The mix you are describing is the gritty mix. It would be more common to use the 5-1-1 mix (bark, peat,perlite) for SWC (cheaper, too).

In either case there is nothing in these mixes that isn't either a. organic or b. not offensive to organic principles. The only possible objection is that some ingredients are 'processed' such as clay being fired at very high temps to ensure it never reverts back to the muck it once was.

there are many of us on this forum who grow in containers and while we try to be as organic as possible when growing in the soil, we have learned the hard way that trying to be successful using things like manure and compost in large amounts generally leads to disappointment in containers.

There are some really nice options that are affordable though.

As I noted, there is nothing 'unorganic' about the ingredients in the mix you described or the 5-1-1 mix. The Espoma line is pretty popular and as of this year I believe all of them are considered fully organic. Many using self watering containers use this product and report good success. I have seen pictures of plants in SWC using this fertilizer and the plants look good. Look on the container or tomato forum for 'Raybo' who has his own SWC designs and uses the Espoma line of fert in them.

On the topic of reusing your container mix, that is fine to do right up to the point where it has broken down to the point it's 'too dense' and doesn't permit much oxygen to the roots. Pine bark based mixes will resist this collapse longer than peat or coir cased ones will.

What you have to consider about things like worm poop and compost is that they don't really have much to offer in a container. These are food for the biology living in the soil. The idea behind using them is 'feed the soil' as well as soil conditioning. In a container you won't have any soil to feed and plants are fed directly rather than relying upon soil organisms to do it. There is no soil to 'condition' either.

Lastly, there is little value in adding bone meal to containers. It takes a long time to release any nutrients. It has it's place in some soil applications, but in a container it's lack of solubility means it just sits there and does a lot of nothing.

Gary, I started reading these forums earlier this year and learned a lot. Last year, I lost half my peppers to little worms. I too thought that organic gardening was about not using pesticide, but now know that there are many organic pesticides. I lost a few peppers earlier this year, but after using Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) - a bacteria - I have not lost any lately. Just want to make a point that there are many organic alternatives to synthetic products.

>>>there are many of us on this forum who grow in containers and while we try to be as organic as possible when growing in the soil, we have learned the hard way that trying to be successful using things like manure and compost in large amounts generally leads to disappointment in containers.*raises hand*

Organic gardening/farming is much more than just "not using pesticide/herbicides/fungicides" or as others put it "chemicals". Organic gardening/farming starts with the soil, knowing what is in your soil, making that soil into a good, healthy soil, and along with that creating a good, healthy environment for those plants to grow in so the use of pesticides/herbicides/fungicides might not be necessary.
Organic gardening/farming goes on to include undertanding the environment and why what is happening is happening, providing an environment that supports a wide diversity of life so if you have insect pests show up there will be the predators there to help control them. Organic gardening/farming includes knowing about the various methods of insect control that may be necessary starting with the least toxic means available, and not using the most toxic means until all else has failed. Organic gardening/farming means that if you have a problem every year you look at the reasons and fix them so the problem does not continue and not reaching for the most toxic method of control each time you have a problem.
You can garden organically in containers, as long as you look closely at the soil mix you put together, but a mixture of peat moss and manure is not a good mix for containers.

Organic gardening/farming starts with the soil

Understood, but many of us prefer to not use soil in containers due to the drainage/aeration problems we, and the various university sources have discovered.

So, starting with a soil-less mix, there is no making the soil 'good and healthy'.

I understand some are committed enough to the organic ideas that they will want desperately to use them in containers, but for many of us organic in containers is about the non use of pesticides or the use of the low toxicity pesticides if absolutely necessary. It's not about 'feeding the soil' since we aren't using any ;)

For my meyer lemon that I want to keep organic, I buried it in the ground for cooling as well as to allow the microbes to have a hand at the espoma citrus tone that I used, while it's still in a container that I can bring in this winter and also keep the roots in check.

For my salad that's growing under lights indoors, I gave in and followed the rest of the container forum and got some mg. I'll probably switch it to dynapro next.

For my inground raised beds I'll keep it organic. No pesticides or chemical ferts.

Thanks for the posts. Definitely has been very informative for me.