In the image below, what you are seeing is plants in three different soil mixtures (although plant #2 has now been transplanted into the same soil plant #3 has been in from the start).
The reason for this was to see if what I had on hand was good enough to grow a high performance set of plants or not - and what I found is clearly that the soil in containers #1 and #2 are no where near as good as what is in planter number 3.
For the record, the soil in #3 is from LOWES and was labeled:
“Sta-Green Flower and Vegetable Garden Soil”
When I went back and actually read the label it said that there was dolomite and a few other things in it, that the fertilizer in it was released by temperature instead of being just plain water soluable (and therefore likely to leach out) and that it was intended to be mixed half and half with your existing soil.
I thought it was just another competitor of miracle grow’s, so I just used it straight, with the results that are obvious in this picture.
Without any further diatribe out of me here you go, take a look:
All three plants are right at the end of their third week from germination, and with any damn luck at all maybe plant #2 will recover now that it is in better dirt…
- I doubt it, but I have my fingers crossed
3 Likes
I actually have used that soil it grows just fine
I use it my veggie garden as well
I would add more perilite and also as vermiculite to the mix so soil drains better but you can use it
The nutrients in the soil won’t be best for flower so you’ll probably want to supplement that when the time comes 
I grow in Promix BX now tho
@FrikkinFrank
4 Likes
I haven’t run across “PROMIX BX” so far, but if I do I’llgo with it. At the start of the coming month I’ll be sending for a Hygrometer, PH meter, a humidifier controller, and some other things as well as more bags of that soil from above (they have lots of it at a local store).
I’ll also grab some five gallon containers or buckets that will fit better in the tub I use as the grow room.
One thing I am NOT going to do is post a grow journal until I have all of the stuff I need to do the thing right, including nutrients for the different stages including minerals like copper, sulfur, and so on.
I DO think that the very best water to use is natures own - and I used to have to collect rain water for a collection of carniverous plants I had a long time ago, it isn’t hard to do at all.
Anyway, after november the 1st I should have all the rest of the things I need and want either here, or on the way TO here
~Dutch
PS: Instead of either Perlite of Vermiculite I like to mix Hardwood Bark Mulch into the soil. I have heard bad things about carcinogenic materials used to make perlite and the other - so shredded HBM is my personal preference not only to help drainage but to add slow release nutrients and help create air pockets & such. Like Peat moss HBM also holds water like a sponge, but the extra nutrients in it are a serious PLUS 
Just make damned sure of two things when you go look for it in a store:
