• Do you need help identifying a 🌶?
    Is your plant suffering from an unknown issue? 🤧
    Then ask in Identification and Diagnosis.

soil Sta-Green potting soil update

Avon Barksdale

Avon Barksdale

I made a thread a few weeks ago about how awful the Sta-Green potting mix that I bought is. I planted 2 tomato plants of the same strain (looks like some type of roma, the name starts with an M), both in 5 gallon buckets, one in Sta-Green and one in Miracle Grow to do a side by side comparison. Both were practically identical in size when I transplanted them and have gotten the exact same treatment, fertilizer, and sun, the only difference being I skipped 2-3 waterings for the Sta-Green plant because it seemed to be holding more water. Here is an update, the Miracle Grow plant is doing very well, while the Sta-Green plant looks awful. Maybe when they said grow vegetables twice as big, they meant in comparison to their other shitty potting soil Sta-Green, in which case, that claim appears to be true.

BTW, I know there is another forum for growing non-chile plants, but this thread is about potting soil, not growing tomatoes, that's why I'm posting it here. I don't have any chile plants I can use to do a side-by-side comparison so that's why the picture is of tomato plants, but the point is to compare MG and SG potting soils. It's not the greatest picture, and the color of the plants probably can't be seen very well, but the MG plant is also a darker shade of green while the SG plant is a little on the pale green side as well.

Edit: I clicked insert media, but it didn't work. Let me try again...

73904636.jpg
 
Sorry that the picture is so bright, it's a little hard to see, but it's the middle of the day so there's not much I can do right now. I think you can probably see the massive difference between the plants anyway but I'll try to get a better picture when it's not so sunny.
 
Hey I am new and this is my very first post. I agree that Sta-"Green" is crappy. I put some in a SWC and when I tried to water it down the water just sat on top like the soil was made of fine powder. The worst part about this is I bought a huge ass bag of it and I refuse to throw money away like that especially when cash is tight. I plan to add some pine bark fines to the mix to make it more airy the next time I plant.
 
Yeah, Jacob it is. I bought mine at Twin Bridges Nursery for like 18 bucks a bag. I filled all my pots with it and a little mushroom compost. Might try to find something a little more cost effective.
 
Fafards might be okay for seedlings but it is worthless for germinating seeds. I know from experience, and I tried to screen some of the larger pieces of "compost" out of it. I'll never buy that crap again.

YMMV,

Mike
 
Never been to Twin Bridges. Usually go to Martin's Nursery over next to the old G-braves Stadium. I am going to have to check that one out. $18 isn't so bad really for as good as it is, unless you need like 20 bags like I do. That's why I only have maybe 15 plants in it, but those 15 plants are my biggest, greenest and healthiest I have. I will be getting a bag a week over the winter if I have to in order to get enough for next year. Maybe then my wife won't get so upset over the cost. :cool:

jacob
 
wordwiz said:
Fafards might be okay for seedlings but it is worthless for germinating seeds. I know from experience, and I tried to screen some of the larger pieces of "compost" out of it. I'll never buy that crap again.

YMMV,

Mike
Click to expand...

Never tried to germinate in it. The fafard's I have (3 mix) is definately too coarse to be ideal for that, but I used it to pot up to and the plants loved it. I think I like the Promix Seed Starting mix best of what I have tried so far for starting seeds. Only probably is I haven't found it around here and had to order it.

jacob
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top