Hi, I lost my Stanley plum tree due to the very bad soil in my yard and water issue. The soil (more like lack of it) is concrete like substance - mix of gravel, rocks, clay and sand. You need a crowbar to dig a whole there. And this hole will retain water. I didn't realized all this when planted my first plum tree 4 years ago and it is now dead. So far, I made a drainage tranche, brought 2 cubic yards of very reach, compost enhanced loam (Not like I choose it this way, it just happened for set of reasons... )So I made a beam about 8 feet wide on top of the old 3 feet deep hole. I took old soil from the hole, spread it on the sides, add drainage to the bottom, add some poor soil mixed with loam to raise it up... Now I have loam beam with a hole about 3 feet wide and about a foot deep. I can make it deeper with no problem as well. The question is - what I should put directly in the hole? The "original soil mixed with organic matter " doesn't work - there is NO original soil) I also don't want to put the reach loam in contact with the roots - I thinks it is too reach. I don't think it will burn the roots, but sure will not encourage the roots grow wide. And my lost tree had very small root system, so small, I could just pull 5 yeas old tree out of the ground without tools. I don't want this to happen again. So this is what I have or can buy for the soil amendments: Peat moss(too acid?) Coco fiber Vermiculite Perlite Bagged garden soil(usually comes with veggie fertilizer, not sure if it will work at all) Bagged top soil Compost Very reach loam(they sold it to me as compost for the garden, but it is sure loam - munch heavier then compost should be and a lot of rocks) Shredded maple/oak leaves from last fall What would you put in the planting hole? And how deep would you feel it with the mix? This post was edited by galinas on Sun, May 11, 14 at 19:51

I think the "gritty mix" was more meant for potted roses than planted-in-the-ground roses. I can tell you what worked for me when I started new beds. First, section off the area you intend to plant with whatever edging you'll be using. Then spread some composted manure, mushroom compost, garden compost, or whatever rich organic matter you have, about 2" thick (or more, if you have enough). Grass or no grass on the ground, doesn't matter -- ignore it. If you have very heavy soil, you can also add peat moss or gypsum. Cover the bed with cardboard -- this will keep any germinating weed seeds in the compost from being able to reach the light, and they'll die off. This will also kill any grass or weeds already growing in the area. Then top the cardboard with 2"-3" of some kind of organic mulch (the cheapest I found at Home Depot was mixed hardwood mulch). Soak it well when finished, and leave the area for two months or more before planting in it. The best is to do this in the Autumn and leave it until Spring. If you are in an area that doesn't get a lot of rain/snow, you'll have to water the area to help the cardboard break down. You want it to last long enough to kill any plants or weeds underneath, but break apart enough to dig through at planting time. When it's time to replenish mulch, first put an inch or more of compost or manure on top of the old mulch (plus any organic granular fertilizer or other amendments you may use) before adding new. If you continue this yearly, you'll be feeding the critters in the soil, and they'll break it down and mix it around for you. :-) ~Christopher This post was edited by AquaEyes on Tue, Jul 9, 13 at 21:16

hi regarding using spent coffee grounds as a growing medium. I have just done experiments using SCG mixed in with peat at different ratios namely 25%,50%,75% and 100% to grow tomato and geranium seedlings. It was not a success the tomatoes in the 100% were dead within a week and the seedlings in all the other mixes did not thrive.I thought that this was due to the fact that the SCG were to acidic but when i tested the ph of all the mediums it turned out that the higher the % of coffee the more alkaline it was I also had the problem of the leaves going a purple colour in the tomatoes and the geranium leaves went a yellow colour. I thought that it might be that the SCG are to high in nutrients which scorches the seedlings or it is a lack of some nutrients causing a deficiency. Two samples have been sent away to a lab for testing just waiting for results otherwise if anyone has any thoughts on why it did not work please advise. i would appreciate any information thanks !!!!

Potting mix does let you pull plants up easier if they have only been in the ground a short time. After about a year the roots will start growing into the surrounding topsoil. Whenever I plant anything special I use potting mix to back fill. I have major Silver Maple roots which makes it almost impossible to ammend the soil here so the potting mix helps a little. I keep extra hostas for trades in growers pots with potting mix. I overwinter them in the pots sitting on the driveway and covered in leaves. Since I go through so much potting mix I make my own using large bales of milled peat moss and add perlite to it. I often mix in old potting mix with the new to make it go farther. While it might not be as good as name brand store bought potting mix it gets the job done and it is a small fraction of the cost. They are only in pots temporarily and it all goes in the ground anyways. I buy bales of peat at Lowes and I bought a 4 cubic foot bale of perlite which was enough for about 6 large bales of the peat. Bales of perlite and vermiculite can be bought at large nurseries that make their own potting mixes. You usually have to specifically ask for it as they don't keep it out in their retail areas. Same with buying shade cloth from them. If they use something, they probably sell it too. If you buy potting mix additives at the big box stores you only get very small bags and the price is outrageous compared to buying it in bulk from a nursery. The bale of perlite cost me 29 bucks. When making your own potting mix from dry peat, mix the peat with the additive while it is dry then wet it down completely before using it. I use a 30 gallon growers pot for mixing up batches of potting mix. I save a ton of money making my own. If it is good enough for the nurseries then it is good enough for me. The reason I add old potting mix with the new is that it is like adding compost. What is in the old mix is partially rotted just like a good compost. Usually when you get store bought mix, it is wet. You are paying for that water as part of the weight of the mix. Same when buying topsoil in bags. It is always very wet so you are paying for the water in it. The more money I can save on potting mix, the more I can spend on more hostas! One other tip, never let potting mix dry out completely. It is harder to get it completely wet again if it gets stone dry unless you let it sit in water for some time. Water will run off of completely dry potting mix.