Thanks everyone! Nice to know I can probably get fines at Walmart. I will definitely check that out. I need to find a local source for a potting mix like the mix I'll-mannered is getting from Volusia Shed. I was getting a potting soil from a local topsoil company because it was $17 a yard and would go in the bed of my pickup truck but I now know that a recipe for disaster in a container (topsoil/sawdust/organic material/manure). I like the MG 3-1-2 but I'm still thinking a CRF might help if not applied too heavily in the mix. Also, I didn't add a calcium source so I find myself adding a teaspoon of hydrated lime around the base of each plant, watered in once a week to combat BER on the maters and peppers and help growth with the other veggies. My containers are 7 gallon and 10 gallon black nursery containers. Al said he didn't think that would be a problem IF I did pot-in-pot. I didn't get that far, it's all in the 7 gallon containers so maybe our Florida heat is becoming problematic for the soil. I work 0600-1430 so I can't water during the week until approximately 1530-1600. I may consider adding a watering system for AM watering but I'd rather not for now if possible. Gotta find a source for Perlite too...seems Scotty had posted that he found industrial bags very reasonably in his area. Keep coming with the favs for potting mixes. Sarasota Norm has had years of good success with Promix and I've heard good things about MG as long as you stay away from the moisture control product...never hear anything about Metro Mix here so maybe that's not available. Lamberts? Where can that be purchased and what's in it? Ultimately, I'd probably like to mix my own just for the best control over moisture in my "microclimate" of high humidity and NO frost. Again, thanks everyone for your input. All responses are more than appreciated. Tom

Just to report in... tish, I bought the So-Delicious in vanilla flavor and thought it was OK. Then based on another recommendation, tried the chocolate Almond Breeze in my coffee and that was yummy! I really don't care about cheese. DH couldn't live without it, but I've never been a huge fan -- although I do like pizza, so that's a tough one. And I don't care about ice cream in the winter months... but talk to me again in June. I probably will never completely eliminate all dairy, but I can definitely cut back significantly. In the end, I may just go back to regular old milk in my coffee, and I may have the occasional cheese pizza, etc. I was somewhere today where there were limited options for lunch, so I "had" to have a ham sandwich. I don't know what I would have done if I was really a vegetarian (instead of someone trying to impersonate a vegetarian for a week). Take the ham out of the sandwich, I guess, or go hungry!

Unsweetened would be the healthiest choice, I am assuming, but if you are a dairy lover, and are unsure of the switch, I would recommend trying something with a little bit of sweetness to it first. Though I have not had unsweetened almond, we have bought the unsweetened soy, and it is definitely a different kind of taste compared to regular milk. Dairy milk to me has a bit of sweetness to it. Likewise, if you are used to 2%, I would say almond or soy is closer in consistency than rice milk. Rice milk to me is similar to skim milk because it is thinner. But like I said, we really do enjoy all of the kinds! Also everybody tastes things differently, so try a few different kinds before you decide what you like. Even from brand to brand it is different. I really dislike generic soy milks. As much as I would like to pay less, there is a big difference in taste and quality, IMHO.

Save money and make your own. Almond milk is a good source for calcium. Other non-dairy milks you can easily make yourself: oat, rice, other varieties of nuts, cashews (which is a fruit, not a nut), hemp, sesame, sunflower, pumpkin seed.... A great little book on the subject is "Not Milk...NUT MILKS!" by Candia Lea Cole. Recipes in the book include: Apple Ginger Almond Milk, Banana Almodine Milk, Mellow Carob Cocoa Almond Milk (a great recipe to use 100% Cacao Cocoa), Mocha Mint Almond Milk, and many others. I've been making non-dairy milks for decades. -Grainlady