First you have to relate why the 10 gallon pot wasn't draining. If it was due to the lack of a drain hole or a clogged drain hole, the soil might be suitable to plant in, but if it wasn't draining because the soil was primarily made of materials consisting of small particles, that's an entirely different issue. If you reuse a soil, the physical characteristics of which invite a repeat performance, you shouldn't be surprised if you feel a little deja vuey after watering a time or two. Good drainage and aeration isn't determined by the number or size of drain holes in your containers. It is determined by the soils structure and is directly related to particle size and in some cases the variation in size gradient. Al

I make sweet and sour chicken in the crockpot all the time. I don't think it will necessarily be a flop. Here are some tips for success - use all thighs or a mix of breasts and thighs--not the super-size breasts. Brown the meat first before putting in the crockpot. Don't cook for 8-10 hours, cook on low for 4-5 hours. I always start the dish on high til it gets up to temp and then turn down to low. Do not put the green peppers in the crockpot, green peppers turn bitter when slow cooked. Saute the green peppers in some canola or soy oil and add them before serving the chicken. Don't add the cornstarch at the start. When the chicken is done, take it out and add the cornstarch to thicken the sauce. I usually pour all the sauce ingredients of the crockpot into my braising pan to thicken with cornstarch. Then I add the chicken back in and serve the whole dish from the braising pan--I like it for presentation. I serve over brown rice--yum! These tips work with all my crockpot chicken recipes--moroccan chicken and chicken cacciatore too. I get raves when I serve these dishes to guests, which is something I wasn't expecting for me preparing meat dishes since I am usually vegetarian when cooking for myself. The tips came from the Cooks Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen Cover and Bake Cookbook. Good luck, and report back how it worked.

TraCami - that is so funny!!! (I don't mean this in a mean way) :) I'm in zone 3...we still have snow everywhere. :) My roses are sleeping in the garage. So I have no idea how the soil is doing. :) It still hasn't arrived here. I would love to hear though how the mix is going for you. Please keep me updated. :) a1an - Yes, I overwinter my roses in the garage. It's quite easy. :) Which roses are you thinking about...and what zone are you in? Carol

use it as a top dressing or compost.. which it is ... mulch is a different thing.. with different purposes .. usually weed suppression and water management ... when you use the words properly .. all of a sudden it can all start making sense ... and trust me.. it only took me a decade to understand.. lol ... btw gal .. some bigbox do carry bales of promix and the ilk .. proper engineered medias ... but i agree on parking lot bags of crap .. literally in this case.. being marketed as potting media ... a good media is a water management system.. designed to hold what a given plant needs.. and shedding excess .. and you chose the media appropriate to the plant.. e.g. you dont use a cactus mix on water loving plants .. and vice versa ... never forget. .the most important thing in a pot.. is the media.. not the plant .. ken ps: its all marketing mumbo jumbo ... aka.. BS .. again ... in this case.. literally .. lol ...