Some comments about this thread: * I forgot to mention that when using organic fertilizers, you can expect a much higher incidence of gnats and other insects whose life cycles include a stay in our soils. There will also be that hydrophobic crust that forms on top of soils and frequently makes water absorption problematic. * I don't use anything in containers I feel will adversely affect drainage or aeration. I make it my responsibility to guard those physical properties judiciously, so I don't use compost or worm castings. I feel that there are a number of supplements and fertilizers, both organic and chemical, that will nicely and efficiently supply the minor elements while having no impact on soil structure, so I use those. It's a personal decision, but it's rooted in soil physics. * I pretty much agree with Joel's assessment of his soil problems. Also, fertilizer manufacturers often don't add Ca or Mg to fertilizers because they are sufficiently present in nearly all prepared soils, used to adjust pH northward. If you are making your own soils, you should add dolomitic lime as a Ca/Mg source if you suspect the initial media pH is low. If you think pH is neutral, use gypsum as a Ca source. If you use dolomite, no additional Mg is needed. Using gypsum as a Ca source is one of the few instances where you can feel confident that continued supplementation of Mg (Epsom salts is fine) is actually needed to balance out the Ca:Mg ratio. Mg should be supplied at approx 1/10 the rate of N and 1/4 the rate of Ca. Al

Wonderful. Thanks everyone for your response. The city here had issued (at cost) green containers on wheel for kitchen waste collection that I never us (I compost it). I will store the fertiiizer containers in that container which can accommodate. Now I will tell you how I got these fertlizer containers. Not a happy story. A friend had rented his house to someone and was so much happy with the clients. He once told me that the people were so regular in rental payment and they always bring the cheque to his house. Then two years later he received a call telling him in a hurry that the house keys are in the mail box and to take care of the house & they were gone in a rush. He got fits when he saw indoor gardening in the house, mold and damage etc. He had to tear apart the house and rebuilt over the foundations. It is good to learn from others experience (client bringing cheques to your house !).

I don't know why you're bothering with all that. Snow is a great insulator for plants and won't harm them any more than the winter cold itself. Your roses and your garden itself should be fine in the ground.

Okay, here are my thoughts so far: This Erlwhatsis LED panel is a 45-watt fixture that provides about 20k lux of plant-yummy light at a distance of about 4 inches. This drops rapidly to 8k to 10k lux at a distance of about 10 inches from the panel. Light intensity also declines the farther the plant is from the center of the array. I have two 12-watt TaoTronics bulbs on either side of the panel and they throw out 40k lux but they have a circular array of LEDs so that's actually only a light point of about 2 to 3 inches in diameter, declining rapidly outside the focal point. Basically you can put one plant in the middle and anything around that one plant will be poorly-lit. Just to put in context, direct sunlight is over 100k lux, increasing in intensity as you get closer to the, er, sun, measured in astronomical units of 150 million kilometers. To improve light distribution, I am planning to attach white panels on the sides of this shelf. Above this setup is my other plant shelf, under T5HOs. Now, if you want to keep your plants growing throughout winter, a 45-watt panel is not going to be enough light to keep your plant compact, especially if you are planning to heat the area up to summer temperatures and keep feeding them. This will work for me because I do not plan to keep them heated in the basement, nor to feed them. IME, this slows them down to the point of semi-dormancy. Basically, this is winter shutdown for some of my adeniums. That said, LED grow lights generate wavelengths very specific for plant growth. That part, I have to monitor this winter since it will be very different from plants just scavenging usable wavelength from daylight T5HOs. In my home office, though, that's a different story. That stays tropical all throughout winter. I hope this helps someone! Pagan