New soil, or clean up?? advice needed

johntoubia

Active Member
Alright, I have my plants in party cups filled with Miracle Grow soil, thats all I had available at the time... My problem though is that in the soil there are bugs.

Which of these would be the better solution???

1. Carefully remove the roots from the miracle grow filled cups, since they need to be transplanted soon anyway, and put them into some bigger pots with much better soil, something that is more organic than Miracle and something that doesn't have any bugs in it.

2. Use the same soil, Since its not usually advised to switch soils, plus I have the big bag full of Miracle grow still. But I could spray the plants and the soil in the cups with some Neem Oil, to hopefully take care of the bugs. And then I could take some more of the soil that I have, since I'll need more to fill the bigger containers, and throw it in the oven and bake it to sterilize it all. And if it could help, I could even spray the soil with some Insect & Disease control before I bake it just to make sure that all of the bugs are gone...

But someone let me know which way would be best for my plants, it is quite important...

Thanks
 

panhead

Well-Known Member
Get rid of the bad soil,im not against using miricale grow soil but i am against trying to salvage something as important as the soil when its so cheap just to replace.

Switching soil is not going to give you any noticable difference unless you go from something like a soilless mix to standard potting soil,as long as your in the same ball park your good to go.
 

johntoubia

Active Member
Alright, well what kind of soil would you suggest using... and whats the best method for getting the roots out of the party cups without harming them at all??
 

panhead

Well-Known Member
I make my own potting soil because the nearest place that sells a pro mix that i like is over 50 miles one way, so its easier for me to make my own,here is the mix i use.

Potting soil 50% (no time release ferts)

Perlite 20%

Top soil 20%

Sand 10%

As far as the red party cups your in excellent shape,removing a plant from them is easy as pie,i water mine before transplanting them,let the cup sit for an hour after watering then take the cup & gently roll it in your hands,applying pressure to the cup.

Then i take the cup,flip it over upside down while protecting the plant with my hand & tap on the bottom of the cup & lightly squeeze the sides until it breaks free,if your stalk is thick enough you can even give it a light tug to help release the plant.

Dont get too caught up on root damage,you could tear away the majority of the root system or cut it off with sissors & as long as the tap root is not damaged it'll snap right back into shape.
 
Top