A test in progress.... Miracle Grow soil vs. Fox Farms soil. Is MG really that bad?

[Serapis]

I have started to blame MG for my troubles but dont know if thats it. I am using MG organic with 25% perlite.

First grow the seed popped and I stuck it in the soil. What I believe was probably too deep. When it didnt surface I was going to help it and in doing so I knocked off the shell of the seed. Then I waited another day and a half and killed the whole thing.

Second seed popped and I stuck it in the soil and promised not to touch it. I mist the soil everyday and it still hasnt come through after about 5 days.

Third seed just popped and am thinking about starting it in 1/3 perlite. 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 MG organic and see if that is any better. I am getting frustrated at buying all these seeds and cant get them past germination.

End your frustration.... You are trying to hard and fucking the process up. First off, get an organic seed starter mix. The bag should be very light. I use Solo cups, 9 oz. scoop some seed starter in it and gently tap the cup on a hard surface to settle soil. Water until it runs out the bottom. (you punched holes in the cup, right? ) tap cup again. Take an unmolested seed and gently plant it about 1/4" below surface. cover cups with Glad ovenware tray or some other light blocking device that will also seal tops and retain moisture. check every 12 hours after 2 days. Mist tops of cups and recover until germination occurs. I am nearly 100% with this method. No silly paper towels or drowning of seeds required.

 

[Bud Freak]

Looking forward to your results, Jawbrodt!

 

[sideshow1]

End your frustration.... You are trying to hard and fucking the process up. First off, get an organic seed starter mix. The bag should be very light. I use Solo cups, 9 oz. scoop some seed starter in it and gently tap the cup on a hard surface to settle soil. Water until it runs out the bottom. (you punched holes in the cup, right? ) tap cup again. Take an unmolested seed and gently plant it about 1/4" below surface. cover cups with Glad ovenware tray or some other light blocking device that will also seal tops and retain moisture. check every 12 hours after 2 days. Mist tops of cups and recover until germination occurs. I am nearly 100% with this method. No silly paper towels or drowning of seeds required.

Thanks. I will have to try this. germination was never the problem. It's the next step after the germination that has me grasping at air. But I will try this method to help me.

 

[stillgamble]

Thanks. I will have to try this. germination was never the problem. It's the next step after the germination that has me grasping at air. But I will try this method to help me.

im goin to try this also i was goin to try the paper towel wat but this seems easy this way

 

[reggaerican]

im goin to try this also i was goin to try the paper towel wat but this seems easy this way

i know this is off the subject but beautiful avatar stillgamble..

 

[HowzerMD]

Here Duce and his last set of kids!! His female is str8 blue. View attachment 1199892View attachment 1199898View attachment 1199895

My god that's a beautiful pitt..

 

[HowzerMD]

†LHFAO† that is so fucking true its funny, I'm in san antonio now, but lived mostly in houston, harris county, and in a state known for executions, we had the highest rate, so much so we were back logged by a couple of months due to restrictions on how many can be executed in a given time frame. The one that stuck out was years ago, the first women executed in america by death row, goverments and corps from all over the world were threatening tx (some companies saying if we did it, they may not want to do business in tx, etc) Did they skip a beat? Hell no, her time came up they flipped the switch without blinking, and the only words that came out of there mouth when it was over was "who's next?" For years, hell probably still, much of the rest of the world thinks of Texans as straight barbaric...I shouldn't have laughed, but she had axed to death some dudes wife, and he was still alive when they did it, did not look remorseful in the least, on the contrary, he looked satisfied. I guess as a husband I relate to that, because had it been my wife, I damn sure wouldn't have shed a tear when they flipped that switch...

Texans sure do like their BBQ

 

[reggaerican]

My god that's a beautiful pitt..

duce here like from south central..

Thanks rayray! haha you seen that movie?

so how much did your friend get for them pups? mine were going for around 4-500 first litter and then the second my friend was so tired of them things he was giving them away..

 

[jawbrodt]

I use MG Organic Choice and my plants love it. I amend with worm castings and about 20% Perlite. I start my seeds in an organic seed starter mix in 9 oz Solo cups. After about 2 weeks, the seedlings lower leaves start to yellow and I transplant into MG. At that point, the yellowing disappears and the plants turn a luscious shade of green and the growth is phenomenal. MG does not burn plants, people do. For all of veg, all I add is FF Big Bloom and Cal-Mag. I would try FF soil but the price and the rarity of it here where I live make MG the best choice. Those that bash it either have never used it or they messed up somewhere. I top dress with a little lime, but only to stabilize PH. It's an awesome experience to pour 7.0 PH water into a pot and have it come out at 7.0 in the run off.

Hey Serapis, you're another that top-dresses with lime? I picked up that habit, about a year ago, when I had an emergency PH problem, and have been doing it, ever since. I used to mix it in with my soil, in the very beginning, but had some problems with adding a little too much, or getting hotspots, and the little ones didn't like it. Top-dressing, works great. I usually do it at about week 5-6, then don't worry about PH again. Just did my biggest ones, a couple days ago. About the runoff PH,.... I'm another who want the runoff to be the same as what I pour in. Some guys say it's meaningless, but, that just doesn't make much sense to me. If you're pouring in 6.9, and it's coming out 5.3, there's something in there bring it waaaaay down, and it has to be less than 5.3, which to me, is very unsettling. Grr.... Yeah, maybe it could be left alone, for many happy harvests, but, it drives me crazy, and need to be fixed.lol Lime will be part of my routine, for a loooong time. I use the pellet-type, tilling it into the soil, and it works really well.

I haven't started top-dressing with castings, not yet, but I plan to. I've been using it rather sparingly, since the switch to FF earlier this year, until I got a 'feel' for the soil. I've found it to be about the same potency as MG soil, and will be using castings with it, next time I hit the hydro shop. I'm thinking that'll help them carry through the bloom stretch, with minimal risk of over/under N. Cool.

 

[reggaerican]

your right on with the runnoff, how else can you be sure you are flushing all the crap out if you dont..

 

[MoneyCount]

duce here like from south central..

Thanks rayray! haha you seen that movie?

so how much did your friend get for them pups? mine were going for around 4-500 first litter and then the second my friend was so tired of them things he was giving them away..

Thanks Howzer. He was givin um up $350 female/$300 male with papers and for those who couldnt afford that....$200 F/ $150 M without the papers. Funny you say south central....we're 65 miles from there!!

 

[Serapis]

Hey Serapis, you're another that top-dresses with lime? I picked up that habit, about a year ago, when I had an emergency PH problem, and have been doing it, ever since. I used to mix it in with my soil, in the very beginning, but had some problems with adding a little too much, or getting hotspots, and the little ones didn't like it. Top-dressing, works great. I usually do it at about week 5-6, then don't worry about PH again. Just did my biggest ones, a couple days ago. About the runoff PH,.... I'm another who want the runoff to be the same as what I pour in. Some guys say it's meaningless, but, that just doesn't make much sense to me. If you're pouring in 6.9, and it's coming out 5.3, there's something in there bring it waaaaay down, and it has to be less than 5.3, which to me, is very unsettling. Grr.... Yeah, maybe it could be left alone, for many happy harvests, but, it drives me crazy, and need to be fixed.lol Lime will be part of my routine, for a loooong time. I use the pellet-type, tilling it into the soil, and it works really well.

I haven't started top-dressing with castings, not yet, but I plan to. I've been using it rather sparingly, since the switch to FF earlier this year, until I got a 'feel' for the soil. I've found it to be about the same potency as MG soil, and will be using castings with it, next time I hit the hydro shop. I'm thinking that'll help them carry through the bloom stretch, with minimal risk of over/under N. Cool.

I'm with you 100% I feel like I've done good if the run off is the same as what I pour in. The only way I have been able to accomplish is top dressing with lime, pelleted at about week 5-6, like you. After about a week, my PH is stable.

I top dress with casting at about the same time. For the first 4 - 5 weeks in MG, I add nothing but Big Bloom every other watering, maybe SuperThrive as well. Except for maybe a few feedings in middle of flowering, I don't even need Grow Big with MG soil.

 

[reggaerican]

good times! i like living close to big city life..

my freind must be ass backwards he was selling males for more.. but these wannabe thugs out here dont know nothing about breading they just wanted a mean looking male..

i also had a beautiful blue fawn female that i was going to bread when she came of age.. but when she went into heat my male flipped out and started digging and chewing on the fence untill they got out.. i never saw her again..

 

[reggaerican]

I'm with you 100% I feel like I've done good if the run off is the same as what I pour in. The only way I have been able to accomplish is top dressing with lime, pelleted at about week 5-6, like you. After about a week, my PH is stable.

I top dress with casting at about the same time. For the first 4 - 5 weeks in MG, I add nothing but Big Bloom every other watering, maybe SuperThrive as well. Except for maybe a few feedings in middle of flowering, I don't even need Grow Big with MG soil.

can you guys please explain top dreassing? i think i get what you are doing but want to be sure..

 

[Serapis]

Sure, I just take a plastic fork and loosely break up soil, then I sprinkle about 2 tsp per gallon of soil over the top and water in. Since it is pelleted, a little is released each time I water or feed. The lime will help stabilize the PH of acidic soil.

 

[reggaerican]

that makes alot of sence to do that method. its only work one time and brob will totally help.. i have heard alot of people that dont use any ph or addatives in soil.. myself included, i just put together a good soil mix and water.. but i will try this next outdoor season about half way thru flower

 

[QuantumChronic]

I have started to blame MG for my troubles but dont know if thats it. I am using MG organic with 25% perlite.

First grow the seed popped and I stuck it in the soil. What I believe was probably too deep. When it didnt surface I was going to help it and in doing so I knocked off the shell of the seed. Then I waited another day and a half and killed the whole thing.

Second seed popped and I stuck it in the soil and promised not to touch it. I mist the soil everyday and it still hasnt come through after about 5 days.

Third seed just popped and am thinking about starting it in 1/3 perlite. 1/3 vermiculite and 1/3 MG organic and see if that is any better. I am getting frustrated at buying all these seeds and cant get them past germination.

I put my seed in a glass cup and put them in a dark warm place come back 36-48 hours later and they have a nice long tail coming out of them. I've done this twice, I'm a noobie @ growing, and all seed have germinated and been successful once I tansplant in to MG potting soil.

 

[RavenMochi]

I put the seeds in a wet paper towel for what normally comes out to 24 hrs when it first starts to pop I plant it, but thats just because I'm an impatient bastard, and I don't want to wait till it breaks soil to know that the seed germinated...

 

[reggaerican]

there are so many good ways to germinate a seed.. first a scratch the heck out of my seeds, then i put in a wet paper towel in a sealed and blown full of air zipp lock bag..

 

[jawbrodt]

^QuantumChronic, I'm prtty sure you're right, that you are burying them too deep. Next time, place them barely below the surface, then sprinkle enough soil on top, just enough so that you can't see the seed anymore. That's plenty deep. If you want to add a little more soil around it after it sprouts above the soil, you can. But, it'll sprout, which is the most important thing, right? Hit it with light, as soon as it opens up and it won't stretch, become weak, and fall over. Many guys wait too long, and end up propping up their seedlings with toothpicks, and such.lol That's not necessary, if you give 'em enough light, whether there's a fan blowing, or not.