Specialty Gardening: Miracle Grow add - Chapter II: The Experiment, 1 by heathrjoy

heathrjoy wrote:
My Base Mix

2 parts Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss
1 part partially composted/partially cut up Pine Bark Mini Nuggets
1/4 part Perlite
3 teaspoons Soil Moist water crystals mixed w/ 12 cups of water

The Peat Moss was fresh from a newly opened bag and I made sure it was all pulverized and had no clumps. I was not able to get my hands on any kind of composted pine anything, and I didn't start gathering my materials early enough to compost it myself. Shame on me! I purchased a bag of "Mini Pine Bark Nuggets" from Wal-Mart that are used for mulch. I used from the bag what was at the bottom and was wet, it was very soft. What I had to use from the inside of the bag I chopped into small pieces, smaller than 1". The water crystal recipe I got from a local gh owner, and it's the recipe she uses when potting up her plants, it's not what is listed on the package. I mixed it the night before so the water would be absorbed well. After everything else was in the mix the water crystals were added and mixed in, little by little. We separated the mix and worked the jello-like water crystals in bit by bit until they disappeared.

My MG Mix is the above with OS added as a fert.

This mix drains very well, I'd say about the same as MG, maybe even a bit better. I'm excited to see the results.

BTW, I just noticed the other day that MG has changed their contents labeling on their bags. Now their first ingredients are "composted forest products" then sphag peat moss. Also "composted soft wood bark" or however it was written, is missing. Glad I looked at it when I did!

Here's a pic of my MG mix compared to MG out of the bag. My MG is in the wheelbarrow, MG out of the bag is in the oval container.