Hi xo,
I know your problem very well. I used Miracle gro for a couple years by adding equal amounts of coarse perlite and coarse vermiculite to it. But when they added fertilizer to it I stopped. Right now I am using an AV mix that I get from Cape Cod violetry. They make a mix for growing and for wicking. I have been using that now for over three years. You can also mix up a batch of potting mix yourself. Some time ago my club bought a small bale of pro mix(b) and mixed it up and sold it by the bag. Cape Cod also sells coarse vermiculite and coarse perlite by the bag. I have listed their site for you below. JOhn Cook is very good at filling orders and ships the stuff out quickly.
Fred in NJ

Here is a link that might be useful: Cape Cod Violetry

Hi xo,
I know your problem very well. I used Miracle gro for a couple years by adding equal amounts of coarse perlite and coarse vermiculite to it. But when they added fertilizer to it I stopped. Right now I am using an AV mix that I get from Cape Cod violetry. They make a mix for growing and for wicking. I have been using that now for over three years. You can also mix up a batch of potting mix yourself. Some time ago my club bought a small bale of pro mix(b) and mixed it up and sold it by the bag. Cape Cod also sells coarse vermiculite and coarse perlite by the bag. I have listed their site for you below. JOhn Cook is very good at filling orders and ships the stuff out quickly.
Fred in NJ

Here is a link that might be useful: Cape Cod Violetry

Hi Fred,

Thanks so much for your message and for posting the link.
As a matter of fact, I tried contacting Cape Cod Violetry via email and so far have heard nothing. That was three weeks ago. Do they normaly take that long to respond ?

All of this is actually getting to me. I live in the Taunton Mass. area of New England. For the most part, all we have here are the Home Depot , Lowes, and Walmart. EVERYTHING is Miracle Grow !

I certainly will try to contact Cape Cod again.

xo

xo--Call them, John doesn't answer emails really quick. If you need their number, email me m3rma1d@gmail.com

Actually, I have an extra special news alert for you! The Bay State African Violet Society is having their spring show and sale on April 16 and 17th at the Tower Hill Botanical Gardens in Boylston, near Worcester. John will be there with all his supplies, including mixed soil or the ingredients for you to make your own. Everybody I know that has used his mix swears by it.

There will also be a judged show, with many beautifully grown plants to oooh and ahhhh over. Plant sales are a big hit with this show, with both commercially grown plants from Lyons Greenhouses and plants grown by club members. The show is free but there is a charge to get into the Gardens.

Make a point to say hello if you are there on Saturday.

Barbara

Oh yeah, DUH!! Haha I will be there too, it'd be cool if you could make it xox!!

You're not alone in your frustrations. Even here in Houston it can be hard to the ingredients for a good mix, or something other than miracle-gro. I only keep about 20 violets, so ordering online doesn't make a lot of sense to me because I go through so little potting mix.

Hello gang,

Thanks for all of your input. I know that I am not alone with my issues with Miracle Grow. The problem is that as long as the general public keeps buying their stuff, they will keep selling it.

I have The Cape Cod Violetry phone number, so I will be giving them a call. Thanks m3Rmald for your kind offer.

As for the Bay State African Violet Show, I am sorry to say that I will not be able to make it. It sure would be nice to meet everyone. As the weather improves here in Mass., I need my weekends to work on, and in my greenhouse. The auto vent system is not working , so the daytime temps. have been creeping up to almost 100 deg.on sunny days. I also need to replace the heating system soon. Also time to start taking down the bubble wrap insulation, as the days are getting warmer. I have banana plants that need to be repoted soon as well.

As for violets, I will be taking several leaf cuttings. Once the venting problem has been solved, they will go into the greenhouse.

Well, I have done my good deed for the day today. I saved a Optimar violet from death today by shopping at the local Lowe`s. I will explain it all in another posting.

xo

Rant and raves? Can I add mine to the pile?

We can get a good quality Canadian peat in Lowes and mix it with perlite and vermiculite - and not support Miracle Grow. More of it - we can get a LOT of peat for the money. And it can be used outside on our garden. You just need to seeve it to pick the sticks out.

Second - saving an almost dead violet from a big box store you are risking bringing home a bunch of mites, thrips - 100% sure, aphids, mealy bugs, botrytis, virus and who knows what else. Just let poor thing die and do not endanger your beloved house plants.

Thanks God It's Friday. Work Sucks.

Irina

Hi Irina,]
It sounds like you had a bad week at work. I have never heard something that negative from you before. YOu are usually so cheerful and hopefull about plants that this rant seems like a complete 180 degree turnaround for you. Is there anything we can do to cheer you up????
Fred in NJ

Sorry, Fred, I have to agree with Irina. In case you didn't see the other post, it refers to a plant bought from a box where the poster saw plants with thrips on two that were in the same box.

I can guarantee that the purchased plant has thrips and/or eggs of thrips. Sure, isolating the plant will hopefully protect your collection, but you are still going to have to treat the isolated plant for thrips. While you are doing that, don't let any fall onto your hands when you pick up the plant, then on your clothes, then back on your hands after you wash them, then on that prize plant that is in full bloom for the first time.

Barbara

Oops, I just re-read that posting, and it wasn't thrips, it was cyclamen mites. Yikes! That is even more difficult to deal with! No way I would take that plant into my home.

Barbara

Fred and other friends -

sorry for being such a spoilsport - it is a lot of stress at work.

My son just told me - you do not have work and hobby to do on your free time. You have your plants and you do work on your free from plants time.

I wish...

I have a fungus gnats invasion...

I just lost my office - we are now 3 in a room. We were just told to do the project in 3 months instead of 5. And the big boss told us to remove the plant from the middle of the room - so we can look at each other ALL the time and exchange ideas.

Some days are like this...

Irina

Sorry for the blue times at work Irina. I know how that can be.

I do agree with you, though, on the box store violets. I would not bring one home for fear of thrips and mites. Guaranteed one or the other, at least. Then there's the white devils, little mealy bugs. I stay FAR away from box and grocery store violets. I don't even buy violets from my local GH anymore- for the reasons listed above. I buy only from reputable online vendors. I do some minimal trading- too afraid of INSV. Wow, there's so much to worry about with our violets, isn't there?

I am going to be in the minority on this one. I use the African Violet Miracle Gro and mix their perlite with sphagnum moss all from Lowe's and have had great success in the 3 yrs. I have been using it. I mix 4 cups aV mix (12oz) and 6 cups perlite with 2 cups chopped sphagnum moss and it works exceptionally well for me with AV's and Streps. It's just my preference to continue with what works for me after experimenting with
different combinations of locally available material.With shipping continuing to climb, I try to make do with what is available locally.
Dave

I too will and have used commercial AV potting mix. I count it as the one part peat, and add the perlite and vermiculite as the other parts. If the mix has fertilizer in it, I won't add any to my water for about 6 weeks.

I do however prefer to mix my own.

Barbara

Hi All! I wanted to add my two cents... I have always used Miracle Grow mixed with perlite and or vermiculite, almost 50/50. I have never really had any trouble with my soil. Well, not that I have noticed at least :) The one time I tried a different brand I had all kinds of crazy growing out of those pots, it almost seemed like someone tossed a handful of birdseed into it. I have been shy since then about buying other varieties.
I am slightly concerned by the mention of y'all not liking that they add fertilizer to their mix. Do 'we' not like their fertilizer? I didn't even think about the fertilizer being in there already and I fertilize when I water them pretty much all the time. Should I stop fertilizing with the water?
-Kate

My issue with Miracle Grow adding fertilizer is that I don't know what/how much they've added, how long it would last, etc... I have my own fertilizer and don't need to guess, so I just don't bother with their mix.

I use the Miracle Grow plus perlite and vermiculite and my plants LOVE it. I am the one who doesn't. Here's why: the Miracle Grow has fertilizer (which according to the bag lasts for about 30 days) and the only perlite I can find is also Miracle Grow with fertilizer. My plants are wicked and I have to do like Barbara said and use plain water for a couple of months or the plants show serious signs of over-fertilization. I don't repot all of my plants at once, so when watering I have to keep track of when the plants were repotted so I know whether to use plain water or fertilizer water and I also have to be careful not to mix the wrong plants together on the trays. It would be easier for me not to have to keep track of which plants get which water. Pretty lazy, huh?

Kate, if your plants are happy with what you are doing I wouldn't change anything. Your plants and other conditions might be different from mine, for example, your perlite might not have fertilizer in it and that might make the difference.