.

This stuff better not dry into Adobe or a company in Iowa and another one in Cincinnati is going to be hearing from me. I'm completely into Caveat Emptor but if a bag says potting soil, it sure as hell ought to be something that resembles potting soil - not compost, not humus, not topsoil.

So far, the plants have adapted to the soil, as far as transplants and a day go. But the proof will be in six weeks when a buyer tries to move them from their 3" containers into the ground. But I'll know before then!

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Don't know if I have the Mini tester or not, but mine works correctly, even if it is not as precise as a digital meter. IIRC, the cost was about $14 and it is a 4-in-1 tester: pH, moisture, light and fertility.

Mike
Click to expand...

The one I have is made by Rapitest and it sucks ass... Seriously I can't get the needle to move lol I've heard a lot of people praise them, maybe I got a lemon
 
Still don't have an idea of what is in the bag but I've identified one ingredient - at least what category it belongs to. It is called weed seeds!

The stuff is rampant with them - horse manure cannot be any worse.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Still don't have an idea of what is in the bag but I've identified one ingredient - at least what category it belongs to. It is called weed seeds!

The stuff is rampant with them - horse manure cannot be any worse.

Mike
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WEED SEEDS?!!:shocked:
 
wordwiz said:
Still don't have an idea of what is in the bag but I've identified one ingredient - at least what category it belongs to. It is called weed seeds!

The stuff is rampant with them - horse manure cannot be any worse.
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Uh oh! You didn't plant too much in it, I hope?
 
Pam,

Probably 90-108 plants. It won't be a huge problem, I'll pull the weeds up but it's the idea a store is selling crap (maybe literally!) and doesn't have a clue what it is.

It's like me selling plants. Uh, this one says it's a vegetable, can you tell me what kind?

Uh, no, but it will be green when it is growing. Trust me - other people have bought these plants and never complained!

I'll base my response on what they have to tell me Wednesday. I asked them to check with the supplier to see what they are selling. They need to have a good answer.

I own a newspaper and have never hesitated to use it to alert readers to charlatans. Sad to say, it has cost me thousands of dollars in advertising, but such is life in the ethical lane.

Mike
 
wordwiz said:
Pam,

Probably 90-108 plants. It won't be a huge problem, I'll pull the weeds up but it's the idea a store is selling crap (maybe literally!) and doesn't have a clue what it is.

It's like me selling plants. Uh, this one says it's a vegetable, can you tell me what kind?
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Yes, it's irritating, especially for someone like you who takes such care of his plants. I would hazard a guess they didn't expect someone who knew much about gardening to buy it.




Uh, no, but it will be green when it is growing. Trust me - other people have bought these plants and never complained!

I'll base my response on what they have to tell me Wednesday. I asked them to check with the supplier to see what they are selling. They need to have a good answer.

I own a newspaper and have never hesitated to use it to alert readers to charlatans. Sad to say, it has cost me thousands of dollars in advertising, but such is life in the ethical lane.
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Good on you, Mike, for not doing things the easy way. I respect your stand on morals.
 
Mike, in 07 I bought a bag of some cheapo stuff from Home Depot when I was growing in containers and when I dumped it in the pot it looked like dirt w/sticks in it. The plants stayed alive but did not do real well.

Dale
 
wordwiz said:
I've identified one ingredient - at least what category it belongs to. It is called weed seeds!
Click to expand...


Seedy weed is for high schoolers. Sinsemilla for me please. :lol:
 
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