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Best Home Depot / Lowes Soil?
- Thread starter Tony Soprano
- Start date
SERIOUSLY! gnats, rocks, sticks, and time release fertilizer that lasts FOREVER.... awesome
ArcticBlast
dont ask why, but i bought a bag of mg organic, last august. here in feb still battling more pests than i ever ever had in 18yrs. the soil is loong gone but the gift keeps giving.
hate to see others suffer, but glad i'm not alone! didn't know what a fungus gnat looked like until i bought MG mix. the plants did OK in it until the bugs showed up... dammit! got a buddy that uses nothing else on his autos though. adds no nutes, just waters every three days. it works for HIM...
The Sta-Green Tree/Shrub Planting Mix at Lowes is simple and effective. It's made of composted forest products, dolomite lime, and fertilizer balls. You can't get any simpler than that. The fact that each 2 cubic foot bag is only $7 is just an added bonus.
Add some fertilizers during flowering and you'll have buds the size of your forearm.
-Funk
Add some fertilizers during flowering and you'll have buds the size of your forearm.
-Funk
dubbers123
Member
The Sta-Green Tree/Shrub Planting Mix at Lowes is simple and effective. It's made of composted forest products, dolomite lime, and fertilizer balls. You can't get any simpler than that. The fact that each 2 cubic foot bag is only $7 is just an added bonus.
Add some fertilizers during flowering and you'll have buds the size of your forearm.
-Funk
what kind of fertiliziers would you suggest at flowering? (keeping budget in mind)
Last edited:
Tony Soprano
Member
You can play swords with that bud...lol
Tony Soprano
Member
doesn't Sta-Green Tree/Shrub Planting Mix have time releases fertilizer in them that last up to 9 months?
Isn't that bad?
Isn't that bad?
T
theratings
I have had great success with this soil:
Add your own perlite.
EDIT: To tell the truth though, this stuff isn't really cheap. You can probably find cheap mass quantities of good soil at other places.
Add your own perlite.
EDIT: To tell the truth though, this stuff isn't really cheap. You can probably find cheap mass quantities of good soil at other places.
cjk
Member
hell yea, grow stores are super expensive and the reason is because they know who is buying. i work at a retail nursery and we started carrying fox farm and such and it's just rediculously expensive even for us at wholesale.
Promix BX is $26 a bale here at the local feed store. You're getting fucked paying $45.
Add some dolomite lime, earth worm castings and perlite and you're set.
Add some dolomite lime, earth worm castings and perlite and you're set.
SupraSPL
Member
@OP. If you are the DIY type, you can make your own organic version of pro-mix for 1/2 the price, using local ingredients (except the wetting agent which might have to be ordered). Only 4 ingredients. Peat + DE + lime + wetting agent. That can serve as a fert-less base for cuttings to root in or to germ seeds in. Then you can add organic ferts as needed in the mix or when you water.
Base Soil Mix
I reuse peat often. As long as it didn't get compacted and it isn't soupy when wet, it can do it's job. Two components of the soil do get worn out. The wetting agent and the lime. If you are getting PH runoff too low, relime it with dolomite lime from garden shop ($4 for 40lb bag) You can get organic wetting agent like "Assist" from Earth Juice. Without fresh wetting agent, it can take forever to get the soil to take up water and it doesn't dry properly either (top dry as a bone, bottom remains wet)
Base Soil Mix
I reuse peat often. As long as it didn't get compacted and it isn't soupy when wet, it can do it's job. Two components of the soil do get worn out. The wetting agent and the lime. If you are getting PH runoff too low, relime it with dolomite lime from garden shop ($4 for 40lb bag) You can get organic wetting agent like "Assist" from Earth Juice. Without fresh wetting agent, it can take forever to get the soil to take up water and it doesn't dry properly either (top dry as a bone, bottom remains wet)
If your local store...keeps their soil bags outside, on a pallet?....be prepared for gnat eggs to hatch...
nearly all bags have those small holes in them
nearly all bags have those small holes in them
If you have an ACE Hardware store, you can sometimes get pro-mix there. They can definitely order it for you too. ACE carries it online, or they did a couple years ago... and you can have the bag shipped to the local store and pick it up there.
ACE Hardware stores are usually mom and pop places that just carry ACE stuff, or at least that's how it is around here
ACE Hardware stores are usually mom and pop places that just carry ACE stuff, or at least that's how it is around here
reckon
Member
If your local store...keeps their soil bags outside, on a pallet?....be prepared for gnat eggs to hatch...
nearly all bags have those small holes in them
amen to that brother,.....
the hydro store I buy my soil at has a non working walkin-refer box they store the bags of soil in, and they pump in co2 at night to kill off any critters that may have hitched a ride
they only put out 1 pallet at a time in the store
I have NEVER gotten insects when buying soils from them (all I use is fox farm, and flower power)
and I don't mind paying $13-$18 a bag for it either, not when they go through all that trouble to ensure their customers aren't taking any bugs home with the bags of soil.
EVERY TIME I bought soils from big box home improvement stores, I may have saved a few dollars, and I got gnats, ants and thrips at NO extra charge!
I'd buy pro-mix if I could just find a place that sold it in decent condition, and not sitting outside on a pallet for 3 years.
I mix some promix, top soil, perlite, bone and blood meal and some bat and bird shit. Lots of people dont like the top soil becasue it can be too "thick" but i like the extra heavy nutes...the blacker the better for me....keep it loaded with all the organic shit i can find....bits and pieces of stems and plants breaking down over time. When i reuse my soil and am going to repot to start something else...I will take the root ball from the old plant break it down best i can then put that at the bottem of the pot. Kind of gives it a mesh base that holds things together and keeps it open...
