There really isn't any wiggle room to make mistakes with self-watering containers. You must get a soilless mix with excellent 'wicking' or capillary action. You know you have the right thing if it costs a fortune and it is very light to pick up compared to cheap bags that have soil. I would call around to nursery supply stores and find bales of Pro-mix BX. It is compressed and does, if I remember correctly, 3 to 3 1/2 boxes so you would need 2 bales. It is expensive but the mix can be reused over and over again according to EB and other EB afficionados--just cut off plant, remove leftover fertilizer strip, top off with new potting mix, add new dolomite and fert. I have always started with fresh mix every year but told this is not necessary. When reusing, if the mix in the box is too wet something is blocking drain and you do have to start over and dump that mix, add new to it and then repack. Or in Florida Home Depot has the brand Lamberts Potting Mix --get the largest bag--something like 75 to 85 quarts. One bag does one earthbox with some leftover. Around $14. Ignore any directions that say to add the mix in dry. Much better to moisten it first in a wheel barrel or the bag and don't forget to pack the 2 corners or you will get no wicking. Finally you said you didn't have any success before--did you add the dolomite (calcium and magnesium)? NOT HYDRATED LIME though some EB directions are outdated and still make it out that the two are interchangeable. Espoma makes Garden Lime and is available at HD and Lowes I believe. Bigger bags of dolomite are available much much cheaper but you have to locate them which isn't easy as places will try to sell you the hydrated lime. Fertlizer should be granular with the numbers 5 or higher but not over 15. (2 cups synthetic, 3 cups organic). They work fantastic, that is why you see so many home-made knockoffs being made based on the design features of the earthbox. Plus people want a larger Earthbox so they make their own (I have done it myself). Earthbox people have had requests to make a larger one but said the shipping of a large box would be prohibitively expensive. Good luck.

I have two Earth Boxes with tomatoes in each. I used Pro-Mix (purchased from Home Deopt) in one and Jungle Growth (From Lowes) in the other. All four tomatoe plants (2 in each Earthbox) are doing well; however, I did not add any lime to either. Since the Pro-Mix contains lime, those tomatoes are showing no signs of blossom end rot. I have one cherry tomato and one Patio Hybrid in the other box, with the Jungle Growth with no added lime. The cherry tomato is just starting to put out tomatoes, but the patio hybrid is covered with big, green tomatoes. So far I've had to throw out about 10 or 12 of the patio tomatoes due to blossom end rot. I still have about 20 tomatoes on the bush, so I'm hoping to get a few good ones before it's all over. From now on, it's Pro-Mix for my Earth Box tomatoes, or added lime to the mix. BTW, I love the Earth Box for growing tomatoes. I found some plans for building home made boxes using five-gallon buckets and an planning to grow more tomatoes in the future in these self-watering boxes.

Hi Laura: As Jacqueline, Tessie, and JeriJen often said: "location, location ...." Tapla's recipe of 5 parts fine mulch, 1 part peat moss, 1 part perlite is best for climate like mine: low-sun, flash flood warning and fast drainage is a must. It is recommended by Douglas Green, an owner of a large Ontario nursery of many plants in pots, including roses. If I use Al's 5-1-1, there is no need to put loose gravels or bark nuggets at the bottom for fast drainage. However, I use super-slow draining MiracleGro in green bag, and medium-slow draining Organic MiracleGro. I skipped this important process of putting loose stuff at the bottom, and regret it terribly. Now I have to dump the soil out of each pot, and start all over. I realize this after a heavy-rain simulation with a hose, with the pot flooding over and loses 1" of soil - which happens every time it rains here! Sure, Field Roebuck said it's not important, just put a paper towel at the bottom of the pot, and fill up with soil. His Texas climate doesn't have the low-sun, and 6" of rain flash flood. Each region should have its own recipe of best potting soil. Now I realize that the regular MiracleGro potting soil (green bag) might have been made for indoor pots, where one puts 1 measly cup of water per week. It's not meant for several outdoor heavy thunderstorms with 4 to 6" of rain per bout like my climate.

There is NO soil (or shouldn't be any) in a container potting soil. That's why they also call it a soil-less mix. What exactly is a soil test going to tell you about a potting mix? That it has no nutrients or none to speak of is about it!! The 5-1-1 mix has virtually NO nutrient load at all and the vast majority of other potting soils do not either unless added by the manufacturer. Or containing materials that are not advised for a container soil like real "dirt" or compost. I've been growing plants long term in containers for more than 30 years, mostly trees and shrubs, and have undertaken a lot of research into container soils and fertilization, both for my own purposes and for the classes I teach. The best container soils are heavily textured and aerated and with minimal decomposable organics that can alter fast drainage. All required nutrients are supplied by the grower, not the media.