Hi All.
I would really appreciate opinion on growing soil.
This is available in Australia. Is this is suitable for plants or just plain soil without anything in it.
Its pre-fertilized which isnt ideal from what I have seen.
This is the ozy version of miracle-gro soil which is caused issues for alot of ppl.
I had it kill chilies on me before.
It has a slow release for normal plants so anything fast growing with run in to trouble getting ether too much or too little nutes from the soil and if you want to feed on top you could run into problems of deficiencies, lockouts or over fertilization.
Avoid slow release soils if you can and add your own.
Six months of slow release is along time in canna grow time.
I have never grown canna in pots of dirt so I am no expert on this at all.
> Osmocote® Professional Premium Potting Mix
> Contains ScottsCoir™ for water retention
> Controlled release fertiliser included to feed for 6 months
> Professional grade wetting agent added to assist water penetration and good drainage
> Next generation water crystals added to retain moisture and release it as plants need it
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I’ve never been crazy about any big box brand potting soil, but have seen people make decent grows with them, but you definitely would need to add something like the permit to aid in drainage. Do some searches on building a soil, there is tons of info out there, and see if buying the necessary amendments and pieces are within your budget/skills. The results will be worth it, but each grower has their means or preferences. If stuck on using a bagged soil, look into a quality product like Fox Farms Ocean Forest. It’s really top notch stuff, and will make your grow easier and more productive.
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You don’t want to use dirt from outside in your grow tent, because it probably has lots of bugs and critters in it, plus it’s really dense. But I buy 40 pound bags of topsoil for $1.37, and mix it 50-50 with perlite. Then I add an equal portion (so it’s 1/3rds) of regular potting soil. But NO time release fertilizer, like Iva said!
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Thanks for the info, appreciate very much. It may explain the little problem i accounted.
I will try coir peat and Perlite in my next grow. See how it goes.
Miracle grow soil is notorious for coming with pesty lil bugs as well. Probably included in price tho
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With a mix like this, will work fine, you will be feeding about all the nutes, so keep that in mind. You can mix in composts, guano, worm castings, etc to provide a nutrient base to the soil as well. Many think organic soil growing makes for a tastier smoke, I’m about speed. Give Hydro a quick study if you want fast grows.
Appreciate your advice.
Will change from soil to coir peat.
found something similar that i have switched too once i saw the results, cant get in there right now as its lights out time but will post what i used in this my first grow for you Kryspen28. glad to see fellow oz in here.
The biggest problem people have with Miracle Grow is that they buy it and then let it sit around for weeks or months before they ever get around to using it. You can’t do that or you’re begging for trouble.
I’ve never had an issue with it and I’ve used it for years in all manner of pots and plants. The key though is simply this: don’t bother buying it if you’re not going to use it that week; and once you open it, use it. Don’t even bother trying to save what you don’t use. Just chunk leftovers out in the yard somewhere. The yard will thank you.
Hi @Kryspen28,
The biggest thing here is be wary of starting your seedlings in this. For the first 3 weeks of a seedling’s life, they really need little to no fertilization. A seed actually has everything it needs to get off to a great start, and over fertilizing a young plant can have many adverse side effects on the plant’s ability to get off to a good start.For your seedlings, I’d start off in a seedling starter soil that has mild levels or added nutrients, or even better, no added nutrients at all.
I would consider using the soil mix you are showing for my transplant container, but I’d cut it with 50% organic compost, and when I did start adding liquid fertilizer, I’d dilute to 25% of the manufacturer’s recommended concentration levels and then gradually increase in strength over the next several weeks while paying attention to plant health, specifically leaves.
The 2 problems I find with this type of soil product are that, 1. they are a fine general product, but marijuana is not a general plant - it has specific needs. And 2. using a product like this, you give up a lot of control. How much fertilizer are your plants getting? Too much? If so, not much you can do about it, and over fertilizing is a very frequent problem (kinda like over watering) that can do a lot of harm to well meaning but inexperienced growers (like me ;-)).
Good luck!
PS. I see you also have a bag of perlite. If you are using the Osmocote soil then I wouldn’t use the perlite with it. The Osmocote has ‘water crystals’ in it, which is probably perlite.
PPS. I’ve been having good success with using a soil mixture that is 50% home made organic compost, 50% peat moss, and some perlite mixed in. I’m also mixing in some organic slow release 2-8-4 powdered fertilizer with micro nutrients (Gaia Green). This is working well because the added fertlizer is mild/slow release and is almost impossible to over fertilizer with. The compost has great water retention, worms and micro organisms and readily accessible nitrogen, and the peat makes the soil like and fluffy for good root penetration and air. I’m sure more experienced growers can recommend better soil recipes, but this one has been working very well for me.
that’s the problem buying it from retailers that store it outside in the rain and let every bag get wet.
nothing like that wet earth smell to attract bugs, and start releasing the timed release nutrients
You can purchase fox farm soil. Good soil. Its called ocean forest. But it on ebay. You just need to water no nutrients if youbuse 12 garts to one plant. Really good stuff. And use maxigrow seaweed extract. With mykos … mykos is for indoor and so is the ocean forest. Thats why i use mykos to make the sun bacteria grow fast for out door use
and seaweed extract is all the nutrients the plant will need. all on ebay.
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Wow, so much info, thank you, appreciate very much 
Yeah, the soil pictured in above post is the soil I recommended above. It’s killer stuff.
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does anyone know who delivers gaia green all purpose 4-4-4 and bloom 2-4-8 dry amendments to australia, as amazon sellers i saw did not. ? tk u