warning, don't skimp on soil.

[diggler35007]

i bought some very cheap soil from a dollar store,and there was a fungus in it. i actually ran a controlled test with it. dont get me wrong, not all of it is the same. i did not think it mattered but it did. i got lucky the first time round cause thats where my soil came from for my first grow. and then my second grow did not make it. the reason i know this is cause i had a bunch of free seeds and some store-bought seeds. both failed. i had had great results with one strain and tried the same thing with the same thing and with the same bad results. it was not the seeds- i thought it was. all i am saying is dont skimp on materials. yes i know better now. on the bag it said organic. i had never been to this site before then . i am a noob kinda-sorta . dont skimp on basic materials.

[Hogdady]

the hard lessons are never forgotten....

[aero420]

Organic: Of, relating to, or derived from living organisms.

It's what type of living organisms that make all the difference

[Droopy Dog]

Originally Posted by Hogdady

the hard lessons are never forgotten....

Neither are the expensive or painful ones.

Why don't you make your own? I make my own soil less mix that is organic and cheap. Organic as in it's nothing more than peat moss, perlite, and pine bark mulch, plus whatever additives I toss in, like dolomite lime, epsom salts and so on.

Cheap if you buy in bulk, like the 3.8 cu ft bags of peat moss ~$10-12. 4cf bags of perlite~$18 and the mulch is ~$2.50.

I use a LOT of perlite (I like light mixes that drain very well), and use about 4 of the 4cf bags/3.8cf bale of peat moss and perhaps 2 bags of the pine bark mulch. This total last me for a year or more, for all my growing, both veggies and smoke.

Not sure just how much all this makes since I just mix up a wheelbarrow full at a time and that is around 30 gallons of mix. I would say better than 150 gallons easily. I also use this mix for container veggies and use quite a bit in 5 gallon buckets.

Store bought is expensive, and as you found out, you never know what you're getting besides the soil.

DIY is cheaper and you control what goes in and in what amounts.

DD