Justaguy, my soil mix was mainly organic potting mix (whatever brand they have here - it wasn't Miracle Gro), some manure compost and Perlite. The guy at the garden center said that's all I'd need. Every couple weeks I'd add some organic fertilizer. Sounds fine except the manure part. Of course I have no idea what was in the mix itself. The fungus gnats love decaying, moist organic matter and roots do not :) If you have a serious problem with gnats that is a good indication the potting mix is holding too much water and the manure by virtue of it's small particle size will do this as well as feed the gnat larvae. I recommend leaving it out of containers. I just got back from the store and $150 later I found all of the ingredients in Al's Mix with the exception of the lime. That is really unusual. Usually people have trouble finding the pine bark fines or perlite in bulk or something like that. Lime, at least in the US, is nearly ubiquitous. Does the island tend to have ground soils of high pH? If so that would explain why locals haven't heard of lime, it would probably never get used. Ask for dolomite lime and if you just get blank stares maybe order it online, you won't need much. Bite the bullet and buy a 5lb bag plus shipping and you should have enough to last several seasons. I feel for you if you actually have to mail order it as in the states we can just buy 50 pounds of it for a couple bucks. You really do need it to counter the pH of the bark/peat acidity and supply calcium to the mix so some is available to the plants. If you can't find some locally click on my username and email me, I will ship you some. I noticed Al's Mix doesn't call for any type of dirt or pre-made soil. Could that be right? Yes, and the reason is all about particle size. If you use dirt it will always be super small particles and in containers they hold way too much water. Holding water is good, but the problem is that small particles will hold water in the spaces between particles that would otherwise hold air which roots are going to need. It's a balancing act between those spaces holding water and air and soil/dirt will hold all water and no air in containers. Al's 5-1-1 mix is well tested by forum folks and I have yet to hear from anyone who thought it resulted in poor plant performance. I know you might be reading this with some doubts, but if you read through the water/air movement threads on this forum you will find so many testimonials as to it's success that your concerns will be laid to rest.

scottamuss, Thanks. I'll go ahead and post it here... By the way, I feel soil quality is more important than water. Far too many gardeners over water. Take the time to learn that there is not a "cure all" for every pest at every stage of it's life cycle. Some won't work if it's going to rain. Some don't work well if it's too hot, etc. Pest management is complex, if you wish to use chemical products, do so responsibly which goes further than reading the label. If you want to learn, a good place to start is here: Integrated Pest Management This lecture is presented in two parts. Each part is 90-minutes in length. Recorded in Sacramento County in California's Sacramento Valley, this lecture is by Mary Louise Flint, Ph.D., Director, IPM Education and Publications, UC Statewide IPM Project and Extension Entomologist & Cooperative Extension Specialist. Education: B.S. Plant Science, University of California, Davis Ph.D. Entomology, University of California, Berkeley Appointment: 100% Cooperative Extension Research Interests: Integrated pest management of landscape, agricultural and garden pests; biological control of arthropod pests; alternatives to pesticides; adoption of alternative practices by practitioners; innovative delivery of pest management information. Topics discussed in the Integrated Pest Management Lecture: * IPM references and resources * Preventing pest problems * Natural common enemies * Making less toxic pesticide choices * Controlling aphids, scales, caterpillars, coddling moths, tree borers, snails and slugs, and lawn insects. You can watch the programs now online: Just make sure you have Real Player installed or download it free. Integrated Pest Management Part1 90 minutes Integrated Pest Management Part 2 90 minutes You'll want to bookmark the following link to Professor Flint's Lab Research on: Controlling Pests in Gardens and Landscapes: Vegetables and Melons I promise you'll learn one or two things to put in your gardening bag of pest management arsenals. ;) On Watering Some people want to customize the water for every plant. It's ambitious to try to give each plant the exact amount of water it needs but not practical or necessary. Even if someone gave you a chart, it would still depend on the quality and friability of your soil as well as the stage of the plant. So long as you have good drainage, the plants will take what water they need. General rule of thumb is that gardens require one inch of water per week by supplementing rainfall. You will have to adjust throughout the season and be attentive to the amount of rainfall you receive each week. There are two schools of thought on watering. Frequent shallow waterings or less frequent long, deep waterings. The general rule of thumb is that mature plants need 1-2 inches of rain per week in summer. You should provide whatever portion of this moisture is lacking. One inch of rain equals 65 gallons per 100 square feet of garden space. But this is just a guide. Time of the season, stage of the plants, soil composition, and many other factors affect the amount of water required. Be consistent during fruit production. Mulched plants require less water than plants that are not mulched. Raised beds require more than non-raised beds. If a good amount of compost is incorporated into the soil, less water is needed. Compost holds 6 times it's weight in water. Watering too frequently and too heavily is just as hard on plants as too little water. Roots require oxygen just as much as they require water and nutrients. Dry winds dehydrate plants. Cooler temps require less water. Those using drip irrigation whether from a soaker hose or milk jug are likely getting the best use of their water which is going right where it needs to go and the ground has time to absorb it. There are hundreds of methods of watering. Whatever you do, just be consistent. But I do agree, twice a day sounds like too much. Roots require oxygen equally as much as they require nutrients and water. I personally believe in a couple of deep waterings per week with the use of 2 inches of mulch to reduce evaporation and maintain a more stable soil temperature. Plants recover from dehydration much better then they ever recover from the roots being suffocated by drowning so under watering is better than over watering until you get the hang of it. Oxygen is equally as important as water and nutrients and rain water is always better than municipal tap water.

I know mint grows fine in the ground in central FL and the 'soil' is all sand with way too good drainage. I wouldn't put potting soil in the ground, I think doing that right around a plant tends to cause more problems than it solves, I would instead amend a larger area of soil by mixing in compost. You do have to water mint it likes water. You might give it a few days to see if it perks up, if not maybe move it to an area that gets more water like near a gutter outlet or under an eve (not standing water but more water-you kinda have to work to drown mint though it's possible, my mom's done it). You might mulch too to help retain water. My mint is all munched on too. I've seen cabbage loopers (I believe-light green caterpillars that make a loop when they move) on them and the basil next to it, you could take care of this with Bt (Dipel). I mostly blame crickets at night for the mint, but they were also eating the leaf heads right off my garden seedlings. That made me mad. So, I went on a murderous cricket rampage, placing glasses filled with a mix of molasses, lemon, vanilla and water all about my garden. The crickets happily dove right into the glasses and drowned. This seems to have helps my seedlings, I'm not sure about the mint yet. Oh, holes in just the center of plant's leaves often suggests snails and slugs, look at night with a flashlight for them.

i grew about fourteen white burley plants this year, happily with success, and without pesticides or any other poisons. however, the nicotine produced by these 'naturally' grown plants is considerable, and is not always the best insect control possible. ironically, the high-alkaloid flowering tops and new leaves attract huge colonies of aphids, which don't look like they suffer for the experience. also, the ladybugs on the plants stayed quite healthy (as opposed to the confused claim in the posting above) and were my primary aphid predator--some ants helped, as well. As they crawled all over the plants for hours each day, there was clearly some contact. And there were the occasional leaf-cutting caterpillar (or whatever) that chewed up foliage, in some cases obviously getting pretty far, so instant nicotine death wasn't likely there. on certain other insects, i'm sure the nicotine is a good control, but i would not want cats or birds (or anything else) to suffer its toxicity. if a person were using commercially-grown tobacco, they'd be enlightened by checking out the reprinted article on the uses of radioactive materials in fertilization, as reprinted in the book The Emperor Wears No Clothes, by Jack Herer. It's primarily a cannabis book, but has other info of value like this. Best natural-type control? Pyrethrum works fine for me.