What kind of baskets are you referring to? In other words, what are they made of? Generally if a container would be damaged by the moist potting soil then a liner with a hole for drainage is used. What to use is up to you, but functionally speaking it can be anything including the cheap Wal-Mart plastic bag. It need only be waterproof and non toxic to the plant. Still, if the container can't take a little moisture without damage then it is probably not well suited to the outdoors where rain will soak it. Use as a houseplant container would probably be more viable.

Terrybull: What are you using for potting soil? In Southwest Ohio, I would be concerned about only needing to water once a week in the summer. I am using Al's 5-1-1 in my baskets this year. Last year I used a quality nonsoil mix with composted bark and peat. When it got very hot and dry, I had to water every other day. I don't think that's unreasonable. Four weeks into this season, I think the 5-1-1 has already proved it's worth. We've had unseasonable cold and record breaking rainfall. None of my hanging coir-lined baskets are soggy, and they are growing well.

Yes, I stated that I'm not worried about the aluminum, all the same I won't use aluminum sulfate either. Although it may be safe, I worry about toxic levels. Just because lead is in all soils doesn't mean it's a good idea to add more. Same with aluminum. And if you mix turface without a mask, you will be exposed to it. As far as water absorption Axis noted that turface holds 95% of it's weight in water. Pumice only holds 15% and DE holds 142% Try diatomaceous earth in your tests. Optisorb is about the largest size available to home gardeners. Axis makes an excellent size, but is for commercial use only. Numerous studies document it's use as superior to most other amendments. Such as " Effects of diatomite on soil consistency limits and soil compactibility" by Ekrem Lutfi Aksakala, Ilker Anginb, , , and Taskin Oztasa Or "Effects of diatomite on soil physical properties" by the same authors. Also "Sustainable effects of diatomite on the growth criteria and phytochemical contents of Vicia faba plants." Mona M. Abdalla* Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt. The Axis company also has great info on all amendments. As far as particle size, do a test. Fill a pot with sand, and one with gravel. Stick a pole in, and see which one gives more resistance. It seems to me gravel would. But I might be wrong? I don't know physics well enough to figure it out on paper. Ah and pumice is further dashed to the ground and called a fake, not a single user rises to defend. Well we can agree to disagree, my day job is a laboratory researcher,or was, I'm retired. If turface has various pore sizes then it is not very well made. Thanks for pointing that out. So you do not believe the manufacturer? Controlling pore size in fired clays is often accomplished with the use of polymers such as Polyethylene glycol. This process is extremely important to control how well purifiers work, or how well they hold up with the addition of salts. You are incorrect about the pore size. Yes pore sizes differs, but that process is used to make different products, and is very controlled. Turface is meant to have small pores size or it would ineffective in it's intended use. The porosity of fired clays is extremely important to have a consistent product such as fired brick used to built houses. Varying pore sizes will compromise the strength of the brick. Selling a product and manufacturing one are very different things. The pore size I reported is for calcinated clay. Range of pore sizes is from .1 -.01 microns. Median is .045 . Plants need a .2 micron minimum pore size to utilize. This info is from a study by Andreas Kalytta-Mewes, Kathrin Mattern, and Armin Reller University of Augsburg, Chair of Solid Body Chemistry Georg Armbruster Soil Laboratory. The pore analysis in the study was conducted by Quantachrome,Bavarian Institute of Applied Environmental Research and Applied Technology. Of course it appears none of these sources trump Al. Who has not provided any data at all to back his claims. Please prove to me that pore size is bigger, thinking Al is right because you sell clay products is not proof. After saying all this will turface work? Yes, it will. Works pretty good! Is it ideal? No, it's not, but what is? It's still worth trying for sure. It didn't work for me, but that means nothing. it has worked well for others. It would be nice if it allowed easier access to stored water, but it does store water, and air, and it lasts a long time, maybe 20 years. That's decent. It's a decent product, or appears to be. It would not be on the market if it didn't work. I know it's not meant for potted plants, but it is meant for grass. DE seems a better product, it has it's own problems. it is marketed though for plants more than ball fields, although it is marketed for that too. It's marketed for large commercial gardens. I use it in my garden. I use turface too for my grass, works well. Just not that well in pots for me. All i said that it didn't work for me. Sorry blame me, it's what you usually do when the mixes fail, you blame the poster. Many have said DE doesn't work for them. I actually believe them. All gardening is local. This post was edited by Drew51 on Mon, Dec 29, 14 at 15:33

I did quite a bit of research before ordering my coco coir, or cocopeat, as it is commonly called... Anyone interested in purchasing cocopeat should do the same. Make sure you are aware of the different grades, such as shredded, long fibre, short fibre, ground, etc... and the different methods of preparation of the product, such as whether or not the excess salts have been removed, before you order anything... and keep in mind that cocopeat comes with no nutrients whatsoever. You will have to add your own fertilizers as you hydrate the cocopeat. That said, I ordered some large bricks from G&G Organics and Hydroponics located in Compton, California. There are many Hydroponics stores and websites that carry coco coir products. Google Hydroponic growing medium, or coco coir, or something to that effect, and you should find many places that sell this product. Be prepared to spend a little cash, as the good stuff isn't that cheap. You get what you pay for, though... and why would you want to use a cheap product on an expensive bulb? I hope I did it right... the link to G&G Organics should show up below. Here is a link that might be useful: G&G Organics and Hydroponics