# Mix manure and soil ?



## eminor (4 Oct 2021)

Hello, I use a poor soil "heather soil" with a pH of 4.9, it was the only one I had on hand, can I add some decomposed manure to add food to the plants? thx


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## ceg4048 (5 Oct 2021)

eminor said:


> Hello, I use a poor soil "heather soil" with a pH of 4.9, it was the only one I had on hand, can I add some decomposed manure to add food to the plants? thx



I suggest that you avoid manure until you have more experience. Decomposing manure releases high levels of ammonia.
You do not need to worry about the soil you have. Just carry on with it.

Cheers,


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## greenbliss (24 Oct 2021)

eminor said:


> Hello, I use a poor soil "heather soil" with a pH of 4.9, it was the only one I had on hand, can I add some decomposed manure to add food to the plants? thx


If you ever notice signs of deficiencies in your plants and they are simply in a plant only setup (no invertebrates or fish) you could use miracle gro diluted to 1/4 or 1/2 the usual strength. Obviously this wouldn't be suitable for all plants but in my experience so far I have found it works just fine for plants with more "basic" needs such as common stem plants or Cryptocoryne species.


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## dw1305 (24 Oct 2021)

Hi all, 


greenbliss said:


> you could use miracle gro diluted to 1/4 or 1/2 the usual strength


We have a couple of <"Miracle-Gro"> threads. It is a <"bit low in magnesium (Mg)"> but otherwise pretty good.  

When I run out I'm going to have a go with the <"Solufeed 2 : 1 : 4"> formulation.

cheers Darrel


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## greenbliss (24 Oct 2021)

The main reason miracle gro is so good in my opinion is because it is simply very economical, I don't think a cheaper option exists.


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## dw1305 (24 Oct 2021)

Hi all,


greenbliss said:


> miracle gro is so good in my opinion is because it is simply very economical, I don't think a cheaper option exists


It is <"certainly cheap">.  

I'll be honest I have a <"bit of an issue"> with the sellers of a <"lot of aquarium products">, they are <"less than honest">.  You could argue that an <"ADA Superjet filter"> (or a <"high end light">) is worth it because of build quality etc, but there is no issue with <"aesthetics with fertiliser">.

@Hanuman and @Zeus. (aided by @X3NiTH ) have <"built a spreadsheet"> that lays bare the mark-up on "aquarium" fertilisers.

cheers Darrel


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