You can find suitably sized bark pieces with Repti-bark (sold at pet stores for bedding purposes) or seedling orchid bark. And instead of the raised bed mix, seek out Kellogg's Patio Plus potting soil (or their sister labels, Gardner&Bloome or Master Nursery potting soils). Not perfect but a pretty close approximation. And NO compost in the 5-1-1 mix!! Compost has no purpose in a container potting soil.

I bought Pro-mix BRK last year. It seems very similar in its formula to 5-1-1. In CA, I would expect there are a lot of places to purchase different types of soil. When Colorado legalized, we suddenly had a vast number of grow stores that sell all types of soils, amendments, and nutrients. It really has been a boon to us gardeners! Maybe check out some places that cater to "growers" and see what they have or what they can order for you.

Robin Morris, thanks for your insights. Your message saved a ton of mental agony for me. Yes, i am doing the same thing you did 5 years ago. Since this is my first year, i want everything to go perfect - so i am putting in tons of hours in research and purchase decisions etc.

Gardengal - thanks for the comment, but elsewhere i read a university researcher's article that said compost being used as a "slow release fertilizer". So, i thought it essentially replaces the "fertilizer spikes" that Al recommends in the 5-1-1 article i found here. I have read a bunch of different articles (not gardener's individual stories) that all point to the basic truth - Aeration is important for plants, as much as a source of nutrients and water (perhaps in limited quantities and changes made, based on plant observations).

Note that this is exactly similar to humans - We need breathing in abundant quantities, compared to the water and food, which we can do without for many days. So, i am guessing that i have understood the basic truth of gardening 101 ??

First, compost is not a fertilizer - it is a soil conditioner. And whatever nutrients it may release (minimal at best) are far overshadowed by the negative impact it has on container media porosity and aeration.

And Al has never advocated the use of fertilizer spikes. Adding a CRF like Osmocote or similar to the mix or at planting is an option but the go-to fertilizer source is a liquid or dliuted water soluble synthetic fert used weekly or biweekly (every other week) - eg. weakly, weekly :-)

Thanks for the explanation. All of the information i got was from [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/taplas-5-1-1-container-mix-in-more-detail-dsvw-vd~1378483[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/taplas-5-1-1-container-mix-in-more-detail-dsvw-vd~1378483). There is another thread here that discussed converting store bought potting mix into 5-1-1 (or as good as it can get to it). The compost idea also came from reading https://savvygardening.com/diy-potting-soil/.

I am planning on feeding only liquid ferts mentioned before in this thread...

1. Kellogs fish fertilizer 1-1-1 (will do this once biweekly)
2. Fox farm Bloom 2-8-4 ( will do this once weekly )

I was thinking of mixing in only 5% compost (by volume) in my 25 gallon container mix. What do you think, since aeration is not as much of a problem in fabric pots.

I wouldn't but feel free to do whatever you like :-) FWIW, several of the suggestions for suitable potting mix ingredients listed in the savvygardening link I would seriously discount. Can you get a functional mix with them.....? Of course you can, but how well that mix holds up and how well it functions are up for some debate.

Hi Sam,

I am trying MG Garden Mulch at Home Depot. 1.5 cu. ft. for 5 bucks.

It is only one at HD without color additives that I can find.

Aside from that, I could not locate any other bark fines or compost.

Liquid fertilizer is too much work for me... you get sick or go on vacation and your plant starves. Also, none of your liquid fertilizers have calcium, so that is a bad plan for tomatoes. Occasional fertilization with dry fertilizer (I like Espoma's formulas) plus azomite mixed into the soil for trace minerals works great for me..

I guess I never made real 5-1-1 (maybe I was following a different recipe... too much work regardless), just the gritty mix. That amendment mix I used was 50% compost and my plants did great. Fabric pots work differently and it doesn't rain here at all during the growing season (unlike the PNW or Al's MI), so fast draining doesn't matter unless you overwater.

Robin, you may not be aware but it doesn't exactly rain much here during the growing season either :-) We rarely get any measurable precipitation between the beginning of July and the end of September. Last year it was only 1/4".......the year before less than that, despite it breaking records for "wettest " year on record. Our rainfall patterns are extremely seasonal and routinely dry as a bone in summer.

btw, skipping a feeding or two will not make your plants starve!! In fact, I'd have to question how much benefit the plants were realizing from the Espoma products as dry organics are really highly ineffective in a container situation. And the Dyna Gro liquid fertilizers do have a full range of nutrients, including Ca.

Here is a relevant thread : [https://www.houzz.com/discussions/turning-potting-mix-into-5-1-1-dsvw-vd~4910399[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/turning-potting-mix-into-5-1-1-dsvw-vd~4910399). I have bought Kellog's potting mix (both rised bed and patio plus) and there is no mention in the pictures at Home depot website about the ratio of pine to pete in these products. I plan to add GandenTime pine mini-nuggets from Lowe's (note to Taki Shen) to these mixes in the ratio of 2 : 1 (mix to pine nuggets) and i guess i have to add a bit of "Epsoma organic garden lime" from HD. According to product description, this product is good for only 4 weeks. It is suggested that i reapply after that as they are slow release granules.

Gardengal, how much lime is to be added ? You can find the picture of the contents of these potting mixes at https://www.homedepot.com/p/Kellogg-Garden-Organics-1-5-cu-ft-Patio-Plus-Premium-Outdoor-Organic-Potting-Mix-681/100160888.

Taki Shen - there is no product listed as "MG garden mulch" at HD website. I hope you are not referring to the "garden soil or mix". The price you quoted is also not available in california HD website. Vigoro is the only brand that carries mulch in HD.

Prepared potting mixes are already pH balanced. If you are starting with them, then no need for any additional lime. If you add a good quantity of bark, then you may need to add some. The amount suggested for a 'true' 5-1-1 mix (5 parts bark to 1 part peat or potting mix and 1 part perlite) using 3G of the bark is 4 tablespoons, so adjust accordingly for the volume of the mix you are preparing and the amount of bark incorporated. You do not need to be overly precise :-)

Hi Sam

Pic attached. I’m also trying coco coir in place of peat.

I don't see the picture ? I read that coir products need to be carefully screened for fungus and/or insects and sodium content. So, i rejected it, after some thought.

@ Gardengal ,

To make sure i understand what you said ..... True 5-1-1 would use 3 gallon of pine bark and 4 Tablespoons of garden lime (dolomite from HD).

Let us say my store bought potting mix has a pH around 6 (i am yet to get the pH meter in mail). This mix does not have the proportionate amount of pine bark. So, the idea is to increase aeration by addition of this. I would be satisfied if i atleast arrive at a 3-1-1 ration because there is lot of organic stuff in the potting mixes, in addition to that little perlite and peat moss. But, adding pine nugget mulch to my potting mix would increase acidity and hence i need to compensate for just the "pine bark portion" that i am adding. So, essentially to keep the pH around the same value as potting mix, i need to find out how to bring pine bark pH of 4.0 - 5.0 into 6.0 with proper amount of lime. If someone can shed some light on this part, i would not have to run multiple tests with my upcoming pH meter and the mix that i am going to prepare in couple of days.

Not sure why it did not post. Here is link. Coco Coir is sterile for most part, depends on which brands. I bought from Amazon, high reviews.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Scotts-1-25-cu-ft-Garden-Mulch-88237430/300386401

https://www.amazon.com/Plantonix-Coco-Listed-Organic-Bricks/dp/B01N1YP8O6/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=coco+coir&qid=1555263842&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1

Going to try the following:

MG Garden Mulch

Coco Coir

Perlite

Epsoma Dolamite Lime

Worm Castings

Previous Potting Mix (has live worms)

Epsoma Organic Garden Tone

From other experienced posters here, there is mix debate of organic fertlizers with potting mix. How much organic fert. break down over time, just trial and error. I think potted plants will all eventually get root bound so you can try different soil ratios experiment after root pruning.

Unless intended for acid loving plants, ANY prepared bagged potting soil will have a pH right around neutral - 7.0. And that is because the vast majority are peat based and highly acidic before pH adjustment. I can't be anymore specific on exactly how much lime to add to compensate for the bark acidity.....you will just have judge roughly based on the 3G bark to 4Tbsp lime ratio. But you do not need to calculate this down to the gnats eyebrow :-) If you use 2G of bark, drop the lime to 2.5 Tbsp.....if 5G, bump it up to 6.5 Tbsp.

As I stated previously, you do not need to be overly precise. In fact, I pay little to no attention to potting soil pH because the fertilization will address any issues that a slightly out of line pH may create.

Taki Shen, Thanks for the links you sent, i was able to find the Miracle Gro Garden mulch at one of the local HD (Not all near me carried it). It is better than the one i found at Lowe's - with all particles under 1/2" size (but lowe's was bigger pieces even though it was listed as mini-nuggets). Miracle-gro is 2x expensive than Lowe's brand. I can throw the lowe's into my garden (which needs soil amendment badly after 20 years of nothing on it). The Garden bark mulch has lots of sand like particles in it, but i don't have the patience to sift it like some others have done it. Just going to throw it into 5-1-1 that i will create with it and the potting mixes i have (kellog's brands - so we both can compare notes at the end of this year).

Note that garden lime is used at ratios given by gardengal, because there is peat moss in the original Al's 5-1-1. Since you don't have peat moss (and coir has a pH near neutral), your lime has to be lesser (in my guess). I got a pH meter from Amazon and plan to prep the soil and let it sit for about a week or two before i plant in it. After 2 weeks of soil stabilization, i can measure the pH and test the NPK (i am ambivalent about the expensive La Motte test kit from amazon, yet to check Petsmart for other brands).

@Taki Shen,

I came up with an idea, (perhaps discussed here before - not sure) that i wanted to share. Since the Miracle Gro Garden Mulch has fine sand like particles in it, to avoid the Perched Water Table (that Al has discussed in this forum) we can add 0.25" sized lava rock pebbles as think layer at the bottom. Since most of the pine barks in this mulch are around 1/4 " size, this might be keep the uniformity. You can purchase these at local sand/pebble supply yards. How thin this layer should be depends on the height of your pot and how much settling of the fine particles you expect at the bottom, over 6 month timeframe. This maybe an overkill for me since i am using fabric pots that are easy draining (as someone here pointed out). If you are using regular pots, you can also try inserting "wicks" into the bottom air holes, to drain out the PWT.

Thanks Sam. I bought 2 bags of the MG Garden Mulch but have not gotten to it yet. Thanks for heads up with sand in it, maybe it can be rinsed out with water?

I am also using 2-5 gallon fabric bags. I have a small apartment balcony so water draining our of the pots is a big of a problem for me. Any excess water runs down to people below me. So I have to water just enough, makes things a bit more difficult.

From what I read, coco coir holds water and any excess is drained out. Like you mentioned, some have more salt than others. This is where I am hoping the dolomite

lime will provide the CalMag to prevent salt build up. Reasoning for me to use coco coir,

hopefully less watering sessions, light weight vs. few heavy bags of soil up a flight of stairs.

Thanks GardenGal for how much lime to use :-)

Perhaps putting a plate under the pots will prevent the water dripping to the floors below, and water will collect in the plate that you can throw out every few days. Add some sand or fine pebbles to the plate to keep aeration happening at the bottom of bag.

BTW, i did not find sand in the mulch, but it has particles of bark that are crushed into a sand like texture. So, this over time will try to get to the bottom of pot as we water it many times. Perhaps in fabric pots, my previous idea is a bit overboard with the pebbles at bottom. We get good air contact in fabric pots, and bay area summer temps will suck out the PWT, as long as we do not overwater. The fabric itself will act as a "wick" to suck the PWT.

Thanks Sam. I have no choice but to add drip pans to every pot I put in the balcony. Yet if it rains, fair game...

I hope the MG garden mulch works out for you. I will try and do a mix this weekend.

I’m in SoCal facing sun, so summer/fall it can reach triple digits. I am kind of debating

if I should add more coco coir, 3-1-1 or 4-1-1 ratio. It might hold too much water which

citrus roots don’t like.

Keep us posted on how it works out for you. :-)

The pH meter i got from Amazon today was good only for one thing (out of the 3 it was supposed to measure). It gave an indication of the level of soil wetness. It goes as much as 7 inches deep into the soil. I think if you monitor with that, you will soon know if you need watering every day or once in 2 days (given your peak summer day temperatures). The pine bark holds water too, and Al suggested that when watering is done, it should be done in such a way that the water is seen coming out of the bottom holes. So, saturation water, but with enough air space to have air after watering (is the basic idea). Some have suggested putting mulch on top so that the top remains wet, and does not allow water to escape from top. You can also explore the DIY ideas on internet about "self -watering" for pots. You could also try 5-2-1 for more coco. I remember seeing coco in walmart too, but it did not mention sodium content. Hope your bag talks about sodium.

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9), I guess I assumed it rained a lot all summer as the few times I've been to Seattle or Vancouver in the summer it has rained. Maybe I am just unlucky. Also why are "dry organics really highly ineffective in a container situation"? I tried googling it, but didn't find anything and my plants always did just fine with the Espoma (unless they were in the gritty mix, then nothing helped). The Dyna Gro fertilizers are great, I just don't like using the liquids because they are a lot more work, and I didn't notice much difference between using them and using dry fertilizer.

I just got some ph strips that I am going to use with distilled water to try and prepare some acidic soil for berries. I hope it works better than the meters.

Robin, you need to understand how organic fertilizers work. Unlike synthetic fertilizers, which are typically fast acting and offer nutes ready to go in a plant usable form (soluble salts), organic fertilizers need to go through an often extended conversion process to get to that same point. They require consumption and digestion by soil biology to become soluble salts...the only way plant roots are able to access and assimilate the nutrients they require. And the high populations of soil microbiology necessary to provide this conversion are just not present in potting soil. Garden soil, yes - potting soil, no. But garden soil has too many other drawbacks to make it suitable for container soil usage.

You may think the Espoma products are working well but they really are not - there is nothing there to make them work! First, the nutrients they contain are not at all readily available to the plants and can take weeks to months before they are, sometimes missing the entire growing season. And since there are minimal populations of these very necessary microorganisms in any kind of potting or container soil mix, that required conversion process just does not happen or happens so ineffectively that few, if any, nutrients are released to the plants in any kind of timely manner. Liquid organics are only marginally better than the dry products because they are generally only emulsions and not fully water soluble (still require that coversion process) and they also tend not to provide a full range of nutrients either.

That your plants appeared to do 'just fine' is a more a testament to the adaptability and durability of the plants themselves - remember I said they wouldn't "starve" if you skipped a couple of liquid feedings? - than it is to the success of the ferts you are applying, whch are pretty much doing jack s**t!! But think about the potential and how much better than 'just fine' your containerized plants could be if they received all the nutes they require freely and in a timely manner if you use a liquid or fully water soluble synthetic fertilizer.

If you find liquid fertilizers too much work or too time consuming to apply, you can always use a controlled release fertilizer (CRF) like Osmocote or similar products, which provide plants with all the readily accessible nutrients they require over an extended period of time that typically lasts the entire growing season. Apply once and done!

On the topic of ferts, what do you say about the "Dr. Earth pure kelp meal" and "Epsoma Bone meal" ? Both of these are in solid form, and i have not fed it yet. My 5 gallon pot has about 1 gallon of yard soil + little more than gallon of steer manure mixed with the moss and potting mix. So, there is a bit of microorganisms in there to break down the kelp (if not the bone meal, which probably will slow release) ?? I have been feeding only liquid ferts so far along with the water.

If you are using garden soil or manures or lots of other, biologically supportive organic matter in your container soil mix then you may realize some benefit from the organic ferts, But both will take time to break down and get digested (the bone meal much longer than the kelp) so how much of an impact they will have and how soon is up for grabs.

And neither the potting mix nor the fertilizers used will maximize plant performance or productivity if you intend to keep them in containers.

Thanks for the explanation gardengal. I actually use at least 40% compost in my containers so the biology to break down the fertilizer is there. For the tomatoes I grew in the 30 gallons in, I'm sure the Espoma was doing something as they were giant plants and put out 100s of tomatoes... more than we could pick or eat (so the plants were not just surviving).

The citrus I put in gritty mix never did well even when I used the dyna gro the first year because my bark had too much wood in it... and from what you say switching to the Espoma probably made it even worse. I have repotted most of them into regular soil or into the ground, but I still have 2 struggling along in that old mix. I need to get them out.

I do add Osmocote occasionally, but I'm really upset that it no longer has Calcium.

Luckily, now that I am finally done remodeling and removing concrete, I am moving 95% of my plants to the ground. I am still going to have some citrus in containers and I am starting a fig experiment/collection that will be in containers. I am going to move to using Pro Mix HP with Mycorrhizae with some DE mixed in (I use Floor Dry from Napa Auto Parts). I may just rely on the Osmocote for fertilizing if the Espoma won't do much. I will have to find some other source of calcium..

I am yet to prepare the mix. Perhaps this weekend, as i collect all needed material over this week. I opened the bag of Miracle Garden mulch, and separated all nuggets that were close to the 3/4 " size since most nuggets are in the 1/2 " size. Below are the pictures that show the smallest particles (in the bottom of the white cup) that are 1mm - 4 mm range and the biggest nuggets which are 3/4 " in size. About 25% of volume is in the big pieces, and 25% of volume is in the tiny mulch with the remaining 50% of the volume in between 5mm and 5/8 " range. This is slightly more than the biggest ( 1/2" ) pieces that you find in perlite. Perlite has an average size of 1/4" with 25% of volume in the smallest fine particles (about 1 mm - 3 mm).

Since i plan to mix these with my Silty - clay soil and compost, there is no point in filtering. The stickiness in the mix will keep the perlite from floating upwards, over time. I also plan to prepare another fabric pot with pumice or lava rock (instead of perlite), but these two stones are being hard to find in East bay landscape supply / rockeries, in the 1/8 to 1/4 inch range.

Hi Sam, I’m going to try and do a mix tomorrow. I don’t have the space to seperate to different sizes, will use as is. Going to return the Espoma and get the Osmocote per GardenGal.

I kept debating on those plug in soil meters but will get one for moisture reading.

Taki Shen,

I made a mistake in the previous post. The picture is not for Miracle GardenMulch, but that was the Lowe's GardenTime MiniNuggets that i got. I haven't opened the other bags yet, and will get the measures tomorrow, but i know the Lowe's stuff is bigger than the one you recommended. I don't have a sieve to separate things, but i just took a handful for sampling, to see the distribution of size compared to perlite. Basically, Al has recommended that particle size has to be uniform as much as possible, but i will be violating that rule in my mix (with yard soil and compost). I am convinced that the fabric pots will provide the needed aeration and i do not need the Sphagnum moss because my soil holds more water than needed. As long as we are giving good aeration for roots and moisture holding capacity (so that it won't dry out), Al's idea is being used (perhaps not to the best possible extent, but this is a start for me).

Yup, trial and error :-)

Btw, curious what you are growing and what size pots?

My small balcony, I’m using 5 gallon tall fabrifc pots to save horizontal space.

Mostly Citrus trees.

Going to get 2 gallon for chilli peppers.

Few fig tree cuttings that are rooting.

BTW, the pH meter is ok, as long as you do not expect very precise readings. It is able to give the pH of water that is mixed with soil as long as the soil is fully wet. I checked it against the reading from my "liquid chemical based tests". On amazon, they are all from the same manufacturer i think - just different names. They will not perform well in extreme cases because when i mixed water with baking soda, and made it like a soil, the reading was about 7.

I have huge fabric pots (25 gallon), but my tomato plant is doing ok so far in the 5 gallon also. I plan to do couple of tomatoes, and few vegetables this season. HD had a sale last week, and i got eggplant, basil, strawberries (which may go on my yard), etc. This is my first year, so this is more of a fun project to see if anything will produce results. The 5 gallon i have is a paint bucket from HD and i drilled lots of holes in it to create aeration like fabric pots. (Inserting wicks into the pots is another technique many practice, but since you are in LA, you would lose a lot of moisture because of high temperature).

Wanted to provide an update on my indeterminate tomato plant in the 5 gallon, and lessons learnt so far. The plant is 2 ft above ground now, but showing various signs of illnesses.

1. DISEASE : Using the excellent resource provided by Cornell, I was able to identify Early blight and powdery mildew fungal varieties.
2. FERTS : Leaves are pale green at top, and showing yellowing at the bottom (as the fungal attack progresses at the lower leaves). I am suspecting lack of Nitrogen, as the 3 feedings with liquid fertilizer (in a span of about month) have been lower on the Nitrogen side (Fox farm liquid fert was mentioned before). On retrospect, not having a slow release fertilizer mixed into soil was a mistake. (I had planned on a mix of bone, blood and kelp meals mixed into soil, but forgot to add it ).
3. Bunch of gnats were hand removed. One spray with Epsom salt liquid on the leaves (in an effort to provide Mg) did not result in any significant changes. Little red spiders were noticed, but were gone after repotting. Perhaps a preventive broad spectrum insecticide is good periodically ?
4. SOIL : The plant showed better growth, after i re-potted it and removed much of the original soil (which was more than 60% steer manure). The second potting mix had the manure percent reduced to 18% and had 1 gallon of yard soil. This mix was much better in aeration with 1G perlite + 1.5G of aged bark mulch+ 0.25G pumice bottom + 0.5G mulch at top. The aeration was also improved.
5. CONTAINER : More holes (1/8" this time) were drilled into the 5 gallon bucket, and the aeration seems to have helped along with watering schedule reduction to once in 4 days.

Lessons learnt :

Who said tomato plants are easy ? Looking back, i think the container size should be atleast 10 gallons (which would give 14" of height and less than 10" for roots). For robust growth, i think a 15 gallon would be necessary. A healthy plant can fight off fungus diseases ? Hence a proper dose of initial slow release fertilizer should be in the potting mix. Aeration is important; hence i am only using fabric pots, going forward - they are cheaper anyways. For now, i will continue to treat this plant and learn my lessons even if the plant does not produce :

• An application of copper based fungicide and a below-mulch layer of Bone+Blood+Kelp meal will be applied to see if the plant recovers from the current problems.
• 1QT of water given every 2 days, with a very dilute 1-1-1 fish fertilizer mixed into this water every week, to supplement the slow release meals. Average daytime temperature is currently in low 70s, and will be high 70s within a month.
• A stake to support the plant has been dug into the container now.

Hi Sam. Glad you are having fun with it. For me, it is the same, having a small apartment balcony, just seeing how various plants respond.

My fig tree cuttings rooted so I finally mixed up the MG Mulch, Coco Coir, Perlite,Dolomite,Osmocote, Earth worm castings. I transplanted some chili peppers,

one tomato plant and strawberries.

I went to dollar store and bought a large bowl, made it self watering for the strawberries.

I also use fabric pots mainly because they are lower cost.

Pests are a pain. I swear the potting soil I bought few year bag were infested with japanese beetle grubs! I lost few plants from that.

If you have room in your yard, consider a green house., best of both worlds.

I set up the tiny green house for seedlings, plenty of gnats, using the sticky paper to catch them.

I transplanted a 4” tomato to Kratky method in 1/2G Mason. It took off so transplant

back to soil outside. I am trying 5 gallon Kratky with air stone for chili pepper.

I was going to do the tomato but just not enough room indoor by the window.

It will be interesting to see how this potting mix works out vs. potting soil.

I’m watering with miracle grow every 1-2 weeks.

You can try peppermint oil extract with water in spray bottle. I am using that to spray all over the sides of the pots and the ground.

I am not sure what to say about the plant in the photo above......:-) Except that it is extremely etiolated and is far too large for the container it is in. Overall, it looks rather unhealthy and I'd suggest getting it outside and in the ground ASAP or in a much larger container!!

Is that a tomato or red peppers ? I can see something red in the bonnie tag, but not knowledgeable enough to make out the leaves. I agree that the roots are going to be in a big knot in that container, having no place to go. Should one loosen up the roots upon replanting into big container ? IF so, what percentage of the current root system has to be disturbed and loosened out of soil ?

That's a tomato plant, not a pepper. And just gently shaking the rootball once unpotted should be sufficient to loosen things up. I would not recommend disturbing it more than that.

That is a tomato and it is in hydroponic solution. No soil. It just grew really fast with Kratky method.

That is the cool thing with hydroponics.

As long as enough nutrients is supplied,

container can be smaller than with soil.

It is very healthy with strong root system.

I’m limited with space so growing pepper indoor instead.

I don't know about hydroponics. Wouldn't the root system grow as much as the top and occupy the entire little pot that you have ? what happens once that is full ? Seems like there would be very little water in that container then ?

Yes, the root system grows pretty large. I am not saying you can keep tomato in 1/2G jar and expect fruit. At least 3G or larger. Tomato do take up a lot of nutrients.

I started my peppers from seeds. So I experimented with hydroponics to see if they would grow faster.

I also did bunch of herbs in mason jars.

For crop type plants, air stone is better.

I’m growing indoors 6 strawberry plants in 3 gallon storage bin. There is fruit right now.

Look up Kratky method hydroponics. It is low maintenance and super simple. For learning and fun. :-)