Sammy, What I add to old container soil varies and it depends on whether it has been in those containers for only 1 year for two or more. It also can vary a lot depending on what I put in my soil mix when I misxed it up to begin with. After the first year, I normally add some homemade compost, composted cow manure and then whatever else I think it might need...which might include some bone meal or blood meal, lava sand or green sand. Maybe a little dry molasses. Maybe some partially composted chopped/shredded leaves. In I am growing tomatoes or peppers in those containers, I might throw in a handful of lime. In about Jan., I add all that stuff to the 1-year-old soil-less mix in the containers that will be planted in March or April. When the container soil is two years old, I dump it out into a new raised bed (since I'm always building new beds) and add all those same amendments again. Then, I mix up a new soil-less mix for the containers. The two main issues with any soil-less mix in a container is that nutrients get used up and that organic matter decomposes and, to some extent, packs down more firmly which interferes with the permeability of the soil-less mix. So, what you want to do when you're adding to it after one year is to put some nutrients back into it and also some organic matter. Of course, the buildup of salts can be an issue in containers too, but it doesn't become an issue for my plants since I only use soil in a container for two years and I tend to water heavily which must leach out some of the salts. If, in the second year, you're dumping your container mix into grade level beds, you may not need to add much to it, depending on what you're growing in those areas. In raised beds, though, I try to always add the organic matter since the point of the raised beds is to improve drainage in the beds raised above our grade-level thick, red clay. Some people wait until spring and pour out all the soil in their containers onto a tarp or into a child's wading pool or a very large wheelbarrow, add the amendments, mix them in and then refill their containers. I don't do that. I just add my amendments in small quantities to the soil-less mix in the containers and mix it in well using a transplanting spade. If you've had a persistent issue with certain diseases that reside in soil, you might be better off putting the "used" soil into the compost pile for a year so composting can kill the pathogens in the soil. I don't usually have much of an issue with diseases in container plants, but that might be because most of our summers in Love County are very hot and dry with low humidity and many tomato-related diseases seem to thrive in moister soil with high humidity. Dawn

Mona - I love your table. I've been away, and missed the all of the gals' new things:(. I love your pewter. I collect pewter and am forever having a time of it trying to make it work. Your table is gorgeous and I like both the red (I am a red person) as well as the yellow flowers. Either look great to me. Great Job!!!!! I am in a twist now since I will be hosting Easter dinner, and I will be trying to make the pewter work for Easter. I am going to post some pics with a question on another thread. Lovely table and I hope you have a great St. Patrick's celebration!

Timing for reseeding should be after the summer heat breaks. We try to estimate when that is for various areas, but Mother Nature always has Her way. For NJ near the northern shore it might be earlier than southern inlandish. It varies every year. One reason to seed early is to evaluate whether you put enough seed down. If you did not get enough seed or it did not completely germinate for whatever reason, then you will have time to put down more before the frost comes. Rye seed generally gives 80% germination in a week. Fescue seed generally gives 80% germination in 2 weeks. KBG seed generally gives 80% germination in 3 weeks. Many people will seed with a "tri mix" of seeds including rye, fescue, and KBG. One of the reasons for not getting good germination of KBG is that people who do not understand the time it takes to germinate might stop the daily watering after a week or two leaving the KBG high and dry.

OMG, Daisy - that's absolutely STUNNING!!! Amazing that you can grow a rose so huge & beautiful & healthy in a pot! I hope my Pat will be half as beautiful as yours, one day! So far, I find it a bit frustrating that although she has a lot of buds, they never seem to open all at once - so that I get the effect like in your photos of roses all over the bush. They seem to just open one or two at a time - or at the most, in a cluster. Do you think this is because the bush isn't mature yet? Thank you for the parasol suggestion! Yes, I'd like to do the same. The only problem is, mine is in the middle bed and there isn't really any space to put up an umbrella, which would need a heavy base, etc. I did suggest buying one but my husband wasn't keen. He thinks it will clutter up our already tiny garden. Looking at yours, I'm really tempted to get an obelisk or something so that my Pat can climb up it - but I think, given the size of my tiny garden, I'm probably better to do as Nik suggested and prune Pat down to size - and hope she'll still bloom as a smaller bush. Anyway, thank you again!