Vegas, organic gardening is certainly not a crock and luckily, many hundreds of thousands of growers are willing to go the extra mile to produce organic fruits and vegetables. You should know, though, that you will have to study up on the nutritional requirements of citrus in general...and figure out how to provide them,organically, within the confines of a container. You are going to have to provide everything that your plant needs; citrus have some specific micro-nutrient requirements. I see nothing in the Jobe's product that disturbs me too much, though it does not have micro-nutrients, also called miner elements. Fish emulsion could assist in providing some key elements, when used in conjunction with your Jobe's. HOWEVER! It really isn't intended for container culture. There are no directions that I see on the label as to dose and frequency. Another aspect that is troublesome is that I can see how repeated use of this product would muddy up your potting mix....fill the so important pore spaces with fine particles. If you were looking for a product with a high Nitrogen analysis, you'll have to go with something other than your 'organic' products. Lots of container hobbyists resort to the commercial soluble fertilizers, while still using using organic methods for the rest of the plant care. I'm not saying that you should, but just be aware that you will have to keep up with the fert. in order to provide your citrus with what it needs. Another factor in the yellowing 'may' be the potting medium. Again, container culture is entirely different that growing in situ. Garden soil or compost added to a perfect good potting medium can result in a mucky, slow-to-drain mixture. Roots can function in that kind of environment, which is why we have learned to provide a potting mix that remains coarse textured and porous. I may not be the only one that would love to see you re-pot your plant entirely. I'd also like to warn you that moisture meters are notoriously inaccurate. Most of us have learned to rely on the most sophisticated digital equipment we have....our fingers. ;-)

Don't worry about the gravel - will not hurt or help. Make sure you've got a nice watering well dug around the drip line (edge of the tree canopy and somewhat beyond - this is where the feeder roots will migrate to). Make sure the well is lower than the tree at the trunk and soil line. Wood stakes are perfectly fine as long as you let the tree flex some in the wind, until it gets established. A strong wind gust with a newly planted tree can spell the demise of the tree, so you're fine for now. After about 6 months, if you see the tree is well established, and, if you haven't got it planted in an area that is prone to wind gusts, you can un-stake the tree. Skip B1, doesn't work, waste of money. Water well, once you see some flush, you can start fertilizing with a good quality citrus fertilizer with the proper NPK ratio (as close to 5-1-3 as you can), plus all the micros. Broacast the fertilizer under the tree, with attention to the water well (again, where the feeder roots will be). Always water your tree first, fertilize, then water in. Fertilize 3 to 4 times a year during the growing season. Water frequently enough to soak down 18". "Deep" watering is really a waste with citrus, as their feeder roots are rather superficial - within the first 18 to 24 inches of the soil, so deep enough to penetrate down about 24" is fine. Water when you see the tree is having cupped leaves. Depends entirely on your amount of rainfall, day time high temps, as well as the soil type (clay, loam, sand, DG, etc.) Patty S.

Liminqueens, thanks for the science, learned something today! :) Mike, I'll give it another week or so, since we just had a freezing advisory a couple of days ago and days are not quite in the 70's yet, more in the 50/60s right now. You're saying its ok to bring them in and out like that? I saw a post not too long ago from someone that had a tree that did great on his patio, and then lost all its leaves and deperished the second he brought it back inside for the winter. Something about light difference shock and temperature issues. How do I avoid my tree going bald when I bring it back in? I'm going to be very candid with you: that is the very reason I have been going back and forth in my mind and hesitating in bringing the trees outside for the summer, because of all the posts here and elsewhere that show bugs infestations on their Meyer lemon trees, and trees in shock when brought back in. Is the risk vs reward worth it taking them out for a couple months? If you tell me it is, I will believe you but it's a question worth asking, ya know? I have been holding my breath around my trees since I got them, and considering they seemed to be doing ok, I was frankly afraid to do anything that might hurt them or expose them to parasites. So if I'm going to take them out on the patio, I want to make sure I don't screw it up. The Patio has mostly shady areas (for most of the day, anyway), and full sun areas (same, for most of the day), but no filtered sun areas, since its a patio and not a garden and I don't have other trees out there. Does that pose a transition problem for my trees? And if it's going to be really cold 2 weeks after I bring them out, what do I do, take them back in for the night? Now about soil, keeping in mind that my trees are going to stay potted and go back in for the winter. I've read a lot about 511, and it's also available already mixed, so that's definitely a plus. I've read about gritty soil as well, but quite frankly, I don't have the experience to decide which one is best, so right now it's pretty much flip a coin to pick one for me. Should I put something else at the bottom of the pot, like gravel, to make sure it drains properly? I've also read people using coconut fiber pads to help the water drain well. A lot of questions, I know. And I'm sure I'll have more of them before I'm done, too. So thank you again for taking the time to help. Atheen PS: Been trying to get back into my first post to correct the pic orientation, but can't seem to find a way to go back in the original post to edit it. I can edit the comments, but not the first post. Am I missing something?

tlbean2004: there is pearlite in it. Not like I know what that means... uhh, I do believe the leaves get a little firmer and heavier after I water the plant, but that can just be my imagination. OK, so I will not over water. I would like to now know, is once a week too much? If I stick my finger in and I feel any moisture should I still water? I feel like this is so complicated. Yes, it is in full sun. Lots of good sun, on a sunny day of course. Should I re pot it in a smaller pot? How will that benefit me? If you need more pictures or anything let me know