Which Soil???

Hi folks,

Im on my second grow and was wondering if i have to use the soil that is sold in grow shops (Batmix) ? this is quite expensive in UK and was wondering if soil bought in a garden centre would do the job just as well??

soil from a garden centre will be ok for seedlings. Batmix is a really good mix, outstanding yields, a lot better than any garden centre stuff. Go cheap & it'll show come harvest time.. Batmix also has a stable ph & is hard to over-fert with.

get coco bricks dude thats where its at ffof 20$ a bag coco 13$ a block nd you get 3x the medium

If you want to mix up some cheap soil to grow in its pretty easy...

Pickup the cheapest bag of potting soil or garden soil you can find.
Buy a small bag of bloodmeal fertilizer.
Buy a bag of perlite
Buy a bag of dolomite lime.
Buy some cheap all purpose nutrients, and something higher in P/K(Cactus nutrients are usually higher in P/K).

Per gallon of soil mix in the following:
2 Tablespoons of bloodmeal
4 Tablespoons of Dolomite Lime

Then mix about a 4:1 ratio of Soil to Perlite, and yer good to grow.

About a month into veg start feeding a little bit of the all purpose nutrients, and when you switch to flower start using the nutrients with a higher P/K.

That should get you through an entire grow relatively cheaply. It's what I do with great results

My issues with garden shop soil is I think I have brought bug problems with it because it is so often stored outdoors. Even sterilized pro-mix could easily be contaminated by the non sterilized soils kept nearby. Pro-mix from the hydro store is my choice because its popular and cheap. Stored indoors it should be safe from pests as well. On a small scale, I've heard you can sterilize it yourself in an oven, but wouldn't be practical in any significant qty.