95%........make that 99%.........of the regular participants of this forum are going to encourage you to find a better mix :-) There is really nothing good to say about MG soils at all.

Rather than dumping it all out, you can attempt to convert it into the 5-1-1 mix, using it as a substitute for the peat in that mix. But you will need to add 5 parts bark fines and 1 part perlite for every part of the MG soil you will be using.

I concur with Gardengal. Miracle Grow is made by a big corporation that is primarily concerned with making the most money possible. MG soils use about 75% (or more) peat moss because it is the CHEAPEST ingredient. Go to your local landscape center and ask for a Pine Bark Mulch (not nuggets or hardwood bark) that can be used as a soil conditioner (preferably screened to less than 1/2 inch).

It is more free draining so you will have to get used to watering more often, but it will not remain wet enough to harbor fungus gnat larva.

A good read about the subject: Container Soils, Water Movement and Retention

If I mix the Miracle Grow potting mix in with the pine bark mulch and perlite can I use that for all my flowering annuals in containers? I am trying to plan ahead for next year because this year I feel the containers I have did not drain well at all. Is there any bagged soil less medium that is good for container gardening or should I just make my own every year? I spend way too much time and money on flowers to have them rot in the pots. I have one large unopened bag of the potting soil so I do not want to waste it. Would it be better to add that to my raised bed after I pull the garden and make all new potting mix for my containers next year? I always use new soil in my containers every year.

Yes, you can use the amended MG soil for your annual containers next season. If you mix with an appropriate percentage of the bark fines and perlite, you should have a container soil that will drain much better with no fungus gnats and your plants should respond accordingly.

Most here DO make their own soils, following the guidelines outlined in the thread mblan13 linked you to. And some do start with a commercial potting soil like the MG as the peat component. Since you already have it, I see no reason not to use it. But make sure you amend fully with the bark fines and perlite.

Thanks gardengal - I have read the link and I understand it. I will do my best next year to make my own.

There really is no bagged potting mix I'm aware that comes close to what I can make. I think its rewarding to see my plants exceed expectations because I made my own superior potting mix.

Even more so when you get compliments, or when someone just says WOW and stares!

Let the MG dry out completely to get rid of the gnats. Their life cycle is somewhere around four or five days, so I'd make sure it's been dry for a week when you make your 5:1:1. Spread out it in a large bin and leave it in the sun to speed up the process.

I've been buying Fafard professional grade mixes for more years than I can remember, first as a professional grower of bedding plants, then nursery crops. I now use it as a backyard grower of my couple of thousand bedding plants for my own use.

I have to have a locally owned nursery special order it for me as I've lost my wholesale buying power. Fafard sold out to Sungro a few years back but the new company has kept a few of Fafard's much favored mixes available.

I like THIS coarse textured medium for my container plants, indoor and outdoors. I use a different formula for my flats of bedding plants.

If I didn't have the Fafard anymore, there is NO question that I couldn't amend any bagged potting medium into a perfectly satisfactory product with very little fuss and muss.