I live in NY - so you have a much longer growing season. But to give you an idea what I can grow in containers (and you can certainly grow) - I have had success with cucumbers, peas, snow peas, swiss chard, lettuce, all sorts of herbs, hot peppers, sweet peppers, and string beans. I am even going to try growing cantaloupes this year (Minnesota Midget) - you could do that in a dollar store tub. Really, you live in a great place for this. I live in an apartment, too. I don't have a huge balcony, but I was still able to fit all of the above along with a ton of flowers (zinnias, hanging petunias, violas, and violets). Have fun!

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

Check out the earthtainer construcion guide for some mix info for a self watering planter, or just search container mix. Most will be a soil-less mix, there are a ton of great threads on here regarding container mixes, fertilization, and also water movement/retention. The poster above "Al" has some very informative and detailed explanations. It seems like gardening is such a varied and expansive topic that searches very rarely yield a simple, direct clear answer to a question. The answers I have found have been partly from searches, partly from posting a question, and partly from reading older posts ( sometimes not directly related to my original question ). There is an enormous wealth of knowledge here, take advantage of it, I did and have learned alot.

Salvia (both red and purple varieties) do very well on all counts for me. I don't know how "powerful" an attractant they are compared to what you're looking for, but the bees/hummingbirds/butterflies all stop by at mine. They *really* do well for me (near Houston) on being long blooming and heat tolerant.