Starting Seeds will change Your Life when you use the right soil, a mistake may not be Your Fault. Dollar Tree soil vs Miracle Grow Soil, How to Start Seeds in the right soil. Some soil may be wasting your time, and your plants will not grow.
Here are the SAME Solar Fountain Kits I buy for our Yard and this is an affiliated/aff. link to the company: https://www.ebay.com/itm/195244498866?hash=item2d757a9fb2%3Ag%3A8OkAAOSw545i36DN&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoB17B4VL18a81jTDfMS4FlnH4RQgpBN122Po9iJCj4YkQ%2FHVPhg21oArJ3BbcnvGig5ZaBhYNxgUWbzJCLZcyrXCtoPU%2Blg62m8%2BV1X7BSLZ2vmHIACN%2BlgAIx46VD%2BPJ5Wzl1BPOj2R%2Bhw20lIEqHOpmPuCPsHfu%2BAigVoNxXNAswDC8Ssunurftyh%2B2eMbYKwsE9IoAN1V9PiUJsznoYc%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6SZ-oKsYQ&LH_BIN=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338267736&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
Here is another Aff. Link of the solar Pumps we buy: https://www.ebay.com/itm/175315478341?epid=7030423436&hash=item28d19de745%3Ag%3AG3MAAOSwu2RipVPl&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAkKeReCv41AacsYNuasdLQTDGDwHQCf4jodG9A23RC4ikFyCV6U3BCd1q%2FKCaNROJK9j2VYp15mt0UMI6iz7EoCQOWzFNmb%2Blgd4PMgZkYVL6wUkHUCqghbLtX778pC3693Pckll8f1POq2LVXt8YaAtWHWO194qNUO1m4SjzaPGc6IccP%2F34Fz%2BGebmwg3rH6Q%3D%3D&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338267736&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
Here is a Company that I buy from for tubing for the SOLAR FOUNTAIN Kits, this is an aff. link to their site, the size I get is (5/16″ ID x 7/16″ OD) which this aff. link will take you right to:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRA-CLEAR-PURE-SILICONE-TUBING-BY-THE-FOOT-ALL-SIZES/383617931792?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=652018086071&ff3=4&pub=5575376117&toolid=10001&campid=5338267736&customid=&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&ufes_redirect=true&siteid=0
Here are the feeders we use, this is an affiliated link: https://www.ebay.com/itm/363748958885?epid=1609893651&hash=item54b120a2a5%3Ag%3AUnYAAOSw011iH2P2&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAkFrX%2F8nmpa6JIpcoG3quAQB98nYXsQvg2%2F%2BUQUX6fDoyJ4vnvErh7e8rH3%2BH7Re4sW1j9rIWR0bdHt67EUyepmC6rxBScQdQei3zmUHSv6muWeI%2FwHOQzdDtm03AxXZoAAwi1sEOv579cPuyDaMUi7hT1CD1DpIO0Vg2tD1PVVScAjJBo%2FwPnDI91e8T6%2FD5Iw%3D%3D&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338267736&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
Best Price, This is TULLE that Great Fabric SO CHEAP and last years outside here, here is an aff. link to check out, many colors, I usually get one of the greens, but any color will work great: http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-53200-19255-0/1?ff3=4&pub=5575376117&toolid=10001&campid=5338267736&customid=&mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fitm%2FTulle-Fabric-Bolt-54-X40yds-Wedding-Bridal-Party-Favor-Decoration-Tutu-Craft%2F381670793265%3Fvar%3D650737116165
Soldering Iron works for making holes in buckets and totes, this is an aff. link to someone I have purchased a soldering iron from:https://www.ebay.com/itm/281417012369?hash=item4185c2d491:g:UTsAAOSwxH1T8nkS&mkcid=1&mkrid=711-53200-19255-0&siteid=0&campid=5338267736&customid=&toolid=10001&mkevt=1
Garden Tips You Can’t Live Without Mardi Gras BEADS Make Plants Grow, Growing Mint Indoors, Nature
Seed Starting Success Growing Vegetables TIPS Lettuce Tomatoes Peppers-ALL Soil Is NOT Created Equal
48 Comments
Hi Robbie… good vid. I got a squirrel problem. He rips the tulle off my buckets. Any ideas????
I have trouble with many potting soils, even mixing my own with peat vermiculite, perlite and mushroom compost. Some composting companies use grass cuttings which can be filled with herbicides
# last showed up 😂
I bought a couple of bags of Dollar Tree soil last month, and I've already started adding leaves, kitchen scraps, etc. to boost it. And I plan on topping the tote off that I put it in with Miracle Gro soil and hopefully that will offset it. I never seem to have much luck growing lettuce though. 🙁
I never get tired of watching Kitty eating her broccoli 🥦 ❤😂! How did you know she liked it in the first place?
Ok, I'm not surprised, but can we talk about how lovely your nails are? Are they natural? Mine are tissue paper thin and split after they are a quarter of an inch long. 😭
Little broccoli monster 😄
Kitty is such a precious sweetie ❤
You are never boring. Love seeing kitty too! Just wondering if you and Gary talked about a PO Box? I still have something I’d like to send you. ..
I had the same results with dollar tree soil planting lettuce. The soil compacted once wet, almost to rock hard. I added perlite, and it didn't help. Finally, I started over, replanting the lettuce in Coco Core w perlite, and the lettuce is growing great! I will repot the plants later in the season. I don't know if it's just this year's batch of soil at the DT that's bad, but no more for me.
I bought two bags of dollar tree potting soil which looked and felt like mud when I opened the bag it wasn't even brown in color, however I decided not to use them period. Never had a problem with miracle grow😊🇯🇲🇺🇲
I bought the same bag thinking if I liked it I’d get a few more. Opened it and looked at the soil, wasn’t thrilled with the looks of it so it’s sitting on the back porch waiting to mulch some garlic chives. You just validated my conclusion.
Yup ! Never buy dirt at dollar store cuz you never know whats in it . I dont trust them specially if coming from china . 😬
I would have liked seeing the same comparison using identical planters. There is such a difference between the depth of the lip of the planters. One planter has better light access and is black so it retains heat for the night time.The other planter has such a deep lip that direct light can only hit the plant when it is directly overhead. It also did not have the benefit of the pot in the center of the planting that the black container has. That pot is also a source of warmth and provides extra nutrition from the watering of it being carried down to the plants below. I think this is a very intriguing experiment and I would like to see what would happen if it was conducted under identical circumstances. Thanks! Love your channel! Love the birds!
As a cannabis cultivator, I highly recommend getting your hands on the best soil you can afford. My mentor taught me, if you had a racecar you wouldn't put cheap tires on it and expect to be victorious. Same goes for your plants/crops! Love the videos!
Soil in general was really off last year. On other garden sites people from all over the country were having issues, including organic soil. I bought organic soil that I have bought many times from a reputable company, and planted kale and other greens in my Greenstalk and some pots. Most of the plants did not make it except for the kale which didn't grow that much. When it warms up a little I'm going to mix in other soil that I know is good, and see how some of the plants do before I have to toss out a few bags. It was quite disappointing about the soil as this was not cheap. I ended up having soil delivered to replenish my raised beds, and other areas on my property. I have a larger composting system set up for this year, but the Summers are shorter here in Oregon and takes longer to break down everything. I even shred as much as I can before it goes in the compost. I do miss Southern California weather! Though, it looks like you guys got the brunt of the rain, the atmospheric river, that we didn't get.
Great video. Do you think the problem might be because you used the dollar tree soil instead of the potting mix? I saw the dollar tree potting mix at the store last week but I didn't buy it. But the bag felt nice and soft. I only use miracle grow. Dollar tree soil gets very hard when it settles if you don't add anything to it. Have a great day and happy gardening 🌿🌱😊🤗
There are just as many disappointing types of cheap compost here in the UK.
We do get MiracleGro as well as several other very good makes, and it really is false economy to choose cheap composts over these quality ones.
Once upon a time, I would have to buy a stack of compost bags. Last year, it was just the one. This year it won't be any (and I hope I never have to buy any again).
My composting is really good now and since my fruit trees, bushes and hedgerows are finally growing vigorously, I now have more than enough material at pruning time to supply all my composting needs every year.
I always learn so much from you. I have been using your in pots dollar tree composter it works great and now complaints from neighbors 😊
Not enough soil in the pot. Too much paper. Planted too low in the pot so its shaded. Lots of reasons for that particular plant to fail other than the cheap soil.
hi robbie 🤗
i tried dollar tree soil a couple years ago.
one bag, i used by itself; another bag, i added perlite and soil from one of my raised beds.
DOLLAR TREE SOIL IS TRASH (sorry, not sorry). i wouldn't even use it as a filler or top soil.
I used kellogg's garden soil (3cf, red/black/white bag) for years. the last 10+ bags i bought (a few bags each on different trips) were about 50/50 and 60/40 mulch/soil – a waste of money, except that i painstakingly sift each bag and put the mulch on the bottom, the soil on the top and i throw away the increasing amounts of string/cloth, rocks, glass, hard & soft plastic and screws & nails.
im going to give their raised beds soil (2cf, pink/yellow bag) a try. if that sifts the same, im moving on from kellog's. the prices are going up and the quality is going down.
im waiting for my compost trash cans to make soil (and tea) from kitchen scraps, paper products and garden debris. in the meantime, i use compost in place pitchers and recycled garden soil amended with perlite and dr earth's fertilizer. i stopped using store-bought manure and am trying earthworm castings. a lot more expensive by volume but "cleaner".
im also building a worm farm in one of my growbags that i discovered 100s of worms in (previously had hibiscus cuttings that weren't doing well). soon, i hope to have my own continuous source of castings and tea too.
with everything that's going on, i want to be able to build, sustain and rejuvenate my garden without depending on stores … but ill stock up on garden supplies as long as they're available (and affordable). tfs
It probably was mostly peat moss.
Give Kitty more broccoli! Ha, ha! I now have 4 totes that I'm using for my own soil. Hubby went through his 2 years' worth of bills, shredded them all, and GAVE ME the scraps! Yes! I've now got him trained! (…eyeroll…). I add kitchen scraps, leaves, bark from our old cottonwood tree, pine needles, eggshells…I'm also making compost tea and you should see my tomatoes! I've learned so much from you! 🙂
Cheaper to make your own peat moss perlite fertilizer compost
Ty Gary and Robbie :). being careful on which soil to buy for a Great veggies.
Wasn’t it MiracleGro products that had an issue? I thought it was a problem being in the same plant as Round up?
I've learned my lesson with soils. Last summer I bought a bag of soil from a super market and plant some carrots and radishes and nothing grew up! So now I've found a flower store close to me that has great soil mix with peat moss, vermiculite, perlite with organic fertilizer. A bag of 70 liters is 12 euros. I think it's a good deal. I'm putting some leaves too from my plants and some kitchen scraps and it's ok. Lesson learned 😝 I so agree with you! It's not worth it to spend money on a bad soil and not grow anything that is very disappointing!!!
Thank you for the great informations again Robbie ❣️ You are teaching us so many useful things to make our gardening easy and fun!🌟🌻
I got a very different dollar tree soil this year, on the east coast. I passed it up other years, it sat there in the store and dried into hard bricks. This spring it looked better and I tried it. I mixed it with co co core, and some starting mix, and used it to start tomatoes. So far it is working great. It needs to be mixed with amendments. It doesn’t look quite like what you bought to start though.
I bought some organic cheap soil from Walmart and mixing it with some black cow .. I just started making my own compost in a tote and also making some plant food in a 5 gallon bucket … I am a family of 9 so trying to grow our own food .. I am learning so much from you ❤ thank you 😊
I noticed the soil you used from Dollar Tree doesn't ven look like you put any water in it. I felt it was not a fair representation. If you could water it on camera and check back like say a week, then I would be more inclined to absorb the information.
I used Kellogg’s potting mix in 2021 without any problems. But in 2022, the Kellogg’s potting mix used in my seedlings, grow bags and containers did not grow after 4 weeks. I begin feeding them with Miracle Gro water soluble plant food every 7 to 10 days. They finally started growing. The plants in grow bags and containers did not flourish. I eventually pulled those up. I kept the soil, but added another potting mix, compost, perlite, peat moss and granular organic fertilizer. I noticed early on that when I watered containers with Kellogg’s potting mix, the water draining from them was jet black. Later, I heard one YouTuber that used this product say she lost all of her seedlings. Others reported that brand soil was bad last year. I will never purchase Kellogg’s Organic potting mix again.
Am being very careful what soil I buy because last year soil it was constantly well it would not dry. Some plants do not like wet feet.
Soil quality really matters! Great video! The way you put your containers together is the absolute best way, and I copy your technique now every time I set up or refresh a container. I think those cheap soils are just shredded pallets, which may have chemicals on them or are just plain devoid of nutrients and moisture. This experiment really illustrates the difference! 🌸🌸🌸🌱🌱🌱
I love Miracle Grow..
I bought the $1 store dirt ! Is so hard I plant merry gold in it and is nothing happened after a week ( yes I put kitchen scrap on the bottom ) no good 😢I will use that dirt for my compost! I need to use some dirt over the kitchen scraps any way 🤷🏼♀️
Good to know! Thanks! Always enjoy seeing Kitty get her broccoli- how adorable!☺
Hi Robbie, I found out the hard way…I bought 2 different types of soil at Walmart. The Miracle Grow type was perfect…and another brand. Well just like you said…some of it is good and some is bad. The bad one had more of the wood chips and the seedlings started, but never grew. Then the soil started growing a lot of toadstools. So I will now use the rest of that soil for flowers…never again will I buy and soil other than Miracle Grow soil. Live and learn!!
LADY DO MORE PEAT MOSS AND PUMISE MIX.
So true I’ve had very bad experiences with dollar tree soil😞
I bought several bags of soil from one grocery store because it was cheaper but nothing wanted to grow in it so went back to potting soil that I used before from different grocery even it had big sticks in it that wasn't in it before so just have to sift it.
Great advice of what to and which to buy……thanks!
Time , with you and Miss Kitty , is never boring.
💕🐕💕
I had the same experience with dollar tree soil not only is it bad its not worth a quarter
I bought a above ground composter out of necessity because when I was composting in place I ended up with rats and had to hire an exterminator , I'm now making my own mixes that include store bought potting mix , compost , peat moss , perlite and some sand which I use for some plants that don't like to much water .
Tks for sharing this information with us
spoons!! Yes! I have a seasonal job transplanting seedlings at a greenhouse (they are row seeded in a flat) and a spoon is always in my pocket. I buy a couple of old and heavy stainless spoons from a thrift store … best tool I have 🙂 thanks for all your videos Robbie! I am watching loads while I wait for our zone 4a snow to finally melt …….
I can really see the difference in my kale plant that's downslope from the compost bucket and the one that isn't. It's so much healthier.
I wanted to put mint in the top bucket, so I opted for one larger bucket instead of two smaller ones.
I put 1/4 teaspoon of 10-10-10 with minors about a third of the way down in the cup for some seedlings or when up-pottting. Sometimes diluted liquid fertilizer.
BTW, coffee made with fresh mint is delicious. I add chocolate stevia drops.
I bought a mix of wildflowers seeds from the dollar store, because it worked for someone else a year prior and mine was just pure chickweed. Now I have just chickweed in one of my beds. 😅