Which Miracle Grow?

[Cayennemist]

I never said it wasn't good, it is very good potting mix. My argument was against him/her calling it "the best."

As far as "Store bought' soil goes, its up there with the "BEST" I am not trying to be a Jerk and call you out.
I just don't want to see a good product get a bad name. I would say it is worth paying 20$+ for 1 bag. I am broke so I make my own mix. but If I had the money and I wanted a all in one type of soil, it would be FFoF! and that includes for Canna (if i grew Canna) And I know a lot of Canna growers that feel the same way, but most of them use hydro for $$$/stealth reasons

 

[Burning Colon]

i borrowed some 24-8-16 to test it, i used it once in both soil and hydro and it was only a few days before fert burn started to show on almost all plants. any plants that accidently got water splashed on them immediately burned. i mixed very conservatively as i was just testing it. i had to change my hydro water and then flushed the soiled plants with just water. that was the last time i will use it and the small baggie of remaining granules i will use outside on my garden or lawn to get rid of it.

so, next test was 15-30-15 versus 18-18-21. before buying i read the label! what i noticed was the 18-18-21 explicitly states it can be used as a foliar stray where the others state "not recommended as a foliar", so i bought the tomato fertilizer as i also grow tomatoes. i have a 10-52-10 and a 15-15-31 from another brand and was using that previously in both soil and hydro. the tomato fertilizer worked okay in both soil and hydro but just okay for growth but not really for fruit set.

since, i have moved brands to general hydroponics flora both gro and bloom - that has resulted in epic growth and now fruiting. the hydro most notably. flowering was explosive to the point where my wife commented on the amount of flowers on my plants and she hates my hobby. now fruit set in bonda ma jacques and bombay morich. a douglah is in flowering but i haven't seen fruit set yet. in soil a bombay morich is looking like a pod has set and a yellow 7 is following. additionally a choc hab is overflowing with beautiful foliage.

all my hydro plants are in the same tote, so 5-6 plants per tote and i can no longer tell which branches belong to which plant, growth was that explosive. all my soil plants are entering their second year and are starting to show flowering and fruit set. where last year i got 100% flower drop.

so, that is my miraclegro story, i still mix in the 18-18-21 for its micronutrient content. my next test will be with a GH knockoff that a local hydro store sells under its name. it is half the price and appears to have the same NPK levels. the GH is $13.99 per quart bottle.

good luck

 

[Pablo_h]

Ridiculous NPK levels you guys get, also that's not the only thing to look at anyway. I've only used general Purpose miracle gro, it seemed OK, but anyone looking at MG should go for the tomato specific type. A general purpose fert doesn't really feature much calcium, magnesium and other minor minerals that fruiting plants like tomatoes and chillies need. So if you can't get anything chilli specific, at least use something tomato specific if possible.
I usually use organic ferts as they have lower prices, but they will not work with most non compost based potting mixes in containers, not enough organisms in there to break down the organic matter, it's just going to get moldy.
So best bet is potting mixes that consist of a fair bit of compost and bark and then add in manure pellets and bone meal and blood meal, then go have a beer for a few months while not fussing about fortnightly feeds etc.
IE in Australia rooster booster chicken manure pellets, or Dynamic Lifter pellets, and a bit of blood and bone meal in debco or amgrow organics potting mix is all you need.
If you use a plain commercial potting mix though, manure pellets with blood/bone meal may just go nasty with mold and the plants will be bad as nothing has broken down to feed them.

So if using that non organic mix, I've never had a problem with the miracle gro I have seen here (15-13-12) or Focus liquid fert which is 13-3-10. It wasn't by choice, it was just through personal learning of what various regular potting mixes just didn't work well with organic ferts in containers the hard way, and focus or MG didn't have any problems really.
But you may as well use slow release granuals which have 0 risk of burn and often have lower prices, more minor minerals.
And also at the end of the day, going organic is better as you never have to worry about calcium anyway or go out and buy 'cal/mag', so why bother with cheaper potting mixes and more expensive chemical ferts? Better off buying more organically based potting mixes which drain better anyway usually, and cheap blood/bone meal and manure pellets and kelp/fish products.

 

[Capsicum]

24-8-16 I can find it in the 10 lb and larger size so I use it. If you look at the NPK ratio there is a study done that shows a 3;1;2 ratios is what plants uptake at. A plant uses 3x or more N then it does P when it is growing. A reason "dyna-gro foliage pro" 9-3-6 is well trusted. I would use the tomato fertilizer too if you do not have a bloom fertilizer.

 

[zappa883]

Define organic when utilized in combo with everything else. I like to grow "clean" but near the airport and when they land u can see their puke. What is really organic unless hydro?

 

[Proud Marine Dad]

Define organic when utilized in combo with everything else. I like to grow "clean" but near the airport and when they land u can see their puke. What is really organic unless hydro?

Any soil that does not contain man-made chemicals is "organic."

As far as "Store bought' soil goes, its up there with the "BEST" I am not trying to be a Jerk and call you out.

I agree and once again my complaint was with the word, "best" as there is no "best" soil, fertilizer, automobile, guitar, food, etc. etc.
The term, "best" is more often subjective rather than objective.

 

[Capsicum]

They advertise so heavy that the general public thinks they make the best fertilizers out there.
As Metallica says, "Sad but true!"

When I did not know much about fertilizer I used to think Miracle gro was "bad" too.

The only thing bad about miracle gro is its lacking secondary Macronutrients. It is very inexpensive for a store bought fertilizer. A reason why many use it is its price making it one of the "Best" fertilizer choices out.

In fact, AJ, one of the biggest chilli growers on this forum, uses miracle gro water soluble fertilizer as his fertilizer program. I use it too along with many other gardeners.

 

[Proud Marine Dad]

When I did not know much about fertilizer I used to think Miracle gro was "bad" too.

Well maybe someday when I know as much as you think you do about fertilizers I will change my mind......or not.
It is a good fertilizer I am sure, but it is man-made chemicals and I prefer not to use that when possible.
There are many good fertilizers out there that are organic and if your local store does not have them you can always go online and buy good stuff or go to a hydro store and get some quality fertilizers like Earth Juice or several others. If you like chemicals then go for it as I am not eating it and I could care less.

 

[AlabamaJack]

if you grow tons of plants, MG Tomato food is the easiest/cheapest way to go...if you only piddle with growing a few plants, then use the high price "hydro" nutes...when you get right down to it, chiles don't need much to grow...a little warmth, some decent light, and a good soil usually does the trick without the need for any additional fertilizer...if I want to give the plants a boost or a kick, I use the MG...before plantout, I use Botanicare products....

organic vs not...this subject is worse than politics or even religion...


***don't care here***

 

[Capsicum]

It is a good fertilizer I am sure, but it is man-made chemicals and I prefer not to use that when possible.

"Which Miracle Grow?" is the Topic.

if you grow tons of plants, MG is the easiest/cheapest way to go...if you only piddle with growing a few plants, then use the high price "hydro" nutes...when you get right down to it, chiles don't need much to grow...a little warmth, some decent light, and a good soil usually does the trick without the need for any additional fertilizer...if I want to give the plants a boost or a kick, I use the MG...before plantout, I use Botanicare products....

organic vs not...this subject is worse than politics or even religion...


***don't care here***

Yup I use Botanicare and a synthetic dry bloom fertilizer but miracle gro saves me big time.