Sorry for the confusion and thanks everyone for the advice. To clear it up, I was just trying to figure out how much soil to buy and a recommendation. I am new but learning more everyday especially from this forum. For example I wanted to know how much soil to purchase for aprox (10) plants using 5 gallons as an (example measure.) 5 plants will be in ground and I am planting the other 5 in containers or container bags.... I think I will go the container bag route (Any recommendation on Container bag brand and size for tomatoes and peppers?)..... I am aware that 5 gallon gallon containers are pushing it for tomatoes/peppers so I may get a 7 gallon bag or 10 gallon if that is not to big for tomatoes. My initial confusion was when I saw some soil advertised by cubic ft and some by the pound, but I do know now from the above responses. I also did not know that the weight of the soil played a factor on the soil moisture content as said above. Last year I was told to dig a whole and pour soil in it to help with the plant and top it with mulch. So I dug 4 holes about 12x14 and poured soil in it. The 4 plants only produced about 35 "early goliath" tomatoes about tennis ball size so I new something was wrong, I did not use anything else. For my soil, I think it could be good, I just never tested it the location is based between Philadelphia and Princeton and there tons of tomato farms in the area so I guess it couldn't be bad. So now I know not to grow organic in containers with organic soil but rather soil-less mixture? and with that said any organic soil-less mixture should fair well in containers. I hope this clears it up and I thanks everyone again for their help. And for my last question which I am still confused about has to do with..... what fertilizer to add to the soil for the plants that I just put in the ground with it's existing soil? ......and what type of fertilizer to use for the plants I grow in the containers with a soil-less potting mix? Sorry if I confused you again. And I really appreciate everyones advice and patience in answering. -Mr Beno

Most of the vegetables you mention are summer (tomato, watermelon, cucumber, okra, eggplant, pepper) while the others are better suited for springtime. I don't know what your particular seasonal situation is, but not all those veggies should be going in at the same time. Fertilization might be the most useful way to organize your veggies. All of the summer veggies you mention (I think--not sure about okra?) are going to want the same basic fertilization, heavy on the P in NPK (phosphorous), but a P-heavy fertilizer might cause greens (spinach, broccoli, maybe the chard even though it's a biennial) to flower early, which you probably don't want. Clustering together veggies that have the same basic needs might simplify your operations. In addition, the amount of watering matters. For example, watermelons and cucumbers want a lot of consistent watering, while peppers should dry out sometimes (especially if you're aiming for spicy peppers--too much water is supposed to make them blander).

When discussing soil organic matter fractions or percentages it is critical to distinguish what is being reported or discussed. Is it volume percent or weight percent that is being discussed? Soil labs and soil scientists commonly report and discuss soil fractions on a dry weight basis. That would include the familiar recommendations for soil OM in the range of 5-10%, as well as lab reported test results of organic matter. That is a weight fraction, based upon oven dried weights. The bulk density of soils and organic materials is commonly reported on a dry weight basis. A fairly typical, average mineral soil bulk density is ~ 2600 lbs/cubic yard. The typical bulk density, again dry weight basis, for common soil organic amendments (e.g. compost) is ~ 1,000 lbs per cubic yard. The typical OM bulk density is only ~40% of that of a baseline mineral soil, and the range can be about 25% to 50%. As an example, consider the johnhughes 25% compost number as a volume fraction - mix 1 yard of compost (dry bulk density 1,000 lbs/yard) with 3 yards of mineral soil (dry bulk density 2600 lbs/yard) to produce 4 yards of soil, total weight 8800lbs. Assume everything is at a comparable moisture level. While the mix fraction was 25% by volume, the weight fraction will be ~ 11%, and that is what a soil lab test of OM would ideally report. As a general rule-of-thumb for soil mixtures, the net weight fraction (percent) of organic matter will be ~ 1/2 of the volume fraction, again assuming similar moisture levels for the mineral and organic phases. Hence the familiar 5-10% soil OM recommendation translates to 10-20 % soil OM by volume. So if you wanted to increase soil OM by 7.5% (weight) you would add 15% OM by volume, or nearly 1-inch of OM on top then mixed into 6 inches of underlying soil. That's not allowing for the issues associated with testing for OM. This post was edited by TXEB on Fri, Sep 6, 13 at 0:32

While it is not exactly a "rule", it is generally considered to be a very sound practice. The hard pruning of any newly planted clematis encourages the development of a good root system. And with pruning group 2 clems - those most prone to clematis wilt - a well-developed root system can go along way to discouraging this issue. I would recommend cutting your new clems back hard in late winter. I might even consider stretching that out to the following season as well. At best it will only delay the initial bloom flush a few weeks. I know sometimes it's hard to imagine that far ahead when your vine looks good right now but truly, taking the time and effort to ensure the best possible long-term conditions for it to thrive will pay off in the long run.