MG organic soil vs. Scott's Premium Top Soil

Oh I totally agree that both soils are fine in a sense that a plant can be grown in them. I just don’t have the knowledge or ability to counteract any problems I might encounter effectively. In my haste I forgot to think about the repercussions of using soil with a high PH and even though I asked what was neutral in the store, I still feel a safer more genuinely organic product will yield better results. I mean after all, these are my babies and I want the very best for them, before I mutilate and smoke them, lol. Overall, I'd say my unease about MG products is widely caused by what I have been reading on the Internet. While knowledgeable gentlemen such as yourself seem to tell me that they are typically fine products to use for growing, I cant ignore the overwhelming majority of people that seem to be having a rough time with these products. I really wanted something fool proof as far as growing marijuana goes, that’s why I picked feminized auto flowering seeds, and now that they are germinating I cant help but think I may possibly fuck this all up just to end up with a smashed dream and some useless potting soil. So I figured people at the Hydroponics store would be able to help me out tomorrow with everything I need. Thank you for you advice though, I cannot stress how helpful it has been. Growone, where about in NY are you? I'm from L.I. myself but I am away at college right now.

sonar said:

Well it looks like you got the soil situation straightened out. I was going to say try Pro-Mix. It's peat based and ph adjusted and doesn't contain any added nutes so it's perfect for seedlings. I actually use it for the entire grow. I just said this in another thread that Pro-Mix can be purchased at any Ace Hardware. I'm pretty sure they are a national chain. The manager at the one nearby told me he could get it for me any time of year too within 2-3 days. The item numbers are 7136385 for the big 3.8 cu ft compressed bale for around $35 (breaks down to about 7 cu ft) and item number 7008634 for the small 1 cu ft bag for around $5. In my opinion you can't beat it. It's completely inert so you can add worm casting or guano or whatever you are into or just liquid feed.

By the way, you are going to love Easy Ryder (Low Ryder #2 x Auto AK-47). It doesn't need a lot of nutes so be CAREFUL. I can't stress that enough. Even in promix, I didn't use any ferts for 3 weeks and even then only 1/2 strength with a grow formula. By the time they were ready for the next feeding, they were already in flower and I fed once a week. Be prepared for them to go 10 weeks from seed though. Check out my sig. I did them outdoors but it should give you an idea. Good luck man. I'm by no means an expert, but hit me up if you have any questions about the strain.

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yeah man, i figured that a safer choice in growing medium would be a lot easier on the plants/seedling. So you say you've grown this strain before? id be interested in talkin with you about a few things if you wouldn't mind. Mainly if the lighting i have chosen will be enough for two of these plants, what i can expect yield wise, how it smokes, and nutrient questions like you have addressed. I think i found my new best friend, lol.

Uncola7 said:

Oh I totally agree that both soils are fine in a sense that a plant can be grown in them. I just don’t have the knowledge or ability to counteract any problems I might encounter effectively. In my haste I forgot to think about the repercussions of using soil with a high PH and even though I asked what was neutral in the store, I still feel a safer more genuinely organic product will yield better results. I mean after all, these are my babies and I want the very best for them, before I mutilate and smoke them, lol. Overall, I'd say my unease about MG products is widely caused by what I have been reading on the Internet. While knowledgeable gentlemen such as yourself seem to tell me that they are typically fine products to use for growing, I cant ignore the overwhelming majority of people that seem to be having a rough time with these products. I really wanted something fool proof as far as growing marijuana goes, that’s why I picked feminized auto flowering seeds, and now that they are germinating I cant help but think I may possibly fuck this all up just to end up with a smashed dream and some useless potting soil. So I figured people at the Hydroponics store would be able to help me out tomorrow with everything I need. Thank you for you advice though, I cannot stress how helpful it has been. Growone, where about in NY are you? I'm from L.I. myself but I am away at college right now.

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glad to have helped, good luck with your grow
i'll qualify the good feelings about MG products, some of them aren't good for cannabis in general
some do grow with the MG Potting(the non organic type) and MG Moisture Control
these are the soils that you probably associate with the negative MG press, very different products from the Garden soil
location wise lets say i'm upstate where the trees grow green and tall
but more of an inside grower these days, just easier and supplies my modest needs

i hear you man, thats what im planning on doing too. i think im actually gonna go to ace hardware tomorrow to check out this pro-mix i that sonar has used. I think i might get some better results with something neutral like that. thanks again for your advice though, maybe after i get this grow under my belt, i'll attempt to grow my freebie seed in some MG in your honor and maybe send some bud upstate to you. lol

I used MG soil for starting seeds without much of a problem. Just don't overwater and you should be ok. Actually, when I used it, I was only using small cups so it didn't take much effort to sift through it a little bit and pick out those little round nutrient pellets. As for MG ph, I don't know I never tested it.

BTW if you put your seeds in the wet paper towel yesterday afternoon I'd check them ASAP. Mine cracked in about a day.

Tell us more about your light setup and grow room. Pics are always helpful too.

sonar said:

I used MG soil for starting seeds without much of a problem. Just don't overwater and you should be ok. Actually, when I used it, I was only using small cups so it didn't take much effort to sift through it a little bit and pick out those little round nutrient pellets. As for MG ph, I don't know I never tested it.

BTW if you put your seeds in the wet paper towel yesterday afternoon I'd check them ASAP. Mine cracked in about a day.

Tell us more about your light setup and grow room. Pics are always helpful too.

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So i can start my seeds in a two solo cups full of MG after it splits? but not during the actual life cycle of the plant? i thought MG was a bad idea because of all the fungus, bugs and nutrient issues. i would rather stay away from the stuff if its no good. But if you say you've used it to start seeds than maybe i'll give it a try. Again, i bought the MG organic potting soil. Quick question, How often should i water a see after its planted? And my seeds haven't cracked yet i put them in the moist paper towels around 1pm on 10/17. I was intending on using a 2 foot t-8 light fixture for lighting but i did not realize it was the kind that has no power cord. i guess i bought the type of fixture that is intended to go into a ceiling. Oops, lol. but i have a three 11-watt 6500k cfl bulbs that i was intending to use as extra light.

As for a grow room, i was going to put the plant and light set in a corner of my room and box it in with one of those Mylar windshield reflectors. I know i should have had this all prepped and ready to go but i jumped the gun a little out of excitement. I guess this is why i cant have nice things, lol. But I'm waking up in a few hours to take a trip to ace hardware to get some pro-mix possibly. I might browse around there to see if there is another light that can fit the bulbs for the t-8 light fixture i bought.

so thats where im at right now, hopefully tomorrow i get some soil, a better light source and plant these bad boys to start this process. Reading Sonar's journal and looking at the end result has got me geared up again. more updates tomorrow, thanks guys for all the help.

Its a lose lose situation in my opinion.

Add 20-25% perlite to either of those soils, and they'll work great. If you do run into problems, they'll have been caused by you, not the soil.

Hey guys,

so I just came back from the store and all I have to say is, Ace Hardware is the SHIT! Lol. Seriously though, they have an awesome selection of materials that I couldn't even find in the Home Depots or Lowes by me. So Sonar will be happy to hear that I bought the last 2 bags of Pro-Mix Potting and Seeding. I also bought these little organic seed starter pots and some new lighting. I bought one of those fluorescent tube fixtures that actually has a power cord this time, lol. It’s a t-8 lighting fixture that takes 2 38watt bulbs. I bought bulbs for this too. They are 40watt t-12 fluorescent tubes. Their color temp is 6500k and they emit 3050 lumens apiece.

I’m pretty excited now as I have proper materials to start. Got to go to class, then I will come back, check the seeds and if they are ready, I’ll plant them today in the starter pots.

Good score.
When you plant your seeds, they wont need much light for a few days. If you provide bottom heat they'll get a good start. Maybe put them on top of the fridge or a cheap heating pad.
You do know Promix has no nutrients in it right? Although that's good seedling soil for a week or two, you'll need liquid nutes in about 20 days.
Fred

Yeah Ace is awesome man. They always have good specials and are good if you have to return something. Hell, I bet they are probably practically giving the garden supply stuff away this time of year, haha. Those lights will work great for the first 2-3 weeks man. I dunno if it was a typo but you said you bought a T8 fixture that takes two 38w bulbs, but then you said you bought 2 40w T12 bulbs. T12 bulbs won't fit in the T8 fixture. What kind of seed starter pots are you talking about? The Jiffy pellets that expand when you wet them or the peat pots that you can directly transplant? I use to use those peat pots, but I stopped using them because they say you can transplant them pot and all, but my roots were having a hard time breaking through the sides of the pot. They were losing a lot of water too in the summer with a fan on since the sides get saturated. I'm not trying to micro manage your grow or nothing, but like the solo cups the best personally. Some people swear by the pellets that expand but I don't really care for them.

Yeah what kind of nutes are you using man? With the promix you are going to have to lightly feed after 2-3 weeks like fred said.

Just a quick tidbit, the numbers like T5, T8, T12, etc when pertaining to fluoro tubes is the diameter in 1/8th of and inch increments. So, a T8 is 8/8ths (1 inch), T5 is 5/8th of an inch, T12, 12/8th (1 1/2 inch) diameter.

sonar said:

Yeah Ace is awesome man. They always have good specials and are good if you have to return something. Hell, I bet they are probably practically giving the garden supply stuff away this time of year, haha. Those lights will work great for the first 2-3 weeks man. I dunno if it was a typo but you said you bought a T8 fixture that takes two 38w bulbs, but then you said you bought 2 40w T12 bulbs. T12 bulbs won't fit in the T8 fixture. What kind of seed starter pots are you talking about? The Jiffy pellets that expand when you wet them or the peat pots that you can directly transplant? I use to use those peat pots, but I stopped using them because they say you can transplant them pot and all, but my roots were having a hard time breaking through the sides of the pot. They were losing a lot of water too in the summer with a fan on since the sides get saturated. I'm not trying to micro manage your grow or nothing, but like the solo cups the best personally. Some people swear by the pellets that expand but I don't really care for them.

Yeah what kind of nutes are you using man? With the promix you are going to have to lightly feed after 2-3 weeks like fred said.

Just a quick tidbit, the numbers like T5, T8, T12, etc when pertaining to fluoro tubes is the diameter in 1/8th of and inch increments. So, a T8 is 8/8ths (1 inch), T5 is 5/8th of an inch, T12, 12/8th (1 1/2 inch) diameter.

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Ok first thing is first. I did not buy the right watt or size bulbs this morning cuz i was really tire from not sleeping too well but i returned the fixture and got one that is 40watts and takes t12 bulbs. Im still using the same bulbs i bought before (the 40watt 6500k t12s, they put out like 3050 lumens apiece). I know i will have to add nutrients but i am perfectly fine with that. My main concern was that the soil i picked would be too nutrient heavy or just have a whole mess of problems like the MG... I bought some 6" fiber seed starting pots but now that you've mentioned the roots cant break through, i think im gonna just use a solo cup. And finally my grow room is set up. Finally, lol. I went out to Home Depot and bought reflective insulation and covered an old piece of furniture, and mounted the light. I checked the seeds twice today, still not cracked yet but im ready to go when they split. I was planning on using a FF nutrient set that i found online for like 40 bucks, but i was also considering using the ferts you used just because i know they will work.

But anyways here are some pics of my set up, very Do-it-yourself, but i think it has some character to it. lol

seeds are split, almost there baby. Sonar, you said you plant your seeds before the root comes out? Should i put them in now and put them in my little set up?

So how's the grow going man?