Instructions on how to create this are here: How to Build and Grow the Fastest Survival Garden Ever Miracle grow is what it says.... it grows things fast. I have always been suspicious of what it really is but this is an interesting idea to grow food, fast and easy. Great idea for people who live in a small space and cannot have a normal garden, people in apartments with only a balcony. The bag will keep in the moisture so I do not believe you would have to water daily. There are lots of shallow root vegetables that one could grow this way. I do wonder how many uses you would get before you had to add nutrients to the soil.
don't use bagged fertilizer just organic cow,horse,goat and rabbit droppings when I can get in fact just had 4 truck loads delivered today
It is a very good solution for shallow rooted plants in an urban area. If you have any time at all and any resources, a square foot garden will give you much more food for the buck, and work with deeper rooted plants. As near as I can figure, square foot gardening is an off shoot of Mittleider methods of using fertilizer applied to a growing substrate, sand and sawdust, peat and sand, etc, that allows you to grow non organic? food in large amounts in soil with no prep time and with a stored fertilizer and trace mineral mixture. See Food for Everyone for examples. I don't know how wide spread it is, but in my limited experience, most of the non organic food I see grown in NH uses some form of this method. You control fertilizer, water, and weed access and have large fields of veggies etc. Buy 10-10-10 etc fertilizer from Tractor Supply, Agway, etc, in the fall when it on sale and store it in plastic bags in air tight containers and store the required trace mineral and other supplies, borax etc in the same way. I have used it and it works as well as they say, that given, I prefer to use either hydroponics in my greenhouse, or organic in my garden, but they require resources and time that may not be available if TSHTF. Have them more as a back up in case of bug out, or for barter, or for expanding my food supply if my whole extended family arrive 6 weeks after the event with the clothes on their backs. While both methods will grow root crops, potatoes, squash, etc, neither method is very useful in growing the large amounts of grain, rice, corn, etc that you would need for calories.
You will get the same effect with raised garden beds, use manure that you can source for free of of CL. I only use low commercial nitrogen fertilizer for my tomatoes.
I think this is a great stepping stone idea. I have a friend that only has a small balcony and thinks she cannot grow anything. I sent her this idea. I am hoping she tries this and once she sees she can grow her own lettuce then I can gently suggest grow bags. Baby steps is how I am approaching those people I know that think they cannot have fresh lettuce. I am suspicious of Miracle gro and really do not use it myself but any apartment dweller can get a bag and try this out themselves.
Read the instructions...and the packaging. I suspect that it's just ordinary potting soil with fancy marketing. If the American Standards are anything like the Australian Standards for packaged potting soils, A General Purpose potting soil will give you about a couple of months worth of nutrients if you have bought it freshly manufactured before the NPK nutrient load has become used up or leached out. A premium potting soil will have additional couple of months service life, and will typically include a wetting agent, slow release fertiliser, and other non organic goodies. Crops cultivated in grow bags or potting soil will, if used longer term, need supplemental feeding. Foliar sprays and liquid fertilisers can be very helpful adjuncts. After some use, it is worth checking PH levels to see whether the growing medium has the optimal PH for the crop that you are growing. http://www.yates.com.au/gardening/tips/choosing-the-right-potting-mix
As they say, "All things in moderation." The last year my dad was alive, I was 20. During my years growing up, I had always seen his tomato plants - Big Boy and Better Boy varieties, grow so large, that one slice of any tomato would cover all four sides of a slice of bread. I figured I knew everything - at 20, what young guy doesn't? So, I copied him. Drilled holes in buckets, threw in saw chips, planted my tomatoes, and mixed my Miracle Grow solution. Well, my dear ol' departed pappy used to put MG on the plants, I guess about once, maybe twice per week? I decided to put it on every day. Well, I did it, I grew plants that dwarfed my dad's. I was just waiting for the tomatoes to come - still waiting, in fact. Over six feet high plants, but not a single tomato on any of them.
Trace elements are just that...trace elements....the pepper and salt of a meal that enhances the main dish (NPK): In excess they make the meal inedible. It's important to check soil PH to ensure that it is optimal for the plants that you are growing's nutrient needs. Different trace elements have optimal PH levels (max and min) for satisfactory nutrient uptake. Nutrient Imbalances in plants and soil