MG potting mix, not soil?

15 years ago

I've been reading posts and in the faqs about what to use for transplanting. The lettuce seedlings I have in Jiffy pellets seem to be getting crowded and I want to put them in other containers. I've seen reference to both MG potting mix, which I already have, and potting soil. I cannot find the potting soil anywhere, just the mix. In the faqs it says you can use regular potting soil, peat, and perlite as the next step for seedlings after seed starting mix. I can't seem to find out for sure if MG potting mix is a soilless mix or not. I bought a bag of Perlite tonight and already have the peat to combine with the potting mix. Since I already had 2 of the 3 products necessary, I'd rather use these up instead of buying more potting soil/mix if I don't have to. Since the MG already has peat, I was going to mix it 3 parts MG to 2 parts peat. The faqs have more peat than this but when I originally mixed it this way, it seemed like too much peat so I added a litte more MG. How much perlite should I be adding to this or should I use a different ratio?

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Comments (3)

sarahbarah27
15 years ago
Miracle Grow...that is what MG is, right? If so, MG is a soilless mix and it should already have perlite in it and it is made of peat. I am a little confused, but I think you shouldn't have to be mixing anything. Regular potting soil comes in a little bag-but is very heavy because it contains just soil, no peat or perlite. You can usually find it at a home store or farm store. I don't ever use regular potting soil because 1) the bag is heavy and hard to move around 2) the soil inside is heavy and you end up having to mix with peat and perlite to lighten it up. And just to let you know, Perlite dust can be hazardous if you breath too much in, so be careful and wear a dust mask if you are going to mix.

So, if you have Miracle Gro potting mix you should be able to just use that alone--without mixing anything else in it.

Hope this helped.
colokid
15 years ago
Like Sarah says. Forget the "soil" you don't need to buy dirt.
Potting mix straight out of the bag is OK. I kind of prefer ACE potting mix over MG, seems to have less big pieces and is 50 cents cheaper. This could vary depending on your location, The ACE is 70 percent peat, 20 percent bark and 10 percent perlite. Good for potting up, maybe a little too wet for containers.
If you use those jiffy pellets be sure to disrupt the wrapping on the bottom when you pot up.
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chele519
Original Author
15 years ago
Yes, MG is Miracle Grow, sorry.

The bag I have is 2 cu ft, it is definitely potting mix. I guess I misunderstood what I was reading. I have not opened the Perlite so I will return that. I have asthma so I'm glad you mentioned about breathing that in.

I am definitely going to remove the netting on the pellets, I've read a ton of posts about that. I will save this small amount that I mixed for when I do my herbs in pots, I can mix it with the rest of the potting mix. I will check prices on a few others before buying any more. I just had this left over from last year and wanted to use it.

Since I have a large amount of peat, I can use that next year to make my own seed starting mix, right?
Thanks for the help.