Oh Al.........your pic was painful........ I have hanging containers that I try to take down & protect from the thunderstorms and terrible winds we get - anther reason I like your mix - less weight. The hydrophobia lessons are very enlightening - I have been protecting my mix & bags of peat & bark from the rain - LOL- Yesterday I poured about 2 gallons of water into one of my trashcans of mix in anticipation of planting this weekend, now that I know to add water while mixing. This forum is so informative - I thank you all - I have been gardening successfully for 30+ years - and this forum is so full of new ideas, to me anyway. I find it so energizing & exciting!!!!!

FWIW - the newspaper will just slow drainage and retain more water. The stones won't improve drainage ..... in fact, they are counter-productive because they will cause water to perch in the soil ABOVE your drainage layer; and the bubble wrap won't offer any protection against killing lows - it will just marginally increase the length of time it takes for the temperature to reach that critical temp. CT - there are different ways to look at a soil. To me, a heavy soil is one that retains a lot of excess (perched) water. Light soils aren't necessarily light in weight, but they are airy and hold little or no excess (perched) water. Mature compost, or any kind of compost is great in the gardens & beds, but can quickly become problematic in containers because of its small particle size and its propensity to hold LOTs of water ...... something you'd be better to avoid in containers. If you concentrate on ensuring your chosen soil will retain adequate amounts of air (even at container capacity) for the expected interval between repots (different than just potting up) you'll be offering your plants a better opportunity to grow closer to their genetic potential. The fertilizer part is easy. If your soil has dolomite in it (which has the Ca/Mg Miracle-Gro lacks), you can use their all purpose 24-8-16 or 12-4-8. Don't concern yourself about building a soil to feed the plant. That's what fertilizers are for - container gardening is much different than growing in the earth, and many of the strategies (like feed the soil and not the plant) are best left in the garden. Al

Man alive! This deep watering is going to take a couple of weeks. I got some soaker hoses from Harbor Freight and have been rotating them around the drip line of 2 mesquites, a vitex, a fruitless olive and the shamel ash. Move the hose about every 15 minutes to a different section of the drip line, do this for 3 or 4 hours, back and forth along the two sections of the drip line. Turn the faucet off and wait overnight. Most are still wet less than one foot down, 6" - 8" maybe. One is at one foot. The shamel ash I think, it's out front and has the most consistent watering over all. Plus I've been hitting that section with Dispur-sul since it went in the ground in the fall of 2005. Maybe that stuff works??

Actually the basic technique is similar for all container plants. Water until some of it comes out of the drainage holes. The only other real issue is how often you water. Rule of thumb is when the soil feels dry 1 inch down, but some plants want more (impatiens) and some less (potted citrus trees or succulents.) Blooming or growing need more. But always always water thoroughly.