# Cheap Organic Garden Soil



## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Would anyone be able to tell me if this stuff is worth taking the time on to mineralize. I'm looking at making a small desktop planted tank and don't want to run through a trial and error with pricy plants and fish. Yet I already have this stuff to get started today if it's usable. 

Thanks!


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

I see perlite...
You can use it, but it WILL be a trial and error.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Other than the perlite (which I'm assuming will float to the top when I soak and swirl it in a bucket and scoop out?), are any of the other ingredients huge red flags?

I may just mix some up to mineralize and put in a bowl at home just to see what it does. And continue my hunt for a triedcand true soil for my desktop this weekend.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

When I dirted my tank, I didn't even go organic and its working fine. If you have extra cash go with MGOPS but if not use the stuff you have, I would put it in a bucket, swoosh it around a bunch, of course filled with water, and let it Sit for 2 days in pure shade or darkness. After that scoop what's on the top, drain the bucket via siphon, and then bake the dirt in the sun for an additional 4 days. 

How I did it.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Looks pretty rich, with poultry manure, bat guano, and feather meal. A thorough mineralization ought to make it usable.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Yeah, I may just test this at home in a bowl or something, and just go get some known stuff for the one at work...


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

If you really want cheap topsoil, just go to your back yard, dig up some, and mineralize it. All you need to worry about is someone dumping waste solvents, pesticides, etc. in the back yard. If the soil comes from a garden that is growing flowers, etc. with no problems, it should work fine in a mineralized soil tank. I have done this repeatedly and from 2-3 different backyards.


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## Z1234 (Oct 25, 2016)

hoppycalif said:


> If you really want cheap topsoil, just go to your back yard, dig up some, and mineralize it. All you need to worry about is someone dumping waste solvents, pesticides, etc. in the back yard. If the soil comes from a garden that is growing flowers, etc. with no problems, it should work fine in a mineralized soil tank. I have done this repeatedly and from 2-3 different backyards.


Same experience here. I don't know why people are so afraid to use their own soil...

... costs nothing and if you are afraid, you can always do a test in a small tank or bottle..


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

There is an exception to the back yard soil rule. Here in the Blackland Prairie of Texas, our native soil has a lot of colloidal clay. The particles of this clay are so small that they become suspended in the water due to molecular (Brownian) movement. They never settle out like other clays, and can only be removed by extremely fine mechanical filtration, or by a flocculant.

So as much as we would like, we can't use the native soil in our tanks.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

^ Exactly what Michael said. I don't have soil. Just clay... Hard, dense, sticky clay


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

RandallW201 said:


> Would anyone be able to tell me if this stuff is worth taking the time on to mineralize. I'm looking at making a small desktop planted tank and don't want to run through a trial and error with pricy plants and fish. Yet I already have this stuff to get started today if it's usable.
> 
> Thanks!


Smart to send the photos.

The soil is a little rich. It has 0.30% Nitrogen, which is 3 times more than in the Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix that I used for my shrimp bowls. I think you could probably use it directly. I would definitely expect to do frequent water changes to get rid of that 0.05% "free soluble nitrogen." The rest is probably organic nitrogen.

If it were a 70 gal tank, I would probably argue against it, but a small desk tank... You can do frequent water changes and just let the soil mineralize in the tank. If the plants start growing well within one week, you're home free. If they don't, then you're cooked!

BTW, in researching my answer I see that I made a mistake in shrimp article on the nitrogen concentration of Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix that I used. I listed it incorrectly as 0.010 nitrogen in my article. It actually is 0.10. I'll correct shrimp article this weekend.

Good luck!


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

No better advice than from the guru themselves  
Thanks all. I think I'm gonna stick with the miracle grow and/or dig a section of soil out of my yard that may be ok.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Do a jar test on your back yard soil before you decide to use it. Fill a glass jar about 25% with soil, fill the rest with water, then shake well. Let it settle for 48 hours, and if you still have milky cloudiness, you likely have our wonderful colloidal clay. Not all of Dallas and Fort Worth have this type of soil, so you might be lucky.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

No need, I have it for sure. Think I've done that test before too. Among soil samples as well.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Ok.... so I've been looking everywhere for Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix. Can't find it. And everything else I find either has a ton of perilite or high phosphates and nitrogen.

Has anyone used this with good results?

The garden soil from my backyard isn't working. Too much clay...


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

This is a very simple bagged soil mix, and should work very well. I'll bet it was cheap, too.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

That "soil" looks very good to me, perhaps the best I have seen the ingredients for. No fertilizers added, no ammonium compounds added, no manure added, etc. There should be enough of the NPK and traces in that mix from the natural ingredients to make it fertile enough.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

And *NO PERLITE!*


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Yep and only $1.47 for 40lbs


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Which big box did the soil come from? And please keep us updated on the tank--having a good cheap brand of soil to recommend for aquarium use is important information.


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## eclecticjanie (Oct 5, 2017)

Michael said:


> Which big box did the soil come from? And please keep us updated on the tank--having a good cheap brand of soil to recommend for aquarium use is important information.


Walmart carries this brand.

Sent from my SM-T337V using Tapatalk


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

It is supposed to be available at Home Depot and Lowes, but neither one in my area carries it, nor will they order it for you. However, Amazon does have it! But, Amazon didn't get the message about how much it costs.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Sorry guys, been away for a while. 

The soil comes from HomeDepot, they ALWAYS have it in stock I've noticed.

Got a question though... For each soaking cycle, am I to be mixing/churning the soil up in the water or trying not to disturb it much? I'm on the 3rd or 4th soaking cycle now and it has no sign of the water clearing. Or is it even supposed to clear?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Here's what I do. I put the soil in a bucket, not more than half full. I fill the bucket with water to the top, using a nozzle to mix and churn as much as possible. Then it sits overnight, and the next day I carefully pour off the floaters and the cloudy or tannin-stained water, trying not to disturb the soil too much. Then I refill, using the nozzle again to mix and churn. I repeat this until there are no floaters, and the water over the soil isn't too cloudy or dark. Three times is usually enough.

If the during the rinsing, mixing, and draining the water never clears, this means the soil is unsuitable. Or if the soil volume reduces to very small amount, this also means the soil is not usable.

Now, how clear is clear enough? After the bucket sits overnight, I put my hand in the water down to the soil surface. If I can count my fingers, it is clear enough. But I don't need to be able to tell if my nails need to be cut.

Then I spread it in thin layer in a tub or on a tarp, and let it dry. When dry I break it up and re-wet it, and let dry again. I don't do all the rinsing and draining at this point, just get it muddy wet. Again, three wet-dry cycles are enough.


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## RandallW201 (Jul 31, 2011)

Hmmmmmm..... well if that's the case, this stuff isn't going to work. Its not clearing much. I did get all the floaters and stuff out, but each time I soak and mix it doesn't clear much after 48 hrs  
At this point I'm behind schedule now. I may just buy a small bag of Brightwell Rio Escuro and just go with it


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

In my bottle test and tanks setups, I add the water and try _mightily_ not to disturb the soil layer itself. Please don't purposely disturb soil and then siphon off the the cloudy water. The cloudiness is due to tiny clay particles, which ideally you--or at least your plants--will appreciate. These smaller particles have more surface area to hold onto nutrients than larger particles. And as the soil bacteria colonize and form their sticky biofilms, they will further glue these tiny soil particles together.

I set up my tanks carefully not to disturb the soil layer. If there is some cloudiness, I remove it with a careful water change. This is only done so that the clay particles will not settle on plant leaves and cause problems, such as inhibiting plant growth or generating algae on the leaves.


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