new soil

I got a ride up to walmart today. i bought a 10 dry quart bag of miracle gro potting mix. it feeds plants up to 3 months, it also contains perlite

its potting mix is .21 - .07 - .14

I am almost positive I was supposed to get something nuetral, but I looked at all of the soils, narrow selection, definitly for small 10 quart bags. Everything I looked at had the same sort of ingredients... so I just got this. I am not sure if it is nuetral or not, or how I could tell it was nuetral.

Is this what I need?

I am about to plant 2 freshly germinated seeds in a 2 liter, 8 inch deep, holes in the bottom, and under 2 26 watt cfls, with coke can reflectors. I dont have a thermometer or a ph tester or anything. the room is warm though, and feels humid, ive left water in there with a towel dipped in it, and I can definitly feel the difference.

How is this gonna work out? before I was using back yard soil... so I think this is a step up.

Yes this is a step up. Good use of coke cans. Using your head. Check this out:

https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/1326-101-already-asked-questions.html

I actually did the can thing after reading the tutorial you posted in another thread, to make cfl reflectors, they turned out great.

^^hey, i start to like this one, he reads first you gone do good on your project since you got the brains buddy

i would get a ph meter for soil and test mcgrow soil before using it, i hear some types of it start out with a ph of 5.5, which is undesirable in soil.

i wish I would have thought to get one while I was at the store, it will be a week atleast before I can go back. I will test the soil on the next pot though. If the ph is too low [acidic I think it is] do I add water with a higher ph [base]?

Another question I have is, so put the soil in the pot and then water and wait for it to drain, then put the germinated seeds in the soil 1/2" down and cover it with plastic wrap? to keep moisture from escaping, and then wait? I am planning on leaving it under the lights anyways since it uses almost no electricity and it will keep the room warm-er... since it is a closet that is normally much cooler than room temp, about 75 degrees right now, and with the lights on im guessing the grow rooms about 85 at most... when something actually comes up from the soil, I have a about 10" wide circular fan I can use to vent...

That will work for now.

yes, to raise the ph you will want to water with a more basic water. i would flush it with 7.0, it will probobly turn out 6.5-7.0 this way, if it is acidic, 6.5 is optimal.

alright cool, thanks.

Another question, when you water the soil the first time how wet should it get, and when should you stop watering? I read the articles on watering in 101 but they didnt mention watering the soil the first time.

Brokenhope420 said:

alright cool, thanks.

Another question, when you water the soil the first time how wet should it get, and when should you stop watering? I read the articles on watering in 101 but they didnt mention watering the soil the first time.

Click to expand...

Firstly, I wouldn't worry too much about ph testing your soil, I find it hard to beleive any branded, quality soil would have a ph of 5.5 - nearly all are between 6.5-7.0, which is fine for growing these plants in. Secondly, soil buffers ph to a large extent, that is the micro organisms that exist and live within the soil buffer extremes of alkalinity and acididty ensuring the ph value doesn't move out of the required range. Growing in soil is NOT the same as growing in hydroponics where the water ph does not have the buffering affects of soil and can be critical to the uptake of nutrients.

You can cause more harm than good by applying acids to alter the ph value of your soil, which if applied over a long period of time can cause toxic salt buildups in the soil which will cause nutrient lockout. Leave the soil ph alone and let the plants grow naturally - we don't water our household potted plants with ph adjusted soil and water do we and they seem to grow quite happily.

You should be far more concerned about your irrigation water quality in terms of its hardness, softness and alkalinity and acidity and electrical conductivity - how many suspended solids exist within the water, than of soil ph.

Regarding watering for the first time the general rule is - less is more. These plants all come from fairly dry and arid climates - they do not like living in wet saturated soil for long periods of time. Understanding how to water your plant properly using the wet/dry cycle is one of the most important things you need to understand.

Fill your plant pot with dry soil, make sure you fluff up the soil first from it's compressed state in the bag and remove/breakup any large particles, this helps to 'aerate' the soil and improves drainage. Don't compress the soil into the pot, gently pour it in and lift the pot a couple of inches and drop it, this helps to settle the soil without compressing it.

Feel the weight of the dry soil pot, weigh it if you need to because this will become your 'dry weight' reference point. Get yourself a small watering can with a 'sprinkler' rose on the end, the sprinkles of water help to 'aerate' the soil as you water and pushes out old stale oxygen and replaces it with fresh. Mix up cold tap water with boiled water to create a 'tepid' temperature of the water - it should not be too hot. Do not use hot water from the hot water tap as this can contain unsterilised matter.

Place the pot in a bowl and use your watering can to fully saturate the soil, allow about 30-50% run off out the bottom - let the pot stand in the bowl and water for about 30 mins and then give it another watering and allow it to stand for another 30 mins. Now feel the weight of the pot - weigh it if you need to - this now becomes your reference point for a fully watered pot. When the pot weight goes back to it's dry weight - that's when you need to water it again.

The soil should now be fully saturated - make a little hole in the surface about 1/4 inch deep and plant your seeds taproot down. Cover over with soil and then cover with clingfilm and place in a warm dark place - within 24-48 hours the seed should pop the surface.

thanks for the reply.

to water with I use day old evaporated, mixing hot and cold is too much work for me... im too lazy.

when I put the soil into the pot I actually might have messed up, I put it all in, but when I finished I packed it down about an inch, it was 7" and I packed it to about 6"... it had previously not been packed at all, I just put handfuls of soil into it. It was still airy, and it was just a light pat down on the soil to compress it.

I then watered it once, out of a glass, I poured about half a cup and it watered about the top 3", then I came back maybe 30 min later, and watered again and checked on it later, it had started to drain. the soil at the top felt considerably wet though... but I planted the germinated seeds anyways. I covered it with plastic wrap, and put it under cfls...

I read the cfls arent needed but they cant hurt...


also, I am planning to grow this using LST. is that a good idea for a first time grower? I am really hoping to keep the plant under 1' 6", I can make more room if I wanted, but it wouldnt be as discreet.