Bought a few bags of Miracle Grow soil and just noticed it says not for container plants on the back of it, doh! And I remember when using this soil before I would always have little bugs flying around for the first week or so. Should I just get rid of it and buy different soil? Can't return it since its already been mixed w/perlite and other things.
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Not for container plants
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G
Guest
Or is Miracle Grow's organic outdoor soil?
G
Guest
I'm not sure the reason is possible presence of pests, but rather that it doesn't have any perlite added. Not sure tho.
G
Guest
Miracle Grow=Bastards
they charge more for the 'potting soil' even tho its just the 'garden soil' cut with perlite.
carry on
you must mean the mg 'organic' soil right? either way they only say that because they want you to buy the 'potting soil' from them. i called and asked the tech last season, go tthe ingredients in both, and turns out the 'potting mix' is a watered down version of the regular stuff..add yer own perlite and verm. if u want and make the 'garden soil' 'potting soil' on yer own.
they charge more for the 'potting soil' even tho its just the 'garden soil' cut with perlite.
carry on
JollyGreenGiant
Member
On the topic of MG soils, has anyone noticed a discontinuation of the big bags of MG organic choice soil? I've been using it for a couple of years with good success (and lots of perlite) and now all I see is little bags of the stuff.
no it's not the organic. just says garden soil on it. like 7 bucks for 2 cu. ft. of the stuff, real cheap.
i see little brownish,clearish balls once in a while in the soil though. must be the eggs of whatever bugs i've been seeing.
they look like fruit flys. little black buggers that crawl and fly around, not too fast moving though. dont know what they are though. a see a few when i water the plants though. assuming they're in the surface of the soil...
i see little brownish,clearish balls once in a while in the soil though. must be the eggs of whatever bugs i've been seeing.
they look like fruit flys. little black buggers that crawl and fly around, not too fast moving though. dont know what they are though. a see a few when i water the plants though. assuming they're in the surface of the soil...
Are you sure those clearish balls aren't supposed to be there? As in, is the soil pre-nuted? I have those same little balls in my MG potting soil, full of liquid (I've popped 'um out of curiousity)
G
Guest
:smile:
the balls are water crystals,
and they're supposed to be there
miracle grow soil SUCKS. period.
if you have soil-borne pests you need to pasteurize yer soil
fill a heavy duty rubbermaid 'ruffneck' tote helf-full with boiling hot water
put the soil in a pillowcase
tie the end of the pillowcase(s) closed
add to the hot water bath
throw more pans of boiling water atop the pillowcase as the water begins to cool below 170 degrees or so
let sit in the hot-water pasteurization bath an hour
remove, cool, sow seeds or plant cuttings
simple:smile:
the balls are water crystals,
and they're supposed to be there
miracle grow soil SUCKS. period.
if you have soil-borne pests you need to pasteurize yer soil
fill a heavy duty rubbermaid 'ruffneck' tote helf-full with boiling hot water
put the soil in a pillowcase
tie the end of the pillowcase(s) closed
add to the hot water bath
throw more pans of boiling water atop the pillowcase as the water begins to cool below 170 degrees or so
let sit in the hot-water pasteurization bath an hour
remove, cool, sow seeds or plant cuttings
simple:smile:
yea miracle grow isnt the greatest soil for sure. i picked up some sta-green potting soil the other day, havent seen any bugs yet and it feels lighter and more fluffier. 10 or 11 bucks for 3 cu ft, not too bad on the wallet.
thanks for the info about the little balls, lol...good to know those weren't all eggs!
thanks for the info about the little balls, lol...good to know those weren't all eggs!
Actually, I like MG soil, I haven't had any problems with the soil (i.e pests and shitola) I've had my share of grower's screw-ups, but that's my fault, not the soil's (over watering, under watering, over nuting, under nuting, etc)
The only thing I cannot stand is the bark and peat moss clumps. I get out my old childhood beach sand sifter (yeah, I still have that thing---I grew up down here on the FL beaches, lol) and I sift the fuck out of that stuff. I then pick out the bark and peat moss and any other large objects from the sifter, and mix the perlite and ball thing-a-ma-jigs back in. My plants love the softer soil so much more, but they don't seem to do too well in any other brand of soil....
The bark actually comes in REAL handy for orchids, they seem to love it mixed in the their own mix. I've got one orchid sitting in roughly 90% Miracle Grow "cast offs", and the thing is HUGE, damn near falling over from so many flowers it's studded with. Big, gorgeous purple flowers
Looks nothing like the rest of the orchids, and the only differance in them (they're all pretty much the same 3 or 4 types of orchid, I have shit, 7 or 8 of them) is the mix they're in.
I'll have to remember to take a pic of it and share that one
The only thing I cannot stand is the bark and peat moss clumps. I get out my old childhood beach sand sifter (yeah, I still have that thing---I grew up down here on the FL beaches, lol) and I sift the fuck out of that stuff. I then pick out the bark and peat moss and any other large objects from the sifter, and mix the perlite and ball thing-a-ma-jigs back in. My plants love the softer soil so much more, but they don't seem to do too well in any other brand of soil....
The bark actually comes in REAL handy for orchids, they seem to love it mixed in the their own mix. I've got one orchid sitting in roughly 90% Miracle Grow "cast offs", and the thing is HUGE, damn near falling over from so many flowers it's studded with. Big, gorgeous purple flowers
Looks nothing like the rest of the orchids, and the only differance in them (they're all pretty much the same 3 or 4 types of orchid, I have shit, 7 or 8 of them) is the mix they're in. I'll have to remember to take a pic of it and share that one
G
Guest
this is nothing to worry about if it was potting soil you bought it usually has at least a small amount of composted bark and twigs and shit in it, the peat has a lot of it too if you look closely at a bag/bale of peat
just pick off any twigs etc on the surface of the soil as these attract harmful fungus which can lead to damp off
no need to screen it like that unless you have a lot of time and patience on yer hands
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