cranker
Legal Moderator, Esq.
This is what I use for gnats. I have a few and a few pitcher plants in the ole' grow room.
[video=youtube;cZ7Fws1HaL0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7Fws1HaL0[/video]
Miracle Grow Love It Or Hate It?
- Thread starter dannyboy602
- Start date
[video=youtube;cZ7Fws1HaL0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ7Fws1HaL0[/video]
horribleherk
Well-Known Member
my current grow is in 3 gal pots with mg- moisture control m/g i vegged 3 wks & then started 1/4 strength gh-floranova transition schedule once a week here is the results so far i prefer it to ffof soil
cranker
Legal Moderator, Esq.
Yeah that's the mix I use, if you look back a few I mix in MG Perlite and MG organic bonemeal to kinda lower the N levels and then get a little more flexability with my nutes.
edsweed
Well-Known Member
and with that information it should be easy to find out who you are then....
asafan69
Well-Known Member
I really believe the size of the pot you grow in has an effect. For instance, in my first grow I used a 3 gal pot for the whole grow, vegg and flower and I got a decent yield, but this time I took clones and once they rooted, I transferred them into a 1 quart pot and let it establish. Once the were well rooted, I put them straight into 3 gal pots and went immediately to flowering, and I have noticed the buds are double the size of what they normally would be at the stage they are at.
cranker
Legal Moderator, Esq.
Yeah, you use too big of a pot to begin with and the roots don't grow as well, and don't transport nutes as well. You want the roots to branch out, but not go too far away or too shallow. My usual method is party cup-> 2L pot -> 3 or 5 gallon
dannyboy602
Well-Known Member
Here is some very redundant and obvious information about growing in small pots vs growing in larger ones. I posted it in Newbies so they could grasp how root run affects top growth. I thought it was a good idea even though I got some flack on it....can't please everybody
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/463517-sometimes-bigger-really-better.html
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/463517-sometimes-bigger-really-better.html
cranker
Legal Moderator, Esq.
It's good stuff and it has magnesium in it
The Weedster
Active Member
I love miracle grow myself..... I dont mean to interupt anything but I have a new post on the marijuana growing page I need yall to see about fungus gnats and tell me if I got the right stuff or not ??? Thanx guys, sorry to interupt once again...
cranker
Legal Moderator, Esq.
Yeah my MG guide I've gotten TONS of feedback both positive and negative on. A lot of people really like it, some people send me pm's saying MG is shit and listing their reasons. I just shrug off the bad stuff unless they make a point, in that case I look into it and put it into the final project. I'm surprised how many of the really good growers on here actually went from early on shit talking it and now after a half dozen or so grows just use it because they learned that they blamed the medium instead of over feeding over watering ect .Here is some very redundant and obvious information about growing in small pots vs growing in larger ones. I posted it in Newbies so they could grasp how root run affects top growth. I thought it was a good idea even though I got some flack on it....can't please everybody
https://www.rollitup.org/newbie-central/463517-sometimes-bigger-really-better.html
smokeyj420
Well-Known Member
Ok, since I am extremely tight on money I have come up eith this plan for my next grow. Start the seeds in small plastic cups with MG Seed Starting Potting Soil. Then I will transplant into MG Organic Choice Potting Soil. I have looked at HD, Lowes, an WalMart and none of them have rock wool cubes or anything to start the seeds in so I hope the MG Seed Starting mix is good. We do not have any gardening stores here so whatever I can find at those 3 stores will have to work. Has anyone used the seed starting mix by MG and is there anything I should add to it or just use it right out of the bag.
Jogro
Well-Known Member
I'm reposting this from my earlier post from the "Miracle Gro works" thread, with a few minor tweaks.
Do I love it or hate it? Well . . .see below. . .there is more than one kind of "Miracle Gro" and you can't lump them all together. In my experience, the soluble fertilizer does do what its supposed to do, and bang-for-buck there is actually pretty high. The Miracle Gro potting soil can certainly work, but I think there are much better mixes out there, and given the choice, I'd usually pick something else.
Cannabis is a common flowering (ie "weed") plant that thrives in temperate climates all across the planet. Its not some exotic tropical plant requiring special nutrients or conditions to grow. All it needs to thrive are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, plus trace elements, the same as just about every other common flowering plant on the planet. Synthetic commercial fertilizers containing nitrates and trace elements (yes. . .like Miracle Gro) are used to feed all sorts commercially grown plant products, including tobacco, which, last time I checked, is also smoked.
Yes, some formulations are going to work better than others for given applications, and I don't think anyone is claiming that Miracle-Gro is hands-down the best product out there for cannabis growth.
This idea that marijuana requires some super-duper special/secret fertilizer to thrive is just nonsense. It defies basic plant biology, common sense, and most people's experience in growing, I think. The plant doesn't care or know what the source is of the elements it takes in, it just has needs that have to be met for optimum growth. They can be met in different ways, and everyone has their own personal formula that they like for different reasons, including personal style and superstition. What Miracle Gro has going for it is that its readily available and inexpensive, and those are pretty useful features!
Can Miracle-Gro work? Not only can it work, it works GREAT. . IF you use it correctly and understand its limitations. I've seen it used many times with considerable increase in both plant vigor and size.
To use it, first of all you have to pick the right product designed for your particular application. Right now, there are more than a dozen different products branded as "Miracle-Gro", including soluble fertilizers you add to water, slow-release fertilizers, and Miracle-Gro branded soil, and obviously they don't all work the same. Just saying "Miracle Gro is great" (or terrible, etc) isn't really all that informative; you have to be a little more specific.
For the casual cannabis grower, who simply wants a fertilizer to add in regular waterings, that could be "all purpose" Miracle-Gro for vegetative growth, and high phosphorus "Bloom buster" for flowering. Other Miracle-gro branded products could work too, again, depending on what exactly you're trying to accomplish (eg outdoor vs indoor, etc). As mentioned above, Miracle-Gro soil mixes already contain added nutrients, so if you use one, you probably shouldn't add more until they're depleted.
Next, as with any chemical fertilizer, you have to use it as directed. With any soluble fertilizer (not just MG) its very easy to mix up fertilizer that's too strong, or to use it too often, and these are common mistakes of new growers. A teaspoon isn't a tablespoon, and "a little good" does NOT equal "a lot better!". As a general rule of thumb, seedlings don't need any fertilizer, and young plants usually need less than normal strength. Once your plant is in good growth mode, you can typically get away with fertilizing only once per week at normal strength. If you want to fertilize more often (say every time you water) then you have to use less than normal strength, or you can damage the plants. If you are fertilizing heavily, then every once in a while (say once per month) a flush with lots of water is good to remove any possible built up fertilizer salts from your soil. And of course you may wish to flush with water 1-2 weeks before harvest, to ensure that there are no residual traces of fertilizer lingering to shade the taste of your harvested plants.
If your leaves are turning way dark green, you've got plenty of nitrogen and can probably back off the fertilizer. If your leaf tips are turning brown, now you've got WAY too much fertilizer and have leaf burn. Flush with water and back off the fertilizer.
Last caveat is that while Miracle Gro actually does have good trace element content, depending on your strain, soil, and other growing conditions, you *might* benefit from some additional mineral supplementation like added magnesium (eg epsom salts) or calcium (eg lime).
Do these things, and I think you can have as good results with Miracle Gro, as with any other commonly available fertilizer.
Do I love it or hate it? Well . . .see below. . .there is more than one kind of "Miracle Gro" and you can't lump them all together. In my experience, the soluble fertilizer does do what its supposed to do, and bang-for-buck there is actually pretty high. The Miracle Gro potting soil can certainly work, but I think there are much better mixes out there, and given the choice, I'd usually pick something else.
Cannabis is a common flowering (ie "weed") plant that thrives in temperate climates all across the planet. Its not some exotic tropical plant requiring special nutrients or conditions to grow. All it needs to thrive are nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus, plus trace elements, the same as just about every other common flowering plant on the planet. Synthetic commercial fertilizers containing nitrates and trace elements (yes. . .like Miracle Gro) are used to feed all sorts commercially grown plant products, including tobacco, which, last time I checked, is also smoked.
Yes, some formulations are going to work better than others for given applications, and I don't think anyone is claiming that Miracle-Gro is hands-down the best product out there for cannabis growth.
This idea that marijuana requires some super-duper special/secret fertilizer to thrive is just nonsense. It defies basic plant biology, common sense, and most people's experience in growing, I think. The plant doesn't care or know what the source is of the elements it takes in, it just has needs that have to be met for optimum growth. They can be met in different ways, and everyone has their own personal formula that they like for different reasons, including personal style and superstition. What Miracle Gro has going for it is that its readily available and inexpensive, and those are pretty useful features!
Can Miracle-Gro work? Not only can it work, it works GREAT. . IF you use it correctly and understand its limitations. I've seen it used many times with considerable increase in both plant vigor and size.
To use it, first of all you have to pick the right product designed for your particular application. Right now, there are more than a dozen different products branded as "Miracle-Gro", including soluble fertilizers you add to water, slow-release fertilizers, and Miracle-Gro branded soil, and obviously they don't all work the same. Just saying "Miracle Gro is great" (or terrible, etc) isn't really all that informative; you have to be a little more specific.
For the casual cannabis grower, who simply wants a fertilizer to add in regular waterings, that could be "all purpose" Miracle-Gro for vegetative growth, and high phosphorus "Bloom buster" for flowering. Other Miracle-gro branded products could work too, again, depending on what exactly you're trying to accomplish (eg outdoor vs indoor, etc). As mentioned above, Miracle-Gro soil mixes already contain added nutrients, so if you use one, you probably shouldn't add more until they're depleted.
Next, as with any chemical fertilizer, you have to use it as directed. With any soluble fertilizer (not just MG) its very easy to mix up fertilizer that's too strong, or to use it too often, and these are common mistakes of new growers. A teaspoon isn't a tablespoon, and "a little good" does NOT equal "a lot better!". As a general rule of thumb, seedlings don't need any fertilizer, and young plants usually need less than normal strength. Once your plant is in good growth mode, you can typically get away with fertilizing only once per week at normal strength. If you want to fertilize more often (say every time you water) then you have to use less than normal strength, or you can damage the plants. If you are fertilizing heavily, then every once in a while (say once per month) a flush with lots of water is good to remove any possible built up fertilizer salts from your soil. And of course you may wish to flush with water 1-2 weeks before harvest, to ensure that there are no residual traces of fertilizer lingering to shade the taste of your harvested plants.
If your leaves are turning way dark green, you've got plenty of nitrogen and can probably back off the fertilizer. If your leaf tips are turning brown, now you've got WAY too much fertilizer and have leaf burn. Flush with water and back off the fertilizer.
Last caveat is that while Miracle Gro actually does have good trace element content, depending on your strain, soil, and other growing conditions, you *might* benefit from some additional mineral supplementation like added magnesium (eg epsom salts) or calcium (eg lime).
Do these things, and I think you can have as good results with Miracle Gro, as with any other commonly available fertilizer.
smokeyj420
Well-Known Member
I'm not planning on adding fertilizers since the soil already has it. I was just wondering if MG Seed Starting Soil and MG Organic Choice Potting Soil is good right out of the bag and if anything needs to be added.
jawbrodt
Well-Known Member
^Good post, I agree. I don't use MG ferts very often, but there's no doubt in my mind that they could be used very effectively, even if they required a little supplementing. I do use their soil though, the types with the time-released pellets, mainly their potting mix. I use it straight out of the bag for me seedlings, then when I go to larger pots, I amend with perlite, and a little lime. I used to use both Happy frog and Ocean Forest, but seen no real advantage/disadvantage, other than having a long drive to get the premium stuff, and pay twice as much.lol The only thing I have to complain about, with MG soils, is that I have had problems with fungus gnats coming 'pre-packaged'. But, since I started buying it somewhere that stores theirs indoors, I haven't had that problem. Works excellent, for me.
jawbrodt
Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if that's the exact stuff I used this Spring, but I tried starting some veggie seeds in it, right out of the bag, and my chief complaint was that I couldn't get the shit wet.lol When I watered it, the water refused to soak in properly, leaving tons of dry spots, even hours later. That's why I didn't even bother with it, with my MJ seeds. If I were to try it, I'd imagine that adding some perlite, would be quite helpful.
CountGlochula
Active Member
i used the plain 6mo soil with the GH lucas method for a year and never had nute burn.just plain water for about two weeks maybe three.and i had just as good results as my buddy who was using foxfarm and GH.same 400 watt lamp and same 4x4x4 plywood box.i built his box and gave him some of my GDP clones.
grizlbr
Active Member
WATER? Or when first leaves start to yellow your fav neuts?
smokeyj420
Well-Known Member
I am asking if those 2 types of soil are good enough so all I have to add is water. I am on a very tight budget and I am a dumbass and screw up almost anything. I just wanted to know if those 2 types of soil will work without adding anything but water and how forgiving they will be since I'm kinda as my doctor says mentally disabled
GSTrichome79
Well-Known Member
A few months back I read a post about the MG fungus gnat issue on a different forum. This is from a Scotts employee...
"Our soils are not sterilized. Sterilizing a soil takes away the beneficial bacteria and microbes that plants need to be healthy. What you have are most likely fungus gnats as mentioned in a previous post a ½ inch of soil on top of the plants will stop the breeding cycle and a shallow dish or vingar and water will catch the adults. We appreciate your taking the time to comment. Dont hesitate to contact us again if we can provide any additional information."
I saw larvae when I first was using MG, but it was my fault for adding too much water at the time. Once it dried out they disappeared. I just dry it out before I use it, or make sure the top inch or so is dry, and no worries. Some people prefer using one of several mediums and adding a layer of that on top though.
"Our soils are not sterilized. Sterilizing a soil takes away the beneficial bacteria and microbes that plants need to be healthy. What you have are most likely fungus gnats as mentioned in a previous post a ½ inch of soil on top of the plants will stop the breeding cycle and a shallow dish or vingar and water will catch the adults. We appreciate your taking the time to comment. Dont hesitate to contact us again if we can provide any additional information."
I saw larvae when I first was using MG, but it was my fault for adding too much water at the time. Once it dried out they disappeared. I just dry it out before I use it, or make sure the top inch or so is dry, and no worries. Some people prefer using one of several mediums and adding a layer of that on top though.