Miracle Gro 16 qt. Organic Choice Potting Mix

I compared this product to my own homemade soil mix (from vermicompost, perlite and coco peat), to Fox Farm Ocean Forest, and to a local brand of soil mix I found at a local hydroponics soil. Oddly enough Miracle-Gro outperformed the other more expensive mixes. The homemade mix came in a close second, showing no differences after the initial germination period. Seeds grown in Miracle-Gro Organic germinated a little faster than the homemade mix but after all the seeds had germinated, there were no real differences. The other two mixes proved to be too heavy when wet and created problems for the seeds to emerge. The heaviness could be overcome by covering the seeds with vermiculite, and this too seemed to work well with Miracle-Gro Organic. I did, however, find that adding a little perlite to the mix improved it. It was unnecessary to add fertilizer to the mix; plants seems to thrive for the advertised two months before needing liquid feedings. I purchased my bag from either Home Depot or Orchard Supply. I did not notice any increase in gnats compared to any of the other mixes.