You might be getting what you paid for...

watch this 30 second video

Here is a link that might be useful: Informative video

Just don't try to use it in any type of container. Mixed with dirt beds only.

Dave

Lonmower-did you not read the post at all? I said its the garden soil not the potting mix.

digdirt- I don't I just use it for a little extra when I am transplanting in the ground.

I really like that stuff when I just need a little extra in my beds. AND I have a coupon! I don't need it now, but I don't think it will go bad in my garage.
Thanks!

I use nothing but straight 100% Miracle Grow Potting soil with the moisture control.
Works just fine.
I buy it from Costco for $9.99 a bag for 55 Quart bags.

I have a Vegtrug full of it, 380 Quarts, with 5 kinds of lettuce, 2 kinds of Bok Choy, Cilantro, Basil, Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, Peppermint and all growing like weeds healthy as can be.
It is all I have used for many years with great results.

Just need large containers with excellent drainage is all.

{{gwi:32197}}

I use nothing but straight 100% Miracle Grow Potting soil with the moisture control.

No, you use MG Potting MIX, a soil-less mix. At least I sure hope that is what you mean since MG doesn't make a 'potting soil'.

If it says 'potting' as part of the name then it says 'mix' in the name too, not soil and it has no soil in it. The Potting Mix is available with or without moisture control added.

But we are talking about MG Garden Soil (also available with or without moisture control) which is a totally different thing and says right on the bag "Not for Use in Containers" - sadly, a lesson many have learned the hard way. It is an important distinction.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: MG Potting MIX

True, Potting mix.
I just instinctively call something I plant in "soil" out of habit.

That will be handy stuff to have around. I use it sometimes planting in the ground, leveling out areas, making basins around new plants. You'll use it up.

What's Old Farm Boy? I've never heard of it.

Supporting anything that Miracle Gro does is as bad as it gets.

"Supporting anything that Miracle Gro does is as bad as it gets."

Why is that?
Something Scotts has done I haven't heard about?

Old Farm Boy Link

Here is a link that might be useful: LINK

Scotts is just as bad. Anything that supports the petrochemical fertilizer industry is doing the world net harm, including much of what that these companies market such as chemical wonder solutions/concoctions to people to solve all their problems while bypassing normal ways of taking care of your soil like nature has been designed for.

These companies are like the aggressive pharmaceutical companies of today that market you medicine to fix your ailments while not giving a care in the world about how or why these ailments actually game to be. It's all about band aid fixes, securing their market long term, and getting the user addicted while not fixing the root cause of a problem.

For example, instead of just keeping your lawn (and I'm not a fan of extensive lawns, they kill of ecological activity and waste water but) healthy by encouraging positive biological activity in it by adding compost, by aerating, and mowing high to choke out weeds, or by adding compost tea to inoculate with beneficial organisms, etc to increase its intrinsic health), they market chemicals like fungicides, weed killers, and herbicides as a quick-fix solution that pollutes our soil and water and doesn't solve the root problem (unhealthy soil/soil ecology - think of this as the equivalent to your immune system).

They want this - and people convince themselves they want this - because it's a quick bandaid fix requiring little effort (yet exponential relative cost). The person likes it because they would rather pay money than fix the root cause and the company likes it because rather than fixing the root cause, it keeps the customer coming back for more. The side effect is polluted water ways and soil. Carcinogens and untested chemicals in our environment can also be a side effect. There's a reason they put yellow flags up when people spread pesticides on lawns. It's toxic.

There is so much glyphosphate (Roundup) in our environment (mostly from agrobiz, granted, yet think about how many gallons of the stuff get bought by individuals every day) that it is literally raining down on us with the rain in some places, and leaching into water ways to disturb the chemical balance that we and the ecosystems of these places rely on to live.

The companies that support this stuff don't care, and they just tell you that it's fine, but when there are such high concentrations of anything, "toxic" or not, it is bad.
Not to mention The irreparable damage these companies do by mining peat moss, one of the slowest growing things on earth, out to put in your soil that you buy at Home Depot. Yes, they'll tell you it's sustainable, because it's their business, and "sustainable" is thrown around by all these guys to mean basically anything they want aside from what it actually means. Meanwhile we have plentiful abundances of food waste that could be turned into soil amendments to take the place of peat moss. Peatlands are one of the most threatened and valuable assets that our planet has to offer. They are unique places harboring particular rare ecosystems and flora/fauna. Don't forget the millions of gallons of fossil fuels they use to power their gigantic industrial peat miners. This stuff is getting shipped from far away all over the world. Meanwhile we have food waste in every local community around the world that would bypass what is literally the devastation of our planet.

These companies like Scott's and Miracle Gro are literally destroying the place we live in. And the worst part is that there are easier ways to solve the problems that they market towards - easier ways that are much better for the end result in all ways, which are healthy plants and healthy soil at a fraction of the cost which will produce what the end user is looking for - success and long term solutions.

I should say that the person likes their bandaid fixes and *think* the root cause is fixed when in reality it's a short term fix (if that). Typo.

"Supporting anything that Miracle Gro does is as bad as it gets." Why is that? Something Scotts has done I haven't heard about?

Yeah it is an old debate with lots of discussions here over many years. I'm no MG fan either but it doesn't really need to have yet another thread hijacked and dragged off topic.

Dave

Ahh gotcha.
Well Scotts IS Miracle grow they are the same company.

Yeah I get the whole petrochemical thing and basically agree but gotta choose your fights to a degree.
Scotts/MG is certainly not the top of my list.

There's really no uncertainty as to the negatives about the methods sold by these companies not happening. It's a matter of people just being people, being lazy, or just not knowing, and taking shortcuts, supplementing the shortcomings of these methods by ironically buying and being attached to the products of these companies even more. The shortfall in these methods are recurring/alternate detrimental symptoms, pollution, and wasted time/money on the consumer's part.

I don't really see it as hijacking, I see it as opening the eyes of someone who may not otherwise have realized what is going on here. Most people won't know to go out of their way to look these things up, and most people haven't taken courses on soil, or horticulture, or worked in the industry, etc etc. It's just what the big biz companies want - ignorance - and it's pretty unfortunate.

The "Moisture Control" formula of MG potting soil is terrible for seed starting. I bought it a couple of years ago, thinking it would be a good thing, and actually help with germination, and had terrible results. I got some on clearance this year for $1.24 for the 2 cu foot (roughly) bag at Lowe's first thing in March, and used it for peas and a few other very early seeds, again with terrible results. Seeds planted just 2 days later in ProMix had much better germination under the same conditions. I don't know if it simply keeps them too wet, or if there are wetting agents or other compounds in it that inhibit germination.

That must be completely different than their "Potting MIX" I guess, because I have had great results with the MG potting mix with moisture control.
I use it for everything, seed starting included.

What exactly is MG Gardening Soil?
Maybe it is supposed to be mixed with compost, moss, sand etc.