try the potting *mix* next time instead of the potting *soil* ... hope that helps.

I noticed more sticks in my bags this year then what usually comes in the bag. I've been tucking them toward the bottom of the pot or tossing them out if they are too big. I noticed my Walmart opened their garden center today. They had thawed bags of MG, I didn't notice any other types. I'll have to look more closely the next time I'm in for a different brand. I'd be really disappointed if I had to amend a whole bag of it after lugging it home. What type of MG did you get?

I've been really dissatisfied with Miracle-Gro mix since this past summer. At least the larger bags. One bag I got smelled like petroleum; all of the bags I've gotten lately have been full of sticks and rocks too. The smaller bags still seem to contain the nice fluffy stuff I'd gotten used to, but they're so expensive. In my area, I can't find much else.

I amened it with perlite too, but that stuff tends to rise to the top and I'm not real fond of that either. I just finished sowing two jugs of achillea and was trying to figure out where I could find some Pro-Mix or some other potting mix. I'm sure it's out there, just not anywhere very convenient for me.

Sigh.

PV

I hear what you're saying! I had that trouble last year already. I used to like Miracle Gro potting mix, but after finding many pretty big sized stones and some sticks and large pieces of bark (the stones are what I disliked the most though), I quit buying it. I bought the big bags of it to save money. I'm not going to buy small bags of it even if it is nice because I just go through it so fast and would spend a lot more on it than necessary. So I've been using a a mix a local nursery sells and I love it. It's $5.99 for a one-liter bag or $10.99 for a 2-liter bag. It's Gardener's Gold by Master Nursery. It contains sphagnum peat moss and/or reed sedge peat, bark fines, composted manures, composted shell fish shells, perlite, and dolomite lime. I've already gone through 4 big bags of it this year and will probably go through 3 or 4 more. People like us keep the nurseries busy this time of the year when their sales are slow. :) I'm sticking with this mix as long as it's nice like it is.

pro mix period.

Yep, Pro Mix all the way. Nice fluffy stuff, retains moisture... Can't say enough good things about it.

Sound like MG made their name with half decent products at first and then relied on that name to sell crap. Not a good move!

I haven't been able to find Pro-Mix so I have been using the MG Organic Choice potting mix. It comes in bags I can carry which I like. I can't lift those big bags anymore. It has turned out to be a good choice!
Joann

At my local WLMT, I bought something called Expert Gardener Perfect Mix. Cheaper tham MG. Nice fluffy stuff. No rocks. Only a few sticks. If you see it in your local stores, give it a try. I can get Pro-mix at my local plant nursery, but it's SO expensive & I really have to watch my pennies.

If you like Pro-mix, try locating a greenhouse supplier in your area. There's one here in St Louis, Hummert's. Their retail store sells the Pro-mix by the 3.8 cubic ft bale. It's very nice, dry, compressed stuff so you're not paying for stones, sticks or water and it's economical at that size. I spend about $45 on it and it lasts me for a year or more.
Margie

I emailed them. Let's see what happens.

I'm going to look for the Expert Gardener Perfect Mix the next time I'm shopping. I found that I don't need to water my MG pots before putting them out and I'm loving it! I didn't care for the ProMix and I know it will be a problem wetting it if I put it out dry. I'm just putting a little water (about 1/4 cup) in my MG pots, just enough to stir it up a little to break up the clumps and out the pots go. There is enough moisture here outside to completely wet my soil. I'm taking advantage of Mother Nature! It's making my WS'ing so much easier and really, really, really cuts down on the mess!

I really like the Expert Gardener stuff, and it's quite inexpensive, compared to other brands, such as the MG ones. What I like about it is that it wets easily but does not get soggy. I used it exclusively in my homemade earthboxes.

I love Promix too but theres none to be had just yet, the only place that carries it here wont have any til around march.

shimla, Its just the regular MG potting mix.

Joann, I might give the organic a try.

I didnt really like the gardeners choice seems to me that it got a bit hard.

Tiffy, I couldn't agree more also maybe since they now have the organics choice that is their premium mix which cost more money!

I did buy these other two potting mixs Proven Winner & Black Gold to try and I'm getting close to finishing up the ones I want to wintersow, and will check on the promix for spring sowing.

Thanks everyone:-D
Wendey

I have had the same problem with MG. I bought a big bag from Walmart and have been using it for WSing by picking around the sticks and rocks, but the amount of the "extras" in the soil is pretty bad. My problem is that I still have SO much left!
I might just save it to use in my large containers this spring.

I gave up on MG two years ago for the very same reason. I can't find pro-mix here so I use the Fafard.

GGG

What is you experience with fafard? I am considering switching from pro mix to fafard because I can score it at about $25 per cubic yard. That would be enough potting mix to winter sow for a couple of years. I also need large amounts of soil for potting up wintersown transplants.

Any opinions on fafard vs pro mix? I will start another thread in addition to this response.

PC

A few years back, I was showing a friend how to WS and she brought in a bag of MG that stunk of what I thought at the time was oil or gasoline, it was definitly something petroleum smelling. I've never heard of this fafard until I've seen it mentioned here. Where is it being sold?
Alberta

I got a piece of metal in my MG bag from Wmart last year. I thought I was buying the "good" stuff....never again!

For potting up you want 3B mix from Fafard. It's mid-weight, and I like it a lot. For re-potting I mix some of the Fafard with pine-bark fines (smaller than mini-nuggets) which is cheap, and provides drainage to the roots but doesn't hold in as much moisture as the 3B does. Because 3B stays more moist, I really like it for winter sowing - it doesn't get sopping, and will dry out at a slow pace.
Fafard is generally available at nurseries or greenhouse/nursery supply companies. You can also get it through Ace Hardware nationwide. It is in their data base so if your store doesn't carry it, you can order it in, at no extra charge.

FL

Girlgroupgirl, I got on the Ace Hardware website, and found a store about 20 minutes from here, but they didn't have Fafard. The only seed starting mix they had on their website, was a brand called Plantation. The ingredients appeared to be the same as Pro-Mix or Fafard, but of course they don't list a percentage for each ingredient, so it's hard to know if they are equivalent. They did offer free shipping of the product to our local store, which is good, since it cost $6.49 for an 8 quart bag.

Bonnie

Thank you for contacting us concerning Miracle-Gro products. As always, it is our goal to make sure that our customers are completely satisfied with our products and services.

Ms. McCoy, our Helpline # 800-645-8166 is listed on all of our products. We are happy to assist our consumers for whatever reason.

Again, thank you for taking the time to let us know of your concerns. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can be of any additional help to you.

Sharon Newell
Consumer Service Representative
The Scotts Company and Subsidiaries
14111 Scottslawn Road
Marysville, OH 43041

Ref # 6739269

Costco carries a much better quality of miracle gro than Walmart.

I had been using MG up until last week when I decided to try Expert Gardener because it was cheaper. When I opened the bag there was something that looked like mold all over the top of the mix. Has anyone seen this before, and is it still useable?.Thanks...Marylee

Eeeeewww, I only used Expert Gardener once and the containers got kinda hard so I haven't used it again.

Wendey

I didn't have sticks or stones in the MG potting soil one year...but I did have weed seeds in it! I pulled them out, taped to a card and returned them to MG.
They sent me a coupon for any miracle grow products, so I bough fertilizer.
Anytime I find stuff like that I send it back to them, lol.

I used several bags of Expert Gardener a few years ago and found it to be quite good. Had excellent germination and no trouble with it getting hard. Preferred it to MG as I found sticks and stones in the MG as well as weed seeds. I prefer Pro-Mix as it is cheaper due to being compressed bales though it is not always available. Last fall the new HD had bales on sale and I bought enough to hopefully take care of all my sowing this year. I've been using Pro-Mix when I can find it for at least 10 years.

Marylee - I've had that moldy-looking stuff growing in my bags of MG as well. Mushrooms too. Since I keep my soil inside, I figured the warmth caused a bit too much moisture in the closed plastic bag. I just scraped it off, pulled out the mushrooms and used the soil. No real problem.

PV

I have been using Sta-Green soil. A little more expensive than MG but darn well worth it!!!

Try looking up "Greenhouse supply/suppliers/equipment" in your local phone book for the Promix. I can get the huge bales (use to be black, now I have ones called promix BX that are white) 3.5 cubic ft compressed, for about $25 each. I can NEVER find this stuff in the retail stores, but all the nursury businesses around here get it from greenhouse suppliers. I found one who had a yard in a nearby town and I now pick up about 3-4 bales a year. They don't advertise to the public but seem happy to sell it to me when I walk in the door with cash. One time I wanted to use a credit card and they grumbled about that (they are set up to direct bill the large nursury customers)and they always look puzzled that I don't have a "tax number", but if I go with cash it is quick and easy.

Nancy

I have been using some expensive stuff call Foxes that I got through mail order. The stuff is absolutely gorgeous, but today I noticed some peculiar tiny leach like bugs on some of my stems of the indoor plants, I used the soil to freshen up a few houseplants two weeks ago. Today I noticed the bugs, along with just a few spider mites.

I picked the things off and treated the plants with buttermilk.

I'm still planning to use Foxes on the WS project, as I think the infestation may be very slight.

Sending away for NEEM oil next week to deter future pests!

Highalt.
Each Ace is independantly owned, and so they all carry different items, however, you can special order absolutely anything in the entire system and have it sent to the store: no extra charge! So you can call and ask them to get you Fafard if you want. I don't know much about the Plantation products but I do know that Ace stores also have access to them.