Maybe its "SplendorGRO" made by Creekside Soils. I don't see that they offer a seed starting mix in their line of products. They have an organic peat product but only suggest using it as a soil amendment.

Yes thanks, it is Splendor Gro, made by Creekside Soil, I forgot the "p", sorry, and it does says "potting soil" So I will look for something else that says "potting mix". Thanks, Dave that is helpful!

Any other tips when picking out a good potting mix? I also have some Miracle- Gro Potting Mix that says, "This product is regionally formulated with forest products compost, sphagnum peat moss, perlite, a wetting agent, and fertilizer." Would it be better for me to find a potting mix without compost and fertilizer? If so, would I need to give my seedlings a additional nutrient?

There is a fairly new soil less potting mix concept. instead of peat it is pine bark based. It is developed by a fellow GW member, by the name of Al, ( screen name = tapla) . It is called 5-1-1 mix.
For better understand this concept , I suggest you visit "container gardening" forum" (look alphabetically).
The conventional potting mixes ( peat based with vermiculite) ten to have have moisture retention, compromising drainage. MG Moisture Control" is a good example. This and most commercial mixed have a high Perch Water table, preventing a good drainage. This can be advantageous for the plants that like wet feet but most plants do not like that

Seysonn

5-1-1 for growing in containers, sure but for seed starting?

Dave

This is something that is recently piqued my interest, but after searching and reading lots of threads, I'm still not sure what would be a good brand to buy. ProMix seems to be highly recommended on here, but the amazon price of $50 for a bag/bale, is out of my range.

Jiffy and Miracle Gro have also been talked about, but it seems people have had widely mixed results. Some say Jiffy is fine, but others say that Miracle Gro gave them much better, side by side, results. Since I'm assuming that better growth in Miracle Gro is because of fertilizer that's been added, would any side by side comparisons me moot?

When I was browsing amazon for mixes, I saw a brand called Espoma, which had a decent price on an organic starter mix. I'm not an organic gardener, but it was comparable in price to the same size Jiffy mix, yet when I did a search for it here, I didn't see it talked about much. Not sure if that's because it's good, bad, or just under the radar.

I'll probably be buying at HD this year, but am unsure what brand to get. I'd prefer to not bother with having to fertilize myself (haven't read that far into seed starting yet), because of my inexperience and I would be sad if I accidentally burned the roots of my plants and killed them by over fertilizing.

So I guess my question would be, what would be a good brand for someone who is new to seed starting and is inexperienced when it comes to fertilizing and/or tending to plants prior to planting outside. Or does is simply come down to budget and personal preference?

Buy locally as the shipping costs can be quite high. Personally I avoid the so-called organic mixes because they are higher priced generally, contain things the new seedlings don't need and can be harmed by, and are often misleading.

You will never find any 1 mix that is recommended by all as none of them are perfect. I'd say that ProMix BX comes the closest to 100% recommendations except for the cost.

But it all depends on what local sources you have available. HD specializes in MG products. Some hate it, some love it. I have used MG Potting Mix when out of ProMix but I sift it first when using it for seed starting as I find it far to coarse for most seeds. MG makes a special bag labeled "seed starting". I'd suggest trying it. Lowe's also carries Ferry-Morse Seed starting mix that is ok, not great but ok.

amazon.com carries Fox Farm, Gardeners Supply, Hoffman, Black Gold, Dr. Earth, etc. any one of which would probably work fine.

Honestly there are so many potential problems you'll encounter when new to growing from seed that which soil mix to use is not the most problematic. You'll have a lot to learn as you go along so just pick one that is reasonably priced and available locally and go from there.

And be sure to explore all the FAQs and discussions over on the Growing from Seed forum here as that is where you'll find most of the discussions about all facets of the process.

Dave

Just for accuracies' sake, bark based potting media have been around a lot longer than Tapla formulated his recipes. They don't make for good seed starting though.

Thank you, Digdirt2. You've been so awesome at answering this newbies questions and I really appreciate it.

I haven't been able to check out local sources yet, (had an issue with my car battery and have been hesitant to leave the house this past week), but plan to hit up the local garden store tomorrow to see what they have and to ask what they might recommend.

I've read everything on the FAQ for growing from seed, growing under lights, and growing tomatoes, but will definitely refer back to them when needed.