Miracle-Gro Potting Mix, 8 qt. (2 Pack)

Huge amount of soil for the money paid; much more economical than buying smaller sizes usually found in stores. Two bags make it easier to deal with: keep one stored away til the first bag is used up. Update Dec 2023This soil did work great! But read on. This past year I attempted to start a garden from seed for the first time, and re-do my sad garden beds. I learned a lot, especially about actually growing a garden. I’ve realized certain brands, like this one here, may have additives that seem great at first but may not be beneficial long-term. Seedlings I put in this medium grew crazy fast and big. At first I was patting myself on the back thinking “I’m so good at gardening”. Then I realized it was because of steroid-like additives in this soil that were giving them their initial mutant-like growth. Soon these same plants were struggling and needed various amendments. Which then I assumed was because I’d messed something up. But then I realized this soil has additives and that the additives could be part of the issue. The next round of seedlings I started, and all after that, I grew in regular soil (“recipe” below). NONE of the other seedlings, grown in exactly the same environment but in regular soil, had any of the issues the ones grown in MG soil did. I had a ridiculously amazing garden this past year, and it’s because I learned early on what seeds need and don’t need. Seedlings, plants, gardens in general, don’t need products like this. Seedlings thrive in untreated soil – with maybe some peat moss mixed in – plus water, light and air. Eventually, when they’re planted in your garden, the only other things I added were some compost (some homemade plus some cheap from local store), mulch on top, and a little fertilizer (I used Neptune’s Harvest Organic Hydrolized Fish & Seaweed Fertilizer as needed….that’s it. Recipe for growing my other seedlings – soil: Pro-Mix all purpose soil (inexpensive soil from a big box store) plus– plus: some sphagnum peat moss (around 3 or 4 parts soil to 1 part peat moss)– hot water: to kill any mold / fungus / whatever, before adding seeds I’d put the soil and peat moss mix into a bucket, then pour boiling water into it. Mix it up with a big spoon, add more boiling water, repeat, til the mixture was like a squishy damp soil mix. Once it cools, it’s perfect.– trays: fill seedling trays with that mix – make sure the mix is pushed / tamped down somewhat– seeds: add seeds as directed on the seed packet. The hot water you mixed in at the start (now cooled) will last for days.– light: Did you know seedlings don’t need light til they show green shoots? So you don’t even have to be totally ready yet. Once you see shoots, if indoors, hang LED shop lights VERY close to the tops of the shoots (about 12-14 hrs a day), moving them farther away as the plants grow. You’ll know your lights are too far away if the seedlings start to look “leggy” – long and stringy. That means they’re searching for light! Fancy grow lights are OK but not needed. I used cheap 3500-5000K LED light strips and they worked great.– water: When the soil is dry, put the seedling tray in a larger tray of water (like a cookie sheet). Let the water get sucked in from the bottom. Once the soil is damp, take out of the water.– air circulation: a little fan blowing on your seedlings for at least part of the day will help them grow strong and keep most mossy/mold issues at bay. That’s really it. Photos are from my backyard garden in 2023, all grown from seed. It’d have been more successful but as I also built the new garden beds in spring and early summer, I didn’t get everything planted outside as early as I should have. If this was helpful to you, I’d appreciate it a lot if you’d like the post. Thank you!