Dear angierainbow83, Please think about the info from Jodi and Al. I add my own story below. Since thinking through my own experiences will help me too, I hope you don't mind. I believe for me, I need to separate the garden beds from my containers; just as a two bedrooms can be used differently while still being a room, a separate approach to garden beds (to use Al's words, more "organic") vs. containers (more "inorganic") is still gardening. Good luck on your journey! Over the past few years I seem to be suffering from a case of harvest envy. Due to space and location, I do not have the ability to grow vegetables in the ground due to shade, but I do have a very sunny spot where containers work fine. I have "successfully" grown various vegetables (and am lazily including tomatoes in this category). I say "successfully" since I have never been able to come close to the level of harvest that neighbors get when the essentially identical plants with similar methods EXCEPT the plants are grown in the ground. In fact, I can say this with with confidence since I have provided them with their plants. I have experimented with various combinations of top soil, organic potting soil, compost and small gravel. (I won't go into nutrient supplements I have tried.) I have used about 15gal lightly-colored plastic pots raised off the ground. Given my growing climate, young plants move into these pots in early May and typically are taken down sometime after Columbus Day. The plants are still producing, but the colder temps negative influences many of the types I grow. In the case of eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, for example, my plants are 5-6ft tall and produce a crop not quite sufficient for a small family throughout much of the season. When I take the pots down at the end of the season, I typically find the exterior soil to be damp/dry while the center below the stem and near the main roots to be very wet. Further, there are many small roots near the soil surface, possible due to the thin mulch layer I applied (thinking I needed more moisture retention). There are some larger roots that spread in the pots, but not a tremendous amount. The best fruiting, distribution and size of roots was in the year where I only used organic potting soil without a mulch cover. Although I can't say with 100% certainty that by making the soil more organic I caused this problem since from year to year I changed conditions (and growing conditions change too), the evidence is pretty well stacked against me.

Hi Tina! I have 2 very close friends in Round Rock! They are the Godparents of my daughter, we visit them often. I love that town, what a great place to live! We have actually been looking for work out there, we'd love to make a move! Anywho, since I'm already here, I take a crack at your questions. 1) You've won half the battle if you have already locally sourced the ingredients for the gritty. The plants you mentioned will be quite happy in it, go for it! 2) Sure! Please understand that the 1:1:1 ratio is not set in stone. You can adjust the proportions of turface and granite to suit your needs. For example: A 1.25(T):1(B):.75(G) with retain more moisture than a .75(T):1(B):1.25(G)....got it? If you want your full sun plantings to retain more moisture, just adjust your mix...it's all up to you! 2a) I would be doing you a disservice if I told you anything on this. There are so many factor involved, you really will have to figure this out on your own. However, these are very porous, well aerated mixes...you will need to water them frequently, I'll just say that. 3) For the most part, most folks around here only suppliment there container fertilizer regime with CRF's, if they use them at all. It is highly suggested that you use a soluble fertilizer with these mixes, such as Miracle Gro 24-8-16 w/ micros or Foliage Pro 9-3-6. 4) The gritty will work for anything! However, for short term plantings many folks opt for the 5-1-1, due to it's lower cost and ease of construction. The 5-1-1 is also great for very vigorus growers that will need to be repotted often. The 5-1-1 can also be modified to suit your needs, for example, replacing the peat with turface will yield a more durable product, or doubling the peat fraction will work well in a raised bed, stuff like that. Those are all very brief answers, tip of the iceberg. Keep reading, you will find that many of your questions have been asked and answered, you just gotta find them. Post back with anything that your stumped on. Happy Friday Y'all! PJ

What JaG said is good advice. The Tomatoes will take the container over. If possible (seperated enough where roots aren't inermingled), remove everything but the 2 mater plants. One way or another, remove the cinnamon basil & parsley immediately & transplant to their own containers (10-12 inch). The Basil will get big. The Bell Pepper plant under the maters, if it can not be safely removed and is far enogh away from the two tomatoes to grow 2 ft or so, should be fine. I'd start it a training program, if that's the case (can't be removed w/o hurting something) where you can start some thin bamboo stakes to make it grow a certain way (away from tomato plants). Maybe 2-3 stakes...2 across each other meeting at the main stem to put sufficient force on it to make it grow away (but not push it too much) & one (or two) later on to help with support. Sorry...went off to gardening idea land there for a minute. =) Raybo has some great ideas, so post pictures of yours on Tomatoes & see what he says. The Basil & Parsely would be fine in your 3 gallon containers. "I also planted 4 bush bean plants in a rather large (24 inch diameter) container, 3 of them seem to be doing well, they are still quite small, though." They should all 4 be fine, but may need vertical support soon. Hope this helps. Peace - Steve

Roorezzi, Your husband has a good idea. It'd be really tempting to try dwarf Ginkgo trees (I think they'll stay under six feet max; aka dwarf Maidenhair) in pots --maybe three of those, one on each side of the garage and then one placed on that far back corner of the house (can be seen in the first photo; it'd make visual sense when first driving up to your home or viewing from the street). Nice, quiet, but giving a strong foundational presence; using larger sized planters, possibly those whiskey or wine barrels which are cut in half for containers (search for and invest in ones that are supposed to hold up to the elements longer for your area). I think they would last and last. Then, for side notes, accent plants in pots of a little bit smaller size could be added strategically for a sweet, seasonal, and cheerful welcome. You could still hang planters, too; if wanted....even by standing shepherd hooks on either side of the front door porch, if you were thinking about a good balance that would also direct-the-eye. I haven't grown any Ginkgo, ever, and I am certainly the opposite of expert. But they're so pretty, unexpected, and adaptable...rumored as bug/disease resistance; that's why I said it'd be tempting to try, though betting it'd be way, way too much heat/humidity here. Also, I think it's the male trees which are more desirable for purchase. Not sure of the exact lowest cold hardy zone but thinking it is okay for within yours. Click Here for a nice general idea article written about Ginkgo (sometimes spelled "Ginko" --without the second use of the letter 'g'). And if it were possible, I'd plant a Celestial Dogwood tree or two or three (just kidding about that, lol!)---planted in a large bedding away from being too close to your home but still super sweetly anchoring the left side of house in the front yard area---all because of their beauty! It's a hybrid, supposedly better at resisting bug/disease than regular Dogwood. Keep in mind with me being the opposite of expert, I'm not sure of their cold hardy zone, just know it's too hot for too long for a Celestial to survive in this part of Florida. Gosh, Roorezzi, they're so pretty! Good luck to you...everything looks really nice in the photos...especially the cute puppy, lol ... :o)