My Miracle-Gro bags has many pieces of wood in it. Products just aren't the same as they were in the past. I'm dissapointed. I guess I have bark for my trees and plants.
Kellogg's seems to be a consistently worse product. Here you can see that it looks like a high concentration of shredded wood that hasn't been broken down enough, and is probably robbing even more nitrogen from the plants than the other ones, although they all probably have this issue to some degree. Would have been interesting to see stuff from pro horticulture, and fox farm. In addition it would have been good to do at least one fertilizer application across all boxes, as I believe miracle gro soils usually have some fertilizer added
So as a grower i have some critiques They all got the same amount of water every day But not all soils retain moisture at the same rate! a soil with peat and vermiculite will need less water then a soil with coconut coir and perlite I think it would be a far better representation if you had moisture meters and tailored the watering to keep them all at optimal moisture level. Over or under watering will certainly skew the results
For years youtubers have been detailing their abysmal results using Kellogg, not realizing that the fertilizer is seriously lacking in those OMRI listed products. I wouldn't pay more than $3 per bag for any of them.
Agree with your question. What a waste to test soil bought at a big box store. Go test fox farm, Fort Vee, and others based on a more regenerative and biologic mindset vs. the chemical approach of most of those tested.
Your channel is my go to channel for soil education. That said, I have a question about the Miracle Gro products. I've noticed that depending on which state you live in, the ingredients vary greatly. Will my results vary? (I'm in California.)
We’re glad you’re enjoying the channel and content; we love helping educate! Bagged soils may vary in different states for many reasons ranging from manufacturing and storage to legislation, so your results may vary. That being said, we have seen similar trends with these same brands in previous studies. If you are using the soil to “top off” a garden bed and incorporating with existing soil, this can certainly change the composition and nutrient levels within the entire rooting profile vs using the mix as a stand-alone soil. This is why we always recommend a soil test before planting so that you can amend your soil with the products that your fertilizer philosophy aligns with to grow the healthiest plants.
@@SoiLab If I use the product, it will be as a winter mulch. I've "embraced" no-till, biochar and alfalfa pellets. Naturally I should have my soil tested, but right now I use the earthworm activity and tomato plant explosion for feedback. (All is well.)
