New Grower miracle grow a no no?

[Rose]

I have used MiracleGro soil at the start of growing autos and I didn't have a problem with it, it just doesn't suit every strain, that's all. I actually thought it had ferts in it to last for 6 weeks (not 6 months like some poster said here) and like I said, the Cobra and the Green-o-matic were absolutely fine with it and kept their lush green leafage up until close to the end. They were also fine mith MG and an all-purpose fertiliser for led grown plants. Other strains like e.g. the Polar Light didn't like that combination at all I think you just have to bear in mind that you are using pre-fertilized soil when using MiracleGro and hence you gotta take that into consideration when it comes to adding nutes... in other words: trial & error, hit 'n' miss...lol

I have to say that for ages I didn't actually believe all that fussing about which soil to grow in would make such a difference but now I honestly say it does. Since I'm using Plagron (it too claims to hold food for 6 weeks) royalty soil the ladies are thriving. I'm definitely not going to make the mistake again to give nutes to a plant with healthy green leaves, that's for sure.

 

[Muddy]

I've worked with it enough to know. If you follow what I do here long enough you will see that if I'm not familiar with a product I say so. I was new to all this at one time myself and used just about every soil mix MG sells as well as a few by other manufacturers and yes, trying to grow weed in MG soils is as bad as I, and many others, say. And it doesn't need to be used out of necessity. Any place that sells MG soils will also be selling sphagnum peat moss, perlite, composted manures and dolomite lime so a superior mix can easily be made.

A first grow can be challenging enough for most newbies. Why complicate it by using a soil that only make their efforts more difficult when better alternatives are readily available?

People use Mg out of necesssity, and is not half as bad as you say it is, it just shows you havnt worked with it enough if you can't get good results with it. To each their own, its up to the grower to decide.

 

[mandycheese]

I am new to the game but trust what the mods and experienced growers say. Take a look at squidherbs journal (sorry squid) here u will see how bad the mg can be. It really stunted the growth of his little ladies. Since transplanting them into a new soil mix they have come on leaps and bounds. Just my two cents but I wud listen to muddy. I wud transplant them ladies into a new home.

 

[bandit55]

ok like i said i know mg isnt the best but thats what its in? the question that was originally asked was has any1 grown in mg all the way tru successfully???????? with a decent enough yeild?? the way yall are talkin im gettin the impression you want me to pull it out of the miracle grow and transplant! yes? that aint guna happen due to the fact that if i do i will be causing alot of stress to the plant resulting in her getting stunted, and seeing that its an autoflower i dont want to shortin its already short life!!!!!!! guna upload some pics of her at day 19 which is today and they have grown quite a bit in just a few days

 

[bandit55]

they look ok to me! granted they should be in their own pots but wat can u do? no sign of nute burn not stunted, gowing quite fast for rour days in my opinion............... the rest are in my album "second attempt" check em out n let me know wat u tink

 

[Muddy]

Yes, you can pull off descent results, it's just a little trickier and often difficult for new growers to master. The added element of the slow release nutes makes it more difficult to diagnose and treat any potential issues that may crop up. It's also somewhat strain dependent. I've seen a few grows here that ran into issues and no matter what we tried, we just couldn't get the plants back on track.

Transplanting, if done correctly, really isn't difficult and shouldn't set the plants back more than a day or so. The trick is to disturb the roots as little as possible. Every plant I grow gets transplanted from it's starter pot to it's final one. Within 24 - 36 hours they are all back to their normal growth pattern.

 

[bandit55]

thanks muddy! its just friom what iv read that people that transplanted stunted them up to week! would there be any chance you could give me some pointers on transplanting properly if you get the time? be very much appreciated

 

[Muddy]

After seeing that you have 2 plants in the same pot I would advise against transplanting at this point unless you move them together. Your roots are intertwined and it will be practically impossible to separate them. If you want to move them together to a new pot, that would be better.

I start my plants in cut off 1/2 gallon juice containers. I was using smaller pots before but they weren't getting my plants big enough during veg. These are working much better. As soon as they sex I let them dry out a bit so the soil sticks together better. I prepare my new pot and fill it with just enough dirt that I can set the transplant in and it's at the right height in the pot. I gently squeeze all around the pot to loosen the soil from the sides of the pot. Then I turn it over with the stem of the plant between my index and middle fingers. As gently as possible I remove the pot. By that point the pots are pretty full of roots so the root ball comes out in one big chunk of roots and soil. I then turn it back over and place it into the pot, fill around it with more soil and lightly tamp it down. I then water the new pot and back under the lights. The key is disturbing the roots as little as possible.

You may also want to take a look at the tiered method. Basically starting your plants in something like plastic party cups with the bottoms cut off, then "planting" those cups right into bigger pots. The roots then grow out the bottom of the party cup and into the new soil.

 

[bandit55]

thats great mud thanks for takin the time! i can get alot of perlite n vermiculite and have canna hydro nutes vega and flores but if u advise against the transplant then ill take your advice! would the roots really be that intwined at 19 days?

 

[Muddy]

Given the size of your plants I would expect them to be intertwined by now. At that point the growth below soil is about equal to the growth above the soil.