Don't know about healing plants, but I'd heel in plants with my heel ;-))

Resin

Since I'm not growing my plants on in "prepared beds" I tilled and pulled the soil back with my hands and buried each pot up to the level at the top of my containers. This is exactly the workings of the name of your post.

In the nursery business we would sell plants and tell people they could do this, but, that they could not forget the plants are in pots the following year...

I know you have temporary housing beds at your home Ken... where you are growing the plants in them, not just over a winter, but to be transplanted at a later date to a permanent place in your garden. It's no different, at all, either way.... any zone, any soil type, whatever. Surely your sand is fast-draining while to expand upon this subject to others with hard soils, they would need to add organic materials to their soil until the soil is able to drain-freely.

Mulch... sure. I didn't use any. I've had more than favorable results not using it on any of my plantings. To expand once again... it's a good idear to let (especially crabgrass) and other weeds except large grasses - grow from late summer till winter strikes... as this is a natural form of mulching. Author Guy Sternberg allows weeds to accumulate in masses around all his temporary bed plantings. His beds actually look like typical lawn turf with weeds.

Capiche?

Dax

the way i tortured them in the pots.. during 10 weeks of extreme high heat and drought...

perhaps i did spell it right.. lol ...

thx dax

ken

Sure, I forgot to mention you should cage these beds or cage individual plants or the rabbits/deer will want to eat them.

Dax

I'm in zone 4a. I have more than 100 plants that I carry over the winter in pots.

For most of the pots, I dig a hole and sink the pot up to the rim, leaving about an inch of the top of the pot above soil level. After sinking, I water the soil around the pots to get the soil snugly against the pot and I also water the pots themselves to make sure the plants are hydrated before winter hits. I then put up a chicken wire fence to protect the plants from the bunnies.

I have so many pots that I do not have the room to sink them all. Approx. 50 of the pots sit above ground, on the east side of my house, surrounded by chicken wire to protect them from the bunnies. I've carried many plants over the winter this way. I do not put anything around the pots that are sitting above the soil. I do throw snow over the pots when we get snow, to protect them a bit from the cold, but that's it. I've been doing this for more years than I care to admit to.
Mike

I packed the soil in-between the pots real firm and I'm waiting for it to rain or if it doesn't, I'll water. I know the job's done right prior to watering.

I understand your dilemma Mike. You have more plants than land... and would you believe I'm actually planning ahead for liquidation?

Dax