The type of plant you have, the amount of water (whether natural rain or manual), and container type will make a big difference on the type of mix and how your plant responds in your environment. I think that sometimes we overthink it too much for a plant that is basically only going to be grown as an annual. People have posted great results for tomatoes growing in 5-gallon paint buckets, tires, actual bags of soil as the "container", rubbermaid totes, half whiskey barrels, fancy clay pots, plastic square pots, foam pots, etc., etc. The big thing to consider is your climate - ie., does it get brutally hot all season with little rain or does it fluctuate with hot periods and cooler periods with rain or does it stay cool all summer, etc.? Do you get lazy (or go away alot) during summer and can't water as often or do you baby your plants and try to water them every day whether they may need it or not (out of habit)? Do you get full blazing sun all day long or just morning sun or mainly afternoon sun? Are the plants sitting on concrete? Grass? Black asphalt? Gravel? Wood decking? Basically, over time, you would learn about your area's climate, the actual growing area's microclimate, as well as your natural watering practices, and would then adjust your mix and container type to best fit that. And as an FYI, my mother insists on getting bagged soil rather than a soiless mix and based on her yard, sun exposure, and her watering habits, her container tomatoes and peppers blow mine away by a longshot (she has a south-facing spot for her plants where mine are on a NE-facing covered balcony getting little or no overhead sun but full morning sun and a little in the afternoon in the corner where I position mine). It's the most remarkable thing to see but the whole debate about soil in containers seems to get thrown out after watching her container production year after year after year. Last year, she planted some 12" - 18" tall tomatoes and peppers in pure "Miracle Gro" vegetable and bedding soil (the kind you dump in a bed) at the end of May and by July, her plants looked like this: By August, they looked like this, sprawled all over (she moved her peppers to a different spot as some of the fruit were getting scalded): Apparently, the heavy wettish "soil" that she uses for her containers sitting in full blazing sun was kept in a sort of balance due to the tomato foliage helping to act as a shade over that soil to keep it from getting rock hard too quickly, and thus the soil's tendency to retain moisture helped the roots deal with the sun. So I just say, do some experimenting to see what works best because often things don't always pan out the way that would make any sense whatsover, but the environment and your care practices will be more the determining factor. ;-)

You're welcome, Mike. I'm not sure what to say (turning red in the face as I read your post), except thank you for the testimony. I'm so glad your plants are doing better. You seem to have gotten over the fear that your plants would dry out as soon as you turned your back. ;o) That's a good thing. And you're so smooth - having women coming over so you can show them how to make soil? ..... right! ;o) I'll just close by saying again that I'm very glad you found a mix you can work with & that your plants seem to be doing better. Good luck & thanks again. Al

I use a promix soil. I use a 1 gallon bucket to measure my dirt, and mixed in a 10 gallon Rubbermaid Tote. I cut holes in the lid for air. I can cover it up till I need it and I can measure for consistency. For every 2 gallon promix I add 1 table spoon of dolimite lime, 1/2 gallon additional perlimite, 2 cup worm casing and 1/2 gallon Organic compost. Now, I'm sure you are wondering ok.. what about ph? Without the lime, the ph of this mix is 7.2-4. I know that because I use RO water to test it with. I mix the soil and let it sit 36-48 hours. I turn it every other day. Then before I use it, I take small plastic net pots and I set it in a bowl, and run my water over it. 3x Usually, the ph will get a little lower by last run off, but that is ok. 2-3 points won't matter. I add Dolimte Lime to the mix until I get a run off between 6.4-6.8. I let it sit another day ( I let the test soil dry well and add it back to the mix when done) I test a sample again. This sounds like a pain, but I now use 20 gallon totes, as I am repotting my plants every 4 months or so. The results are amazing. My house plants love it. But you can make as much as you want, and once it's done, the longer it sits, the better it is. Now, the Nutrients ph needs to be adjusted between 6.4-8 and you are set. I use Fox Farm organic nutes. I get the ppm to around 400 and the ph to 6.5-6 for every watering. 2x every month, I folair feed my plants as well. ps. Add molases to your water. 2 tbl per gallon. lol.

We plan to install luxury vinyl tile in our basement (old house with not so even floors, and that is a completely different discussion). Our contractor sent us to look at choices at a wholesale place that deals with contractors and primarily does commercial installs. The brand is Bonie, and I can't find any info at all about this product because it seems to be an in-house brand. The price is right ($3.29 sq. ft.) but I am leery since I can find nothing about it. It has a lifetime residential warranty and a 10 year light commercial. Gauge is 5 mm. Wear layer is 20 mil/.5mm with a ceramic coating. http://www.cheneycarpet.com/wholesale-luxury-vinyl-tile-plank-flooring/bonie-click/276 As with many things these days, I am kind of guessing that this comes from a factory (in China I know) that brands many identical items with different brands. Thoughts? Thanks.