I used a ratio of 7:2:2 of fines:peat:perlite. The original mix recommended in the earlier post was 7:2:1:1 of fines:peat:perlite:vermiculite but I didn't have any vermiculite. I figured out the right ratio of lime and Osmocote 14-14-14 based on some other postings but foolishly didn't note it down (maybe it was 1c of Osmocote for 20 gallons of fines). I've also supplemented twice with MG 24-8-16 by simply adding a teaspoon directly into the watering hole. I did this in mid-May when growth actually kicked in and again when I started getting flowers about 3wks ago and the weather got hot. In the second watering I also directly fertilized the cucs with an additional 1gal of MG I had in a watering bucket left over from other fertilizing chores. I have 9 more tomato plants growing in Mel's Mix in raised beds that are roughly comparable developmentally to what I have in the SWC, despite the fact that the SWC get somewhat less late afternoon sunshine as they are close to a inner corner on the patio. I know cucumbers have a reputation for fast growth but I have to say that after the second fertilization and some summertime heat they seemed to explode from 6" to 4' in about two weeks while generating huge numbers of blooms. I have very high hopes that the SWC can provide optimum conditions for a very thirsty plant. Looking back at the original posting I see that there were some concerns about whether the adjusted soil mix would wick enough for seedlings w/o deeper root systems. The cukes, pepper and toms were all planted as seedlings although the cukes were less than a week old (given their reputation for not enjoying transplanting) and seemed fine - the under-planted nasturtiums were planted as seeds and had no problems germinating (100% germination, I think). The lettuces were direct seeded and I did need to top water them - this was easy because their pot was shallow and uncovered. I know there are a lot of designs out there for SWC but I'm very happy so far with the nested buckets - using the top as a plastic mulch has been VERY effective and I've only had to fill the ~1gal reservoir a handful of times since mid-May. I imagine as the tomatoes grow they will respire more water and refilling will become an issue but so far they have been nearly zero maintenance. The nested buckets were also nice since they took about 10 minutes each to make and were easy to put the cages into - next time I'll clip the cage wires and wire tie the lowest rung of the cage to the bucket top itself, but so far so good on stability (obviously this only works for bush or determinant tomatoes). By comparison, the petunia in the hanging SWC needs daily filling of the reservoir. Weirdly, I have the exact same container with a miniature trailing rose sitting on a low wall and it's actually over-moist and I never top it up, just relying on rainfall. I don't know if this is a result of the extra exposure to wind and sun that the hanging container gets or whether the petunia itself is using the water.

Hi Becky, Like Nancy I wick water most of my plants. At one point in time I had all my plants on capillary matting which I purchased from Cape Cod Violetry. The matting works well, however, if you have one diseased plant in the tray with the rest, eventually they all will have the same problem. I just want to warn you to be very careful and to make sure your plants are disease free. I lost two collections using matting before I switched to wicking. Fred in NJ

I'm in Orlando which I think is zone 9b. For containers I've got 5 gal painter buckets, some smaller 3 gal buckets and just got 17 gal buckets with rope handles on clearance at Target for $3 each (may still be available). Do you all have recommended container mixes for tomatoes and eggplants? I'd been using MG potting mix with some extra perlite, but imagine I could be doing better with it and fertilization. @Doug - Not sure the eggplant variety I've been growing, but they come out a bit smaller than a baseball, but I probably get at least 5 flowers:1 fruit with a lot of flower drop. My plants get 3-4 hours of direct sun as the entirety of my yards have large shade trees. The black cherry tomatoes I've been growing in plain 5 gallon buckets started going gangbusters about 3 weeks ago. @Silvia - I appreciate the knowledge and any other than you can give me regarding container gardening with consideration to how much light I get. My plants tend to stretch a bit and I'm going to experiment with staking/tying methods to get them to bush more.

The roots go a lot further down than an inch, and it doesn't look like that pop bottle has any drainage holes. I still suspect they are too wet most of the time, and probably are not getting enough sun as another poster noted. Lavender is originally from the Mediterranean region, along the coast. Yes, they manage to grow a lot of lavender in England - it is still a Mediterranean plant, however, that grows best in dry, chalky, poor soils. I think the Brits just tend to be better gardeners on average than the average 'merican, LOL! Plus they have lots of chalky coastline ... think the White Cliffs of Dover ... Lavender does NOT do well in soil that is moist all the time. If they are doing "better" since you started daily watering, I shudder to think how they were doing before, because those plants are not doing anything like "well", especially given that you started those plants way back in the spring. Here's a picture of a potted lavender that is doing well: Potted lavender advice Lavender needs 8 hours of sun a day, at least. Full sun in the garden is what they are talking about there. I don't think your plants are getting near that on your balcony. It will only be worse sitting near the window there in your kitchen (or where ever you plan to put them over winter). I understand that you are in an apartment and have VERY limited access to light and space for growing plants. Lavender is a very challenging plant (so is rosemary) for growing indoors. I've never had any luck growing either plant indoors myself. I'm not saying it can't be done; but it is a challenge. Your setup is not adequate to the task at this time. You're not getting nearly enough light; the soil mix in your pop bottles looks too heavy (lavender does better in a soil-less mix, in fact I think potted lavender may be a prime candidate for some version of Al's gritty mix). There are no drainage holes that I can see in that pop bottle and you are overwatering if the soil is never allowed to dry out. Lavender also like an alkaline soil. Adding some lime could help. ESPECIALLY if there is any peat moss at all in your soil mix, or if you are using pine fines as mulch or a soil amendment. So - alkaline soil, allow the soil to dry between waterings - not totally since these are first year plants but it shouldn't be wet or even damp all the time; and it loves the heat but dislikes humidity (hence it does pretty durn well in our dry near-desert conditions in N. Nevada). However at this point in time I hold out little hope for the survival of your plants over the winter, given their stunted condition now. I'm not trying to be discouraging; go ahead and try, you've come this far with them. But you need to repot them in a soil-less mix more suited to the plant and be prepared to supply extra heat and light, else they will not survive. Here is a discussion and fairly clear description of how to make Al's gritty mix. Personally I have found ALL the ingredients difficult to impossible to find. Turface, in particular, I have never been able to lay hands on - and though it is the virtually same stuff as certain types of cat litter or adsorbent, it isn't ALWAYS the same stuff. For instance, Napa Floor Dry has been touted as a replacement - but there are TWO KINDS and only one of them is suitable for this purpose. And I'm too tired to go dig up the links that tell you which is which. Also, having to screen and discard large portions of your ingredient isn't exactly lending itself to being affordable - let alone easy. That said - for this particular instance, I think gritty mix is your best bet - if you can only find the ingredients and get them properly screened and mixed.