Potting soil: Don't be penny wise and pound foolish

[Fred Hempel]

I feel compelled to write this after looking at multiple recent posts at Tomatoville, and also after having the guy who shares my greenhouse make up every reason in the book that his plants look like garbage, while mine are green, vigorous and happy. When it is obvious that he is using garbage potting soil.

If you are going to grow tomatoes from seed, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have a good potting soil. One conducive to root growth and with nutrients to get the plants growing without adding a bunch of liquid fertilizer.


One reason I don't like liquid fertilizers with kelp and/or fish emulsion is that it attracts birds, and the last thing I need in the spring is birds trashing my greenhouse seedlings.


There are plenty of garbage products out there. I won't list them.


As for good potting mix -- In my experience FoxFarm "Ocean and Forest" is the Gold Standard. But I can't afford that. So I have recently found that the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil is now the best alternative, in my area.


I suggest that anyone serious about growing tomatoes do a soil test to see how what is locally available to them compares.

[oakley]

I agree but named labels and storage are becoming problematic. Where you purchase is
starting to be key. I grower year round all the winter months so compressed coir bricks and pellets
are dry and clean. I soak as I need them. Cuts down on interior air quality.

If a supplier buys bulk and stores it in a damp environment for over a year? Does not rotate stock?
Lazy?

I'm a bit ★★★★ed that some, and me, are having seed starting issues. (I just lost a half tray)
But not a soil issue.

[Worth1]

I have used the MG Organic Natures Care raised bed soil with my added perlite with great success.
Don't have to pick much out of it and there isn't any real soil in it.

I go to places that have a constant turnover in product, not some place where it might sit around for who knows how long.

I dont use the potting soil mix because I dont want the moisture things in it.

[maxjohnson]

You probably mean potting mix. I would avoid potting 'soil' for container growing.

I use Ecoscraps, and Promix once. Good thing I moved to Ohio and there are Menard's stores here and they carry Promix. They also sell aged fine sized pine bark at Lowe's here so I can make my own potting mix if I need to.

I see that MiracleGro try to make their brand appear more premium with their new bags design, but it's not enough to convince me to bother.

[beninla]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

I feel compelled to write this after looking at multiple recent posts at Tomatoville, and also after having the guy who shares my greenhouse make up every reason in the book that his plants look like garbage, while mine are green, vigorous and happy. When it is obvious that he is using garbage potting soil.

If you are going to grow tomatoes from seed, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have a good potting soil. One conducive to root growth and with nutrients to get the plants growing without adding a bunch of liquid fertilizer.


One reason I don't like liquid fertilizers with kelp and/or fish emulsion is that it attracts birds, and the last thing I need in the spring is birds trashing my greenhouse seedlings.


There are plenty of garbage products out there. I won't list them.


As for good potting mix -- In my experience FoxFarm "Ocean and Forest" is the Gold Standard. But I can't afford that. So I have recently found that the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil is now the best alternative, in my area.


I suggest that anyone serious about growing tomatoes do a soil test to see how what is locally available to them compares.

Thank you for sharing about the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil- I checked and my local Home Depot sells it. I will try to use this soil to grow tomato seedlings next season and am wondering if you add any fertilizer to the soil or use any liquid fertilizers with this soil?

[Fred Hempel]

No need to add fertilizer, in my experience.

Years ago MG organic potting soil performed horribly for me. I thought they were making a poor product to "prove" organic is "worse".

But in the past few years I have found it to be consistent/dependable.

Originally Posted by beninla

Thank you for sharing about the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil- I checked and my local Home Depot sells it. I will try to use this soil to grow tomato seedlings next season and am wondering if you add any fertilizer to the soil or use any liquid fertilizers with this soil?

[beninla]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

No need to add fertilizer, in my experience.

Years ago MG organic potting soil performed horribly for me. I thought they were making a poor product to "prove" organic is "worse".

But in the past few years I have found it to be consistent/dependable.

Thank you for your reply, a soil that doesn't need any additional feeding with liquid fertilizers will be very convenient.

[loulac]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

I suggest that anyone serious about growing tomatoes do a soil test to see how what is locally available to them compares.

It' a pity one can't open a bag before buying it. Sometimes you find mostly peat, sometimes pieces of bark and even pebbles. We can of course ask sellers to give information, if they are vague in their answers we can look elsewhere. I do like Fred's first sentence : "Don't be penny wise and pound foolish". Why not transplant that in the U.S. : Don't be cent wise and dollar foolish.

[Ironwood]

Miracle Gro is literally the worst option. The company that owns them, Monsanto, is literally the worst.

Please use anything but MG. Who knows what's in it and where it came from. The company notoriously lies about their ingredients and is being sued for just about anything.

Anything but MG is the rule of thumb for gardeners I know, please do some quick googling before starting plants in MG.

As for Fox Farm, you will get fungus gnats and other pests, also inconsistent batches. Some bags are hot and will burn seedlings. Some are fine. Fox farms Light Warrior seed starting mix is decent, but I would go with jiffy.

Your best bet and cheapest way to have a good starting mix is to make your own. Nothing crazy, just some peat, perilte, and worm castings in equal parts. Excellent mix!

If you just want to buy something quality and economical go with promix or something similar like Lambert's. Peat based and comes in a bale. You get far more mix for the price. 20-25$ a bale, which is 3.2 cu ft.

Happy Growing!

[brownrexx]

I have used Espoma soiless seed starting medium for years with no problems.

I had some fungus gnats this year. They came home with a potted thyme plant that I bought from a greenhouse and soon they were flying around my tomato seedlings.

I bought some Mosquito dunks and crumbled one and sprinkled it over the soil in the seedling's pots. Within a week the fungus gnats were gone thankfully.

[jmsieglaff]

I've used Pro-Mix organic seed starting mix for my seedlings for years with great results. https://www.menards.com/main/outdoor...323924&ipos=18

I use the compressed Pro-Mix bales to fill my vegetable and flower containers and have been very happy.

[KarenO]

Originally Posted by Fred Hempel

I feel compelled to write this after looking at multiple recent posts at Tomatoville, and also after having the guy who shares my greenhouse make up every reason in the book that his plants look like garbage, while mine are green, vigorous and happy. When it is obvious that he is using garbage potting soil.

If you are going to grow tomatoes from seed, the first thing you need to do is make sure you have a good potting soil. One conducive to root growth and with nutrients to get the plants growing without adding a bunch of liquid fertilizer.


One reason I don't like liquid fertilizers with kelp and/or fish emulsion is that it attracts birds, and the last thing I need in the spring is birds trashing my greenhouse seedlings.


There are plenty of garbage products out there. I won't list them.


As for good potting mix -- In my experience FoxFarm "Ocean and Forest" is the Gold Standard. But I can't afford that. So I have recently found that the Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil is now the best alternative, in my area.


I suggest that anyone serious about growing tomatoes do a soil test to see how what is locally available to them compares.

Agree very much and I will add it needs to be new. Brand new dry not heavy from being stored outdoors in the rain
I don’t use potting mix for seedlings that has been stored over winter, from last years pots or partly used bags. Not for seedlings ever.
Fungus gnat heaven in old potting mix.
KarenO

[Cole_Robbie]

I always use a peat based pro mix and osmocote. I have had a Fafard mix that was based in pine bark fines that I like better, but I can't buy it locally for a cost effective price. I know a lot of people have great success with organic mixes and fertilizers. My plants tend to get very cold in the early spring, 40s at night, and if I use anything organic at all, I get massive damping off that kills most of my plants...just my experience that anyone who abuses their seedlings as bad as I do might consider.

[Fusion_power]

Promix BX (M) is hard to beat. The only caveat is that it needs a tiny bit more fertilizer to grow good tomato seedlings. I add 1/2 teaspoon of a complete fertilizer with micronutrients per tray of 48 plants when the plants are about 3 to 4 inches tall.


I would add that every seed start mix I have ever tried needed a bit more fertilizer to get large healthy seedlings.

[ScottinAtlanta]

I make my own potting mix using one half peat moss, one third perlite, and the rest my own black compost, with three cups of pulverized lime per wheelbarrow load. Much cheaper!