Add a small amount of dolomitic lime and do look for coarse perlite. Home Depot has it in the Thermorock brand - if the store doesn't carry it normally they should be able to order you a bag. Make sure it is the COARSE grade and not the medium grade. I think the bag is yellow. No need to unpot your plants right this moment, you can "side dress" with lime and a small amount of bone meal. I'm switching to a peat-pumice blend because I hate perlite and the way it tends to float up and out of the mix. For long term plantings a 70/30 blend (peat to pumice) is probably best. I get my pumice from the feed store where it is sold as Dry Stall - not Stall Dry but DRY STALL. It is crushed pumice. It does need to be rinsed thoroughly, and a compost screen with the correct mesh size makes that a ton easier. I forget the particle size off the top of my head. But if you like what you've got, with the proviso that you switch over to coarse perlite if you're not already using it, there's no real need to change. Keep in mind that the peat will break down over time. It has a maximum life span of about 5 years under ideal conditions but it starts to degrade significantly before that. I'd give it no more than 3 years before you have to replace it. Since perlite is so light you can recondition your mix by putting it in a bucket, filling with water, and scooping the perlite out as it floats to the top, then reuse to make new mix with fresh peat moss. However perlite is pretty fragile and it will gradually break down, mechanically over time. I'm guessing you should get up to 8 to 10 years of use out of it before you have to toss it because the particles have become too small. Screening will help to retain large enough particles and you can discard the dross. Pumice will last virtually forever and won't break down unless you take a hammer to it. However availability is limited. Growstones is basically man-made pumice but it can be quite expensive. However given that it lasts for-virtually-ever, if you amortize the expense over your lifetime, its not that bad. And it comes in larger particle sizes than the Dry Stall, which may be advantageous for some plants (but disadvantageous for others). I hope to be able to test a mix using the smallest available Growstones eventually, but for now I'm working with the natural crushed pumice. It's cheap and the particle size seems to be about right for anything I'd be growing. It's also much lighter weight than Turface, which is a popular substance used by some in some soil mixes. Read and post on the container forum for more detailed information about the pros and cons of various mixes for specific plants. I think your jasmine will do fine in the blend you have, but I'm not familiar with the other plants. There is a strong bias there for one particular blend - well, two. What is called 5-1-1, which is a pine fines based potting mix very similar to most commercial potting soils (but with some advantages) and what is called "gritty mix", which is Turface based, coarse, and well-draining, intended for things like potted trees, cactus and other succulents, etc. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with either mix, except that pine fines are difficult to find for many people, and becoming ever harder to find as time passes; and Turface can also be hard to find and it is VERY heavy. If you can find pine fines affordably where you live (its basically small pine bark mulch or may be sold as soil conditioner) then a 5-1-1 mix would probably suit all or most of your plants except the African violet, which is undoubtedly fine where it is. Again, other than the jasmine, I'm not familiar with the rest of those plants, so asking someone else on the container forum would probably get you better information, with the understanding that there is very little real discussion of alternatives to those 2 particular mixes over there. They'll also do fine in most any commercial soil-less potting mix. It's really pretty much up to you. I would avoid anything that includes a coir component however.

Hooray, Is the rock porous? If you read the instructions linked to below, the author of the article suggests that "Moss can be applied to just about anything that is porous and only your imagination limits the shapes that can be covered or created." If you haven't already check it out, I highly recommend the link below. I think growing moss on a rock is a great idea, but it might not be the best place to start if you have not grown moss before. Although we always see moss growing on rocks, rocks aren't the easiest place for moss to grow, especially if you are trying to grow it indoors. Unless they are somewhat poroous, rocks don't offer any drainage, and they conduct heat and cold very effectively, thus producing potentially intense conditions for the moss. Obviously, outside moss grows on non-porous rocks all the time, but conditions indoor are different. A hard, unyielding surface like rock will hold moisture under the moss if you're trying to grow moss on it indoors. I'd try to do it with something besides beer. Try a very light mixture of powdered milk and water. Here is a link that might be useful: growing moss

In my experience moss will not grow well indoors. It can grow in a greenhouse, but not in a house or apartment. Moss requires moisture, but it also requires a great deal of moving air and good ventilation at the same time, otherwise all that moisture it likes will turn into an environment in which fungus, algae, and bacteria can thrive and kill the moss. This is only my opinion, and my experience, but I think if you grow moss indoors, you might have a good long while with it to watch it grow before it starts to die off, but eventually it will succumb to the conditions of the indoors. Pehaps there are other folks on GW who have had a different experience growing moss indoors.

deep_woods, Thanks for your tips....I have become moss obsessed and have found very little info on the web for growing it in containers. I hope to eventually take it outside, but for now, I am focusing on growing it indoors in several types of containers including: under a cloche, in a hanging terrarium (with a hole in the front), in a jar, and in a small bowl with no covering. I have harvested moss in my area (Philadelphia), where it grows all over the rocks and in cracked pavement (almost no soil at all), and even on debris-filled pot holes. From your previous conversations, I gather that taking some of the native soil/debri for the containers would be a good idea. Just as brendainva, I am growing in containers that have no drainage holes. I also gather that you would not suggest pebbles, clay balls, or charcoal at the bottom? These are suggestions I have heard from other sites. As I mentioned, most of the moss here, which is short, bold green, and clumpy, grows on extremely nutrient poor areas such as rocks and walls. Which makes me think it might do well on some rocks/pebbles. Although I cannot tell you what species it is, what are your thoughts on this? You said, "Shallow containers with fertilizer and warm weather and regular misting or watering from above with some mosses can lead to doubling the moss in a month." What type of fertilizer are you referring to? Eventually I would like to add some ferns or other native plants to my moss terrariums. For now, however, I am focusing on the moss. Thanks so much!! We need a MOSS FORUM QUICK! If you have any other sites or articles that you would recommend, pleeease send them my way.