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

Serapis said:

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.

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Sounds like we both think the same? I picked up that routine, after discovering what actually works,(for me) not based on other peoples opinions/suggestions. I have a little bit of castings here, tonight is water/feeding night, and was thinking about top-dressing before I do it. It's the logical step, being that I haven't used any veg fert, and the fact that they are in the stretching phase, atm. A dose of Dynagro Bloom, Calmag Plus, Protekt, topped with some castings.....perfection!

Also, since I've started using lime, I don't flush that often, anymore, if at all. I think that once you get your feeding down, it's not really necessary. Still experimenting with that one, but I'm thinking that flushing, is going to go the way of the Dodo Bird, in my grows. It's a pain in the ass anyway, so I'm pushing for it.lol

Sub'd for sure, C'mon man please tell me i don't have to drive 2 hours for Fox Farm lol

Man i just bought a 2 1/2 cubic feet 14 dollar bag of mg soil potting mix.Now if that aint cheap with good results what is?

QuantumChronic said:

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.

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this is how i do it as well, and i found the most success this way for my self as well also with the fastest germ times.

KDiaz said:

Sub'd for sure, C'mon man please tell me i don't have to drive 2 hours for Fox Farm lol

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Nah, you're safe, MG works pretty good, actually. I've used it before, and was quite happy with it, except for the bugs it carried.lol Yeah, the stuff I had, was loaded with fungus gnat larvae, which soon turned into a mild infestation. Otherwise, the soil worked great. Now, I want to see if "great" is good enough to compete with the 'almighty' FF soils.lol I just hope I don't get those gnats back. It's very possible, but they're not too bad to deal with, so worth the risk, for the name of science.

†LOL† Its amusing to see how many of us are hanging on the results of the experiment....

^LOL, No doubt, I feel famous, for having started it.


Update: I gave them all a mild watering tonight,(3/4 liter, each) with a little bit of Hygrozyme(1/4 strength dose of beneficial soil microbes). Mainly, I concentrated around the edges, so that the roots would be able to spread there. The top 2" or so, was dry, although there was still quite a bit of moisture in the center. I could tell by the weight of the pot, which I why I concentrated on the edges. That's part of the problem with going to big pots, right from the start. I just transplanted 7 more tonight, in party cups, plus two that I already had in coir pots, for 12 total. Out of all the clones I started, those 2 from Crystal, still haven't taken root, yet. IDK why, but that strain has always been slow to root. It's time for it to go, I think, even though I love growing it, and love the smoke. *weeps a little*lol Ice will fill it's shoes nicely, maybe even better, I hope.

reggaerican said:

there are so many good ways to germinate a seed....

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As long as your method provides warmth and moisture it will be OK.

Hey Jawbrodt,

Just had some time to be able to catch up on this thread.

I know what you mean about going into bigger pots to begin with.

When i had my POG and SATIVA going on i started them in small party cups and then went straight into 3 gallon pots from the party cups and i thought they had stalled out but all that was happening was the roots where making their way through the pots. When the girls were around 6inches tall their roots had already hit the bottoms of the 3gallon pots and were beginning to make their way back up lol.


Cant wait to see what happens here with this experiment. It should finally put to bed the MG being too hot dilema.


As you know though its something you will never see me use as you said on the first few posts, i have convinced you to try coco as i love it and get pretty damn good results. And the bonus with the coco is you just feed feed feed.

I cant wait for the day you pick up a bag of COCO for yourself.

When that day comes i guarantee you wont ever start a thread like this again lol.

Your only threads will be

"LOOK AT THIS MONSTER IVE GROWN IN COCO"


lol


Subb'd to see how it turns it!


J

Hey J, good to see ya. Ya know, I only have enough FF laying around here, to get this generation going,(adding 4-6 more, with those in the test) then it'll be time to make the choice,... coco or soil? Seems to me that coco would be a faster-growing medium, which is what I want. I grow perpetual, so I only have 5 weeks from the time I cut a clone, til the time it goes on 12/12, so speed is key. I'm also going with T5s, or better yet, a 600 MH. Maybe even a 400 CMH, IDK yet.(both with light movers) At any rate, you'll be the man I'll be calling, when it comes coco time.


I agree with ya about the "stalling". I went from 16 oz cups stright to those pots, last grow, and while they stalled for 10 days or so, like you said, they were building roots that whole time, and then the foliage took off, fast. That's why I chose to water around the edges, last night. I know they're building roots, and wanted them to be able to spread to those areas that had been dry. Another 7 days or so, and they should take off. Hmm....now, what can I do to pass time?lol

I go from 9 oz party cup to 1.5 gal square pot to 3.5 gal square pot. Since I condition and aerate my water, I don't want to be wasting it on a pot that is too big for the plant.

I'm hoping that FF and MG do equal here in this experiment, as I know both to be great products. I just feel that FF is overpriced and scarcely available as compared to MG. Look the the ingredients to MG organic choice.... then compare prices.... I'll go MG every time but i use it already and am in love with it. No feeding needed the first 4-6 weeks. When it is time, your plants will tell you.

Subscribed to thread.

I'm going on week six. Have 3 bagseeds in 3 gallon MG Organic + sand mix (50%/50%). Under a dozen 23w cfls.24/0 for the first 4 weeks, 18/6 the last 2 weeks. Been LSTing plants. Will start feeding Iguana Juice next week for another 3 weeks of veg under 18/6 before going to 12/12 flowering. I have used MG Organic with no nutes and only bottled spring water. My girls are doing great. I can't wait to tell sex... crossing fingers.

Serapis said:

I go from 9 oz party cup to 1.5 gal square pot to 3.5 gal square pot. Since I condition and aerate my water, I don't want to be wasting it on a pot that is too big for the plant.

I'm hoping that FF and MG do equal here in this experiment, as I know both to be great products. I just feel that FF is overpriced and scarcely available as compared to MG. Look the the ingredients to MG organic choice.... then compare prices.... I'll go MG every time but i use it already and am in love with it. No feeding needed the first 4-6 weeks. When it is time, your plants will tell you.

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yea i agree with you on this i like not having to feed my dirt plants but once or twice in a cycle..

reggaerican said:

yea i agree with you on this i like not having to feed my dirt plants but once or twice in a cycle..

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Ya know, I've come to enjoy that myself, but, now I'm not so sure that's optimum. I'm still experimenting with my theory, and so far, it appears that bigger plants that look perfectly healthy(unfed), benefit from weak feedings,(like 1/8 strength) instead of straight water, all the time. It really seems to make they grow faster. It's too early too tell, but I plan to experiment with that, as well. Damn, I need a couple more growrooms, I think.lol

I know I'm a bit late to this test, but I find both soils to be mediocre at best. Fox Farms just can't keep up with demand and provide the quality they were once known for. Bugs and pH issues are pretty common with their stuff.

I agree that Coco is going to change worlds. You have to check it out.

Also, I think this test would have been great if you'd included a better soil like Canna BioTerra or Roots Organic Soil mix. You could amend coco with some Marine Cuisine from Fox Farms, and maybe do another one with some guano, worm castings, and other stuff.

Maybe I could do that... Not like it's your fault, and I don't want to seem unappreciative. What you are doing here is great despite how I'd do it.
Different strokes.

Sub'd.

^That's a pretty good idea, actually. We should get a few guys together, and test a wide variety of soils, trying to "rank them", from best to worst. Personally, I'd love to see the results, even if it took awhile. Would be even better to expand it to include different types of hydro, eventually. Hmm....well, now I know what I'll be doing for the next 5-10 years.lol



EDIT: I chose the candidates for this test, because I was getting sick of hearing everybody blaming MG soil for their problems, happened to have a bag here at the house, and decided to experiment a little. I went with FF soil, because that's what I've been using, and had that here, too. I wish I had some of that MG Organic Choice, with 6 months of nutes. That one seems to get bashed the most. Maybe next time.

jawbrodt said:

^That's a pretty good idea, actually. We should get a few guys together, and test a wide variety of soils, trying to "rank them", from best to worst. Personally, I'd love to see the results, even if it took awhile. Would be even better to expand it to include different types of hydro, eventually. Hmm....well, now I know what I'll be doing for the next 5-10 years.lol



EDIT: I chose the candidates for this test, because I was getting sick of hearing everybody blaming MG soil for their problems, happened to have a bag here at the house, and decided to experiment a little. I went with FF soil, because that's what I've been using, and had that here, too. I wish I had some of that MG Organic Choice, with 6 months of nutes. That one seems to get bashed the most. Maybe next time.

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I amend my title of you from professor to Prof. Dirt...... your studies may not cure cancer....oh wait, weed can cure cancer...so does this mean we should be nominating you for a nobel?

well weed doesnt cure cancer, but it sure does ease the pain and increase appetite in patients..

but i agree for Jawbrodt's contributions to the RIU community just with this thread alone should put him in the running for a nobel..

reggaerican said:

well weed doesnt cure cancer, but it sure does ease the pain and increase appetite in patients..

but i agree for Jawbrodt's contributions to the RIU community just with this thread alone should put him in the running for a nobel..

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Actually, while smoking weed has done nothing for curing cancer, weed extract is a whole diffrent matter, there's threads on here that talk about it, but I'd suggest you do your own google search, you'll be amazed at what you see...

RavenMochi said:

Actually, while smoking weed has done nothing for curing cancer, weed extract is a whole diffrent matter, there's threads on here that talk about it, but I'd suggest you do your own google search, you'll be amazed at what you see...

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really now that is some cool reading right there. im off to feed the brain and maybe help out an old friend..

Thanks Raven +1 for the knowledge