I loathe Miracle Grow Potting Mix

greenthumbomaha · February 14, 2016

Beware MG! I scored a deal on MG in the yellow bag and used it for the second potting up of my early tomatoes. The stuff is heavy, holds water, has sticks and has way too much fertilizer for younger seedlings. It's best to wait until they are closer to plant out for such a dense fertile soil. This was done at 4 weeks. Seedlings are now curling and leaves are turning light green and have dark veins. It's not just tomatoes gone bad. My geraniums cuttings all have puckered leaves. Bigger Amaryllis bulbs are loving it. They can't get enough!

Anyone have success with this stuff at an early stage or did I get a bad batch?

- Lisa

PaulF · February 14, 2016

I have used MG or Schultz or similar for years without a problem. It does have sticks and clods that get taken out when I use it. If there are holes in the bag and it is stored outside it does get heavy. I always make sure I get one that is light so I can put my own amount of water mixed in a tub I use.

There has never been a problem with too much fertilizer for me. Be sure not to use the water retention style. I just hope the formula has not been changed. What I have to begin with is last year's batch. I will watch closely.

**nctomatoman** · February 14, 2016

I don't use it until the 8 week point, or the final plant out, and mix it with composted cow manure. I use MetroMix 360 for both my seed starter and transplant material - works great. I've tried Fafard 3b, but there is something different about it - my seedlings don't thrive upon transplant, but take longer to "catch on".

Dutch · February 14, 2016

Lisa if the stuff is heavy it may gotten wet. Worse yet if was stored outside at the place you got it from, it could have been last years stock and has been wet for a while which may have caused the timed release fertilizer to all be released and in the mix now.
If the mix is heavy and dark, then this may very well be what happened.
Dutch

ContainerTed · February 14, 2016

I don't like the sticks and larger pieces either. So for my intermediate pot-ups, I overlapped two layers of rabbit wire and simply run the whole bag thru it to remove larger pieces. They get thrown into the main garden to finish breaking down.

Like the others above, I look for a bag that is not waterlogged. If, the bag is still too wet, I simply let it dry out by transferring the mix to a burlap bag and set up a fan. Works for me.

KarenO · February 14, 2016

use seedling mix for seedlings.
KarenO

greenthumbomaha · February 15, 2016

Very good point that this may bag have been outdoors and the fertilizer leached out. I meant it is heavy after "I" water it, and I do have a spritzer so its not a heavy hand watering. I have several bags stacked up that I haven't used that are totally dry to use down the road.

Karen O, my usual seed starter is Espoma or Fox Farms. I wasn't clear on that. I used the good stuff I had on hand on peppers and bought a bag of Jiffy Mix for tomatoes. It isn't as bad as I had imagined for ease of use, but nothing like the higher quality products. I also used two brands of coir for starting peppers, one is great and fluffy the other a horror - dense then dries fast .

Craig, I like the Fafard in the green bag, I think its called Professional Mix. The leading private nursery in the area uses it in the greenhouse for everything from seeds to growing plugs, as well as selling it at retail. I'll hold off on the MG until later in the growth cycle. Its actually going to fill the eight gal 5 containers for the dwarf project grow out.

- Lisa

AlittleSalt · February 15, 2016

Lisa,

This year, I'm trying Pennington Pro Potting Mix.

Like MG - it has sticks. Pennington is the darkest mix I've used. When it is wet - it is black. If you squeeze the water out of it - it is black. When you feel it in your hand - it feels very organic - it looks the same way. I wouldn't even think about potting up with this on a surface that I couldn't wash with a water hose afterwards.

Reading the bag, "In Texas, this product is a blend of composted rice hulls, composted pine bark, Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, dolomite limestone, fertilizer and a wetting agent."

I just started using this a few days ago. I keep looking to see if the transplants are doing better or worse and so far, I'm unsure.

My reply sounds uncaring, and that's the least thing I mean for it to sound like. I'll let you know how the Pennington mix works out. (Edit) ^^^ I should have written (I understand you are irritated with the results of using MG) - I'll let you know how the Pennington mix works out.

KarenO · February 15, 2016

Miracle grow makes seedling mix.
I use MG seedling mix for mine. Possible I suppose it's different in Canada but it works well for me.
KO

Father'sDaughter · February 15, 2016

I gave up on Miracle Grow Potting Mix once someone here posted about Wondersoil. It was all I used for both up-potting and in my grow bags last year and worked great, but you must keep up with the fertilizing.

Gerardo · February 15, 2016

I gave up on MG a while back and now use kellogg's raised bed and potting mix as my starting point and it does the job. Although I do screen it and the sticks end up as mulch for my citrus trees.

Seed starter this year has been a hydro mix called Growstone GS-3 (got a sample 9 Liter bag) and its been awesome, all I had to do was remove the bigger aerating chunks. Miko inoculated already and VERY fluffy. With an o/n soak batting averages have been great.

Hope they recover from the MG stagnation.

Labradors2 · February 15, 2016

I hate MG potting soil too. It always seems to have fungus gnat eggs in it - grrrr!

Worth1 · February 15, 2016

Everything that has been said bad about MG potting mix I have not found in the MG Natures Care Raised bed soil I bought and mixed perlite with.
This is by fare some of the best stuff out of a bag I have ever seen.
Almost no sticks to amount to anything and none of them large.
I cant say enough good about it.
I also dont expect any of this stuff to hold enough nutrients to amount to anything.
If you want that get some plant tone and mix in with it.

Worth

Cole_Robbie · February 15, 2016

I bought and mixed perlite with.

I was scrolling to the bottom to suggest mixing perlite with the MG products, lol. You beat me to it.

peebee · February 15, 2016

Hey, isn't that yellow bag soil, not potting mix?? I've used this soil before, but in my garden raised beds to supplement the soil. And yes, it is heavy and full of stuff like sticks, unlike their potting mix which is usually in blue-toned bags. I wouldn't use the soil in pots, only in the ground.
Did you check the name, Lisa?

February 14, 2016	#1
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	I loathe Miracle Grow Potting Mix Beware MG! I scored a deal on MG in the yellow bag and used it for the second potting up of my early tomatoes. The stuff is heavy, holds water, has sticks and has way too much fertilizer for younger seedlings. It's best to wait until they are closer to plant out for such a dense fertile soil. This was done at 4 weeks. Seedlings are now curling and leaves are turning light green and have dark veins. It's not just tomatoes gone bad. My geraniums cuttings all have puckered leaves. Bigger Amaryllis bulbs are loving it. They can't get enough! Anyone have success with this stuff at an early stage or did I get a bad batch? - Lisa

February 14, 2016	#2
PaulF Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Brownville, Ne Posts: 3,284	I have used MG or Schultz or similar for years without a problem. It does have sticks and clods that get taken out when I use it. If there are holes in the bag and it is stored outside it does get heavy. I always make sure I get one that is light so I can put my own amount of water mixed in a tub I use. There has never been a problem with too much fertilizer for me. Be sure not to use the water retention style. I just hope the formula has not been changed. What I have to begin with is last year's batch. I will watch closely. __________________ there's two things money can't buy; true love and home grown tomatoes.

February 14, 2016	#3
nctomatoman Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Hendersonville, NC zone 7 Posts: 10,385	I don't use it until the 8 week point, or the final plant out, and mix it with composted cow manure. I use MetroMix 360 for both my seed starter and transplant material - works great. I've tried Fafard 3b, but there is something different about it - my seedlings don't thrive upon transplant, but take longer to "catch on". __________________ Craig

February 14, 2016	#4
Dutch Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: S.E. Wisconsin Zone 5b Posts: 1,831	Lisa if the stuff is heavy it may gotten wet. Worse yet if was stored outside at the place you got it from, it could have been last years stock and has been wet for a while which may have caused the timed release fertilizer to all be released and in the mix now. If the mix is heavy and dark, then this may very well be what happened. Dutch __________________ "Discretion is the better part of valor" Charles Churchill The intuitive mind is a gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. But we have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. (paraphrased) Albert Einstein I come from a long line of sod busters, spanning back several centuries. Last edited by Dutch; February 14, 2016 at 11:39 PM.

February 14, 2016	#5
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	I don't like the sticks and larger pieces either. So for my intermediate pot-ups, I overlapped two layers of rabbit wire and simply run the whole bag thru it to remove larger pieces. They get thrown into the main garden to finish breaking down. Like the others above, I look for a bag that is not waterlogged. If, the bag is still too wet, I simply let it dry out by transferring the mix to a burlap bag and set up a fan. Works for me. __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

February 14, 2016	#6
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,922	use seedling mix for seedlings. KarenO

February 15, 2016	#7
greenthumbomaha Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Omaha Zone 5 Posts: 2,514	Very good point that this may bag have been outdoors and the fertilizer leached out. I meant it is heavy after "I" water it, and I do have a spritzer so its not a heavy hand watering. I have several bags stacked up that I haven't used that are totally dry to use down the road. Karen O, my usual seed starter is Espoma or Fox Farms. I wasn't clear on that. I used the good stuff I had on hand on peppers and bought a bag of Jiffy Mix for tomatoes. It isn't as bad as I had imagined for ease of use, but nothing like the higher quality products. I also used two brands of coir for starting peppers, one is great and fluffy the other a horror - dense then dries fast . Craig, I like the Fafard in the green bag, I think its called Professional Mix. The leading private nursery in the area uses it in the greenhouse for everything from seeds to growing plugs, as well as selling it at retail. I'll hold off on the MG until later in the growth cycle. Its actually going to fill the eight gal 5 containers for the dwarf project grow out. - Lisa

February 15, 2016	#8
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	Lisa, This year, I'm trying Pennington Pro Potting Mix. Like MG - it has sticks. Pennington is the darkest mix I've used. When it is wet - it is black. If you squeeze the water out of it - it is black. When you feel it in your hand - it feels very organic - it looks the same way. I wouldn't even think about potting up with this on a surface that I couldn't wash with a water hose afterwards. Reading the bag, "In Texas, this product is a blend of composted rice hulls, composted pine bark, Canadian Sphagnum peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, dolomite limestone, fertilizer and a wetting agent." I just started using this a few days ago. I keep looking to see if the transplants are doing better or worse and so far, I'm unsure. My reply sounds uncaring, and that's the least thing I mean for it to sound like. I'll let you know how the Pennington mix works out. (Edit) ^^^ I should have written (I understand you are irritated with the results of using MG) - I'll let you know how the Pennington mix works out. Last edited by AlittleSalt; February 15, 2016 at 09:43 AM.

February 15, 2016	#10
Father'sDaughter Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: MA/NH Border Posts: 4,917	I gave up on Miracle Grow Potting Mix once someone here posted about Wondersoil. It was all I used for both up-potting and in my grow bags last year and worked great, but you must keep up with the fertilizing.

February 15, 2016	#11
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,594	I gave up on MG a while back and now use kellogg's raised bed and potting mix as my starting point and it does the job. Although I do screen it and the sticks end up as mulch for my citrus trees. Seed starter this year has been a hydro mix called Growstone GS-3 (got a sample 9 Liter bag) and its been awesome, all I had to do was remove the bigger aerating chunks. Miko inoculated already and VERY fluffy. With an o/n soak batting averages have been great. Hope they recover from the MG stagnation.

February 15, 2016	#12
Labradors2 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Ontario Posts: 3,887	I hate MG potting soil too. It always seems to have fungus gnat eggs in it - grrrr!

February 15, 2016	#13
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	Everything that has been said bad about MG potting mix I have not found in the MG Natures Care Raised bed soil I bought and mixed perlite with. This is by fare some of the best stuff out of a bag I have ever seen. Almost no sticks to amount to anything and none of them large. I cant say enough good about it. I also dont expect any of this stuff to hold enough nutrients to amount to anything. If you want that get some plant tone and mix in with it. Worth

February 15, 2016	#14
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I bought and mixed perlite with. I was scrolling to the bottom to suggest mixing perlite with the MG products, lol. You beat me to it.

February 15, 2016	#15
peebee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Southern CA Posts: 1,714	Hey, isn't that yellow bag soil, not potting mix?? I've used this soil before, but in my garden raised beds to supplement the soil. And yes, it is heavy and full of stuff like sticks, unlike their potting mix which is usually in blue-toned bags. I wouldn't use the soil in pots, only in the ground. Did you check the name, Lisa?