how do you fix crap soil?

perlite, and more crap (animal feces) the right kind, though.

molokai said:

I found a nice grow spot for next year lots of sun and privacy but the soil is clay and hard packed, I got some Miracle Grow in powder form and I think I might be able to fix the nutrition problem by tilling the powder in to the soil. The drainage is crap so what could I use to improve it?

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Lots of sand, peat, manure, and some garden lime. Clay is terrible for growing MJ

if you can get some 10-15 year old manure from an old cattle farm(i know not likely but it's out there) it will definatly boost the nitrogen levels in your soil... fresh manure is highly acidic and will burn the hell out of your developing root system...what you really need to do before next year is go to lowes/home depot and grab a $5 soil ph reader it is the cheapest way to determine whether the soil is acidic or alkaline and can be used throughout the grow season GOOD LUCK

Welcome to RIU Molokai. First of all, forget the "miracle" gro garbage; that junk does not belong in the same room as cannabis. The simplest way to do it is to start from scratch. Buy some Miracle Gro *Organic Growers Choice*; it's made by MG but it's great stuff. But, that being said, it still needs a few amendments to make it great. While you're getting the potting soil, grab a small bag each of blood meal, bone meal, agricultural lime, dolomitic lime, and cottonseed meal. Pour out a bag of the MG OGC soil into something to mix it in and add a fistful of blood meal, another of bone meal, a double does of both limes, and a double handful of the cottonseed meal. Mix it up good and fill your pots and bury the pots or just set them out. MJ will not grow well in clay and it's a royal pain to get it to drain the excess water.

cbrad84 said:

if you can get some 10-15 year old manure from an old cattle farm(i know not likely but it's out there) it will definatly boost the nitrogen levels in your soil... fresh manure is highly acidic and will burn the hell out of your developing root system...what you really need to do before next year is go to lowes/home depot and grab a $5 soil ph reader it is the cheapest way to determine whether the soil is acidic or alkaline and can be used throughout the grow season GOOD LUCK

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Nice info about soil. I thought I was just going to use any old cheap soil, but I'm thinking that there's more to it now that I'm reading this.

More to add to my list of things to have on hand when I finally get this first grow started.

Thx

its very cheap to mix ur own. i use parts of peat moss, potting soil, perlite, garden lime, bonemeal, bloodmeal. works very well n drains great. you can buy all that shit n it goes along way..

Go buy a bag of good soil. A simple mix that I started using was potting soil, wormcastings and perlite. Miracle grow is terrible if your growing something your going to smoke. Get some organic ferts trust me the taste is way better.

There is nothing wrong with MG. With any fertilizer use it the right way and you'll not have any problems.

Clay soil sucks for growing plants period. Go to your local nursery and talk to them about your soil. They'll get you set up with new soil and any additives it needs. The advise you'll get is much better then some of the crap people on this site will tell you.

Why would you think water from a stream is unusable? Look and see if there is invertebrates under rocks and logs. If there is then it's safe and usable.

Do you need to drill holes in it for drainage? Also how big should the bucket be and because it seems to be a better idea to grow in a bucket would sterilized bagged topsoil with some compost and perlite mixed in be good?