A customer has a question and I hope we can get some opinions on it, thanks
Can I use a Miracle Grow potting soil after my plants have established roots ? I live in Florida and plant outdoors Warm and humid long days get back Ty
You can, but it’s not recommended. Miracle Gro is a bad soil to cultivate in. There are people who make it work though. One of the main reasons it is no good, is it has slow release nutrients in it. And novice growers have a problem overwatering their plants, which in turn release those nutrients and begin to overfertalize the plant. Another reason is the PH of MG is quite high from my experience.
If you can learn to manage your watering then you can definitely make it work. Just be sure not to feed too much, as it will already be getting some from the soil.
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You will need some bloom nutrients for when it flowers. You have to cut the main stem and set the plant in a bucket of water for a couple of days when you harvest to get a good flush. Otherwise your smoke will taste like the nutrients (harsh smoke).
I have never heard of flushing that way. I’m not sold on the whole leeching/flushing idea either. If you dont overfeed throughout the flowering cycle you should have no need to flush at the end of a plants life.
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I’ve never done the bucket of water flush myself, but I’ve read about it plenty. I grew in MG and didn’t flush and then I grew in coco coir and flushed for two weeks. The flushed one was much smoother to smoke. But please do experiment and let us know how it worked out.
Anyone else care to comment on flushing at the end? @Hogmaster @Countryboyjvd1971 @Myfriendis410
I’m just wondering because a plant takes water up through its roots, the whole premise behind flushing is to try to get the plant to bnb use up its nutrient reserves before harvest, not to necessarily flush. In my opinion it’s really the wrong terminology, it’s just what everyone uses.
I mean if it works for you, awesome. I just dont see how it would uptake water if you cut the roots off of it.
I’ve been doing a ton of research on the whole flush thing and it’s about 50/50. People say dont overfeed and you dont need to flush, the harshness of the smoke comes from the dry and cure. While other people say they can taste a plant that hasn’t been flushed. So. I have 2 plants I’m about to harvest and will start flushing one, and just taper down the nutes on the other and see what works.
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I never flush usually the last two weeks before harvest I do nothing but water never had any issues and it’s as smooth as butter
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That’s usually what a flushing is. That’s why I think it’s the wrong terminology. Because flushing is also running water through a plant to get the salt buildup out of the soil.
see what works
Excellent idea!
I always like to see real empirical data. BTW, plants pull water up using capillary action. They don’t push it from the roots. You can put cut flowers in a vase with dye and the dye ends up getting sucked up and coloring the flowers. Roots just let the plant extract water from lots of sources. If a cut stem is sitting in water the plant will live for a long time because it sucks water up just fine.
You can certainly flush the soil, but most experienced growers use soils without embedded time-release nutrients. This thread was about MG Potting Soil that does have them. I’m not sure you can wash them out. That’s why the bucket treatment. I use coco coir so I just pour a few gallons of water through it and the nutes are all gone.
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I think it depends on your grow and watering practices. For example: I try to water to runoff every time. Does that help to reduce salts in the media? Probably. But I would like to remove any nutes that may contribute to a harsh smoke so I flush prophylactically. It does no harm and MIGHT help the finished product.
That said; I think if you have a sano grow and do everything right and the plants look fabulous don’t change a thing.
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I want to try it for my grow but I read not to use it but what about the liquid feed from miracle grow for flowering and the all purpose
The issue isn’t so much the use of Miracle Gro but a matter of the type of nutrient used. The source for chemical fertilizers is entirely artificial and works fine for tomatoes but your senses are good enough to detect the difference in cannabis grown with harsh fertilizers. Most try for something that is a mix of natural and carefully chosen artificial nutes, or go entirely organic. This isn’t really easy to do if you are into hydroponics so there usually is a balance.
If you were going to render it all for butter, MG might be a good choice. I have determined to my own taste the difference in smoke from MG versus more natural.
For the most part I would steer clear of anything MG, there are extremely better options, and some of them can be cheap as well. Jack’s classic 20-20-20 is an all purpose dry fertalizer and I’ve heard nothing but good things from it. Also megacrop is gaining traction, they will actually send you a 230g bag if you pay shipping.
What can I buy from a local Nursery or Lowe’s wal-mart to start off my garden I don’t have slot of money
call around to see if any of them sell Fox Farm type soils. Happy frog is good, Fox Farms Ocean Forest is good as well, a little hot to start soils in but it is good if you mix it with something else. You can also pick up the Fox Farm nutrients as they work well for beginners.
There’s just a few things you need to get going. All from HD,Lowe’s,Wally world,. Miracle gro ,24 Qt size is what I use,potting mix,peralite,sand,peat moss,bag of river rock. Optional is a foot locker size tote to mix in. Excess mix just sits and waits in there. Dump bag of soil add 2-3 solo cups of peralite, mix, add 2-3 cups sand, mix, 2-3 solo cups peat moss, mix, and then add water until all is wet enough to hold together when squeezed but doesn’t drip water. Use the river rock in the bottom of your pots about 1" thick layer for better drainage. After about a month start adding calmag 5ml per gallon each watering. No nutes needed until flower and increase Calmag to 7-8 ml.
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