Effective use of Miracle Grow Soil?

Xtensity · May 25, 2011

I know it's a little late in the season, but I figured I would give it a go with a bunch of extra seeds I had. Problem is, I'm sort of restricted on cash.

I do know many people have problems with miracle grow due to the time-release nutes burning the plants, though, I don't necessarily see this as a totally bad thing.

As I like to say, every negative is a positive; a blessing in disguise, if you will.

If too many released nutrients are burning the plants, can't we work around this, and use it to our advantage by simply diluting the soil as we would anything else that's too strong?

Something like, 30% perlite, 30% vermiculite, 30% MG soil, then leave some additional 10% for say some polymer water crystals and perhaps some bat guano?

What do you all think of this? In theory, if the miracle grow is causing peoples plants to be burnt, isn't that just because of too many nutrients being released, in that case, lessing the amount of releasable nutrients through controlling the soil amount would prove effective? I would like to know everyones input on this... and don't bother replying if you're just going to say MG sucks or something like that.

Also, on a side note, does anyone know any common places that sell water polymer crystals?

mad librettist · May 25, 2011

MG soil is pretty unholy stuff.

stay away!

a small bale of peat, some lime, a bag of biotone, a bag of compost or two, and some perlite or pumice, and a bag of dolomite.

That's probably cheaper by the gallon than your plan.

Xtensity · May 25, 2011

It may be cheaper, but a lot of that stuff I have to go far out of my way to acquire. Gas is expensive xD. Aren't lime and dolomite the same thing? Or am I confused?

Also, you didn't even address the entire point of the topic >.>. Why do you say it's unholy. Why is my potential method of using it not going to work, as you seem to be implying?

Edit: and I definitely planned on putting Lime in as one of my primary ingredients, though I had forgotten it when I was making the list.

DiscoBiscuit · May 25, 2011

If you're low on cash, holes in the ground will eat lots of MG. Just amend the soil you dig out of the ground with MG and chuck it back in the hole.

You may need lime if your native soil is hot. I usually pot a small sample of soil and measure the runoff pH. If it's below 6, roughly a tablespoon of lime per gallon of soil will do. I use a 5 gallon bucket to make measuring easier.

A 20 gal hole in the ground isn't as big as you might think. But it'll eat a half dozen bags of potting soil.

Scrappy4 · May 25, 2011

MG in this organic forum would be like taking a hooker to your parents anniversary party, un holy.
All kidding aside if that is all you have use it. Keep notes, and keep reading these pages. Soon you be messing with noobs too.....good luck.....scrappy

DiscoBiscuit · May 25, 2011

Xtensity said:
It may be cheaper, but a lot of that stuff I have to go far out of my way to acquire. Gas is expensive xD. Aren't lime and dolomite the same thing? Or am I confused?

Two types of lime... you want dolomite.

Also, you didn't even address the entire point of the topic >.>. Why do you say it's unholy. Why is my potential method of using it not going to work, as you seem to be implying?

Yes, you can lower the EC of dry ingredients with amendments.

Edit: and I definitely planned on putting Lime in as one of my primary ingredients, though I had forgotten it when I was making the list.

In case you decide to use the native soil in the mix:

Clay soil isn't as easy to over lime as sandy soil. If you have sandy soil, be careful not to apply too much lime. IMO, 6.5~6.8 is a good range.

Xtensity · May 25, 2011

DiscoBiscuit said:
Clay soil isn't as easy to over lime as sandy soil. If you have sandy soil, be careful not to apply too much lime. IMO, 6.5~6.8 is a good range.

Well I know for a fact that the dirt around here is very clayey.... almost pure clay tbh haha.

I didn't plan on growing monsters to be honest, because the ground around here is so hard to dig into, all the roots, and clay, I just planned on doing about 3 gallon hole for each plant. Yes I know this isn't a lot because a cubic foot has about 4 gallons in it.

I plan on doing around 25-30 plants, but we've started germinating so many random seeds from mids-heads we may get up into 70 plants. That's a ton of holes, so I figured 3 gallon hole for each plant would suffice for my intentions of 2-3 ounces per plant.

The mix I plan to use is something like, a tbsp of Dolomitic lime, for PH Stabilization, 1 gallon of perlite, 1 gallon of verm, 1 gallon of MG soil(haha), and some Geo Humus. The guy at the store told me about the Geo Humus saying it works like water crystals.

What do you all think of this, if I'm not trying for max yield as I would get with a huge hole.

paulo73 · May 25, 2011

MG is quite controversial.
I´ve done a few grows on it and they were the cheapest grows i´ve ever done.
Not the ones with better yields or end product but good weed grown just on water and molasses.
This year i´m trying their organic range and i can see the difference from the other ones that i´ve used. I am not promoting the use of MG but i can´t go against.

DiscoBiscuit · May 25, 2011

Xtensity said:
Well I know for a fact that the dirt around here is very clayey.... almost pure clay tbh haha.

Clay may help retain water but sometimes it's hard to dig. If you get lots of rain, your holes may not "perk" (for lack of a better word." You may need to keep an eye out for soggy conditions.

I didn't plan on growing monsters to be honest, because the ground around here is so hard to dig into, all the roots, and clay, I just planned on doing about 3 gallon hole for each plant. Yes I know this isn't a lot because a cubic foot has about 4 gallons in it.

Just in case you're measuring amendments:

1 cubic foot = 1728/231 gallons = 576/77 gallons ~= 7.48 gallons
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_cubic_feet_are_in_a_gallon

^^^that's wet gallons^^^

I think a dry gallon is 1/2 peck or 1/8 bushel.

I plan on doing around 25-30 plants, but we've started germinating so many random seeds from mids-heads we may get up into 70 plants. That's a ton of holes, so I figured 3 gallon hole for each plant would suffice for my intentions of 2-3 ounces per plant.

The mix I plan to use is something like, a tbsp of Dolomitic lime, for PH Stabilization, 1 gallon of perlite, 1 gallon of verm, 1 gallon of MG soil(haha), and some Geo Humus. The guy at the store told me about the Geo Humus saying it works like water crystals.

What do you all think of this, if I'm not trying for max yield as I would get with a huge hole.

Since your using humus, you could get a cube of peat w/o breaking the bank. It's somewhat compressed in the cube and goes a long way. Peat and humus are like steak and A1. :dance013:

Xtensity · May 25, 2011

DiscoBiscuit said:
Clay may help retain water but sometimes it's hard to dig. If you get lots of rain, your holes may not "perk" (for lack of a better word." You may need to keep an eye out for soggy conditions.

Just in case you're measuring amendments:

1 cubic foot = 1728/231 gallons = 576/77 gallons ~= 7.48 gallons
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_many_cubic_feet_are_in_a_gallon

^^^that's wet gallons^^^

I think a dry gallon is 1/2 peck or 1/8 bushel.

Since your using humus, you could get a cube of peat w/o breaking the bank. It's somewhat compressed in the cube and goes a long way. Peat and humus are like steak and A1.

Yes you're right about the cubic foot. I had the number stored in my memory incorrectly.

I am aware of too much rain may cause the holes to...over flow so to speak. One time I had pots in the ground and it rained, and I found out the plants were literally sitting in a pool of water for 3 days straight, and I would think this would cause overwatering, but to my surprise they had more growth than ever during that time period. So I figure that may be an advantage...somehow.

Are you saying that, the mixture I proposed, will fill up the hole when dry, but will compress when conditions get wet? I'll always have the native soil in the area to throw back on top of it if that's the case.

bigAl25 · May 25, 2011

I switched from regular miracle grow to organic miracle grow and saw a big improvement in the final product. I teamed it up with fox farm nutes, the liquids,big bloom, tiger bloom,grow big. I will not go back to regular miracle grow and will only use their organic potting soil in the future. I also found pro mix organic on my last trip to Lowe's and picked up a bag of that also. I would switch to organic miracle grow. My results convinced me.

h.h. · May 25, 2011

There is no way that I know of to flush time release fertilizer. You just release more. At least get their organic.

40AmpstoFreedom · May 25, 2011

Just check my signature and all of my grow reviews for effective use of Miracle Grow Organic Choice soil (the green bags with veggies on the front).

Look up blazeoneup's soil recipe (the older version) and it is the same recipe I use pretty much. I add mycorizea and EWC castings bout the only change.

Xtensity · May 25, 2011

Thank you everyone very much. I will probably end up using Miracle Grow Organic, as I forgot that I had to think about flushing my plants xD

igrowone · May 25, 2011

Xtensity said:
Thank you everyone very much. I will probably end up using Miracle Grow Organic, as I forgot that I had to think about flushing my plants xD

i'll be one more voice to the chorus here, MG Organic Garden is not bad at all, good work can definitely be done with it
some dolomite is a good idea, the soil is based on wood products compost, which is on the acidic side

mad librettist · May 25, 2011

Effective use of Miracle Grow Soil?

I would maybe research what mg organic is...

so you are outside!

you need to hit the beginners guide to soil study.

also mr fistas sticky in the recycled section.

it's not too late to start preparing a no-dig area for next year! you won't be sorry if you do, and you will break up the clay so well that I won't tell you how well or you won't believe it's true.

I've been cursed at for advocating no-dig as a more effective way to deal with clay than double digging, but never by anyone who tried.

Xtensity · May 25, 2011

mad librettist said:
I would maybe research what mg organic is...

so you are outside!

you need to hit the beginners guide to soil study.

also mr fistas sticky in the recycled section.

it's not too late to start preparing a no-dig area for next year! you won't be sorry if you do, and you will break up the clay so well that I won't tell you how well or you won't believe it's true.

I've been cursed at for advocating no-dig as a more effective way to deal with clay than double digging, but never by anyone who tried.

You're right, I do need to study more. I just wish I had the time honestly. I have so many goals for the future that require numerous activities during the day, my schedule is jam packed. I have around 5 grow books including Ed-Rosenthals Growers handbook, I just need to find the time to get around to reading them... As of right now I am studying 3 different books, which I would probably benefit more if I focused in one at a time, but ahh, the information, it's like an orgasm to my brain. As much as I love growing, I need to find more time to focusing intently and indepth on each category of it such as Soil, insects, sicknesses, etc. I don't want to refer to a handbook everytime my plant may be sick >.<. Knowledge is Power!

Thank you again everyone. I honestly never feel like I can provide enough thanks for this community, as it seems most people don't show appreciation as much as they should.

mad librettist · May 25, 2011

I have around 5 grow books including Ed-Rosenthals Growers handbook,

drop that book and replace it with "Teaming with microbes".

Rosenthal is a bottle slinger.

Xtensity · May 27, 2011

mad librettist said:
drop that book and replace it with "Teaming with microbes".

Rosenthal is a bottle slinger.

Maybe so, but it can't be argued that the book is used as a textbook for the university of oaksterdamn which has fostered many successful growers. The book may not be the best by your standards but it does have useful information for growing in general.

And I will look for Teaming with Microbes.

mad librettist · May 27, 2011

Xtensity said:
Maybe so, but it can't be argued that the book is used as a textbook for the university of oaksterdamn which has fostered many successful growers. The book may not be the best by your standards but it does have useful information for growing in general.

And I will look for Teaming with Microbes.

That book is a travesty.

Everything you need is right here bro.

Effective use of Miracle Grow Soil?

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