I already have garlic chives (every few weeks a nice bunch) and nicely growing edible Indian Princess Nasturtiums. I expect strawberries (vine), Yellow Bell Peppers, Cherry Tomatoes & Organic Jalapeno's by the end of May/beginning of June. I have a dwarf lime tree on the way sometime this century (Spring Hill...). San Marzano Organic Tomatoes, Early Girl Hybrid Tomatoes, California Wonder Bell Peppers & Serrano Peppers soon to follow in June and July. Then some Texas Sweet Onions. My late crops will be Mucho Nacho Jalapenos, Cayenne Peppers, Orange Bell Peppers, Dill Weed and then finally early next year some more strawberries (bush). I'm so proud & can't wait. Steve's Garden Peace - Steve All of this on an apartment porch...Mostly in MG Moisture Control Pitting Mix.

I've grown roses in containers for many yrs. When we lived in the mobile home park about 15yrs ago, ALL of my roses were grown in pots. I knew at some point we would be moving to a real house and didn't want to have to dig them up (or leave them). Little did I know it would be nearly 11yrs before we'd get out of there. We moved over 600 roses in pots! It was crazy! I've worked in the Lawn & Garden Dept at one of the largest Ace Hardware stores in Northern CA for almost 24yrs. We used to carry Hyponex products but over the yrs we've gotten all sorts of other brands, including Miracle-Gro. I only use our own brand of Ace Potting Soil. Every Ace gets their soil products from different suppliers by region, so not all will be exactly the same. Ours come from a place called Redi-Gro in Sacramento. Their potting soil is composted organic "forest products" with peat moss and a little bit of perlite, and maybe some lime or something like that. It works really well for me. I never use Miracle-Gro soils because I don't like using fertilizer when I first plant the roses. Also, DO NOT use any of the soils that contain water-holding agents. Miracle-Gro Moisture Control is one we carry that I would never use! It sounds good having the time-release water-holding granules mixed in there, but after a time, they settle to the bottom of the pots and hold a lot of water in the bottom, and tend to rot. That may be what others were referring to in the Hyponex soils. They might've added the water-holding granules to some of their soils. If you've never seen the stuff, it's really weird. The granules are tiny little white specks. When you put them in a cup of water, they absorb the water and can grow to hundreds of times their size. One of the guys at work placed a teaspoon in a 16oz plastic drinking cup and kept adding water. The granules grew to these transparent gelatinous chunks well over 1/4" a piece and were practically spilling out the top of the cup. If he'd have put them in a bigger cup, and added more water, they would've kept growing. You figure they probably put several teaspoons of this stuff in a big bag of soil and that can become a big blob of goo.

Based on the order of the ingredients, it sounds like a rather water-retentive mix. You could likely improve its aeration and drainage characteristics immensely by adding a considerable amount of pine bark fines, and some perlite. A small amount of garden lime should also be added if you add the pine bark - to bring the pH up a little and to ensure there is a residual fraction of Ca available in the soil. For container culture, 'a unique mixture, rich in organic matter' is not necessarily synonymous with 'a good soil'. The number 1 priority to consider about your soil before you establish a planting is: Can I count on this soil to ensure adequate aeration and good drainage for the intended life of the planting. The odds of your being able to offer a resounding YES, based on the ingredient list and 6 months of service for the soil are probably no better than poor. I think you would be quite pleased if you were to try 5 parts pine bark fines 1-2 parts of the soil you mentioned 1 part perlite garden lime If you decide to go ahead with the pine bark, I'll help you with how much lime to add. If you follow the link I left below, you'll find lots of information about container soils. If you follow some of the links there, to older threads, You'll find literally hundreds of people that have discovered the ease of growing in these well-aerated soils and other benefits offered. Even if you decide you don't want to tackle making your own mix, you'll come away with a good understanding of what makes container soils tick. Al Here is a link that might be useful: More about soils

Definitely use the potting mix as it is properly formulated for container growing, and usually contains a mix of peat, perlite, lime, etc. Containers need good drainage and the problem with soil, garden dirt, compost or such is that it will compact over time and water log the soil. Bad for little seeds and roots! If you're going to do a lot of containers you can mix your own potting mix, or buy big bag(s) or a bale. I've used several brands of potting mix, but last year bought a big 3.8 CF bale of Pro-mix from the local Ace hardware which special ordered it and cost about $32. It is a nice mixture with no sticks or stones, although dealing with a compressed bale is not as easy as the bags, which are fluffier. I still have about 1/2 the bale left so there is plenty for this year!