As to what to put in the bottom of the pot...I've started using two coffee filters flattened out on the bottom of the pot--keeps the dirt from flowing out, and let's the water come thru. As to the other issue, I've used the water soluable foods (peters plant food or shulz), but the smartest purchase for me has been the "water meter" ($4.95 at wal-mart) to check the wetness of the soil. Early in the season, but the annuals I have planted are just beautiful, cause I have a reliable guide for watering. I would never do without this again. Good Luck.

Coffee filters in the bottom of pots - what a wonderful idea! Thank you :)

I use coffee filters too and I usually lay a couple of shards or small rocks too for weight.

Dee, what happened that caused the roots to burn?

From what I gather, it's a real bad idea to fertilize when a plant's soil has dried out. Occasionally I'd fertilize my plants and find they'd worsened instead of improving. A friend said that was probably the cause. A beginner's mistake, I guess ... "Forgot to water for a week or two? Better give them a dose of Miracle Gro!" Now I tend to fertilize indoor plants a few days after watering.

It's worrying with outdoor plants, though -- mine get full sun and tend to dry out between waterings no matter what. So, maybe I need to use some type of fertilizer other than the type you put in the watering can. I wouldn't know where to begin, though.

Thanks for the coffee filter tip. I think I'll take it a step further and use screens! (so it's more permanent)

dmoniker, over across the way in "container gardening", subject thread "mulch", one person has mentioned having had really good luck with "water retention granules" added to the pots; i've seen this product mentioned several times in various threads; additionally "moisture control by miracle gro" a premium potting soil. Folks claim that these products are very helpful particularly when the sun gets real hot, and the air real dry. Gonna check for the "granules" next trip to wally-world (aka wal-mart). I'm personally not sold on the "moisture control" soil, but may give it another look, now that i am armed with my moisture meter (to measure the moisture in my soil--$4.95 at wally-world).

I'm definitely going to try the water granules, if I can find them! Thanks -- Dee

If you are concerned with weight.. remember keep it freely drainning... the foam on the bottom is best... coffee filters and screens are way down over the smallish hole in the bottom of he pot... this say quarer sized hole with the screen or coffeefilter on it.. is still a quarter sized hole atthe bottom of the dirt.. the fine particles are the first to wash throughthese are what will clog your screen and filter ... when planters are filled with water rather than drainning is when they are the heaviest... and in winter filled with ice on the bottom and then with more moisture they can easily reach the containes filled with water rate.. wich is the guidline for planer ultimate weight.. at 8 lbs to the gallon it builds rapidly...
Oh consider a pot with the bottom 1" or wo filled with large lumps of foam.. the line where the dirt contacts the foam is a full pot diamemter and then trickles through the foam to flow out the same quarter sized hole.. adding foam is only takeing away from soil in that it has little water retention..it serves evenbetter that other methods as it's also an anchor for the roots.. I've seen may roots growing right through the foam... whch is like tieing them to the masss of soil to havve the roots anchored to the bottom below a bunch of soil...
OH..make sure you aren't useing the biodegradable foam..as it turns to mush...GORDON

The 2 simplest answers I've found to when/how much to fertilize are:

1. go organic
2. use Osmacote

Last summer was my first real summer gardening, and after having some plants burn up after HH (helpful hubby) overfertilized, I switched to using Osmacote.

The year, I am planning to go organic. It just makes sense to me that having healthy soil = healthy plants that can fight off whatever attacks them, and I won't have to worry about having different pesticides, fertilizers, etc.

I also go the coffee filter/screen and packing foam route.

Osmocote -- never heard of it! But I like the looks of it. Thanks for the tip. Going organic is an appealing idea to me, but I'm pretty sure compost, manure, etc. would attract a lot of unwanted critters, mainly of a six-legged nature, to my city apt. back door. I don't have a lot of room out there.

On further reflection, I think I'll skip the water granules -- I found an MSDS on food-grade polyacrylamide co-polymer (whether the quality of the type sold for gardening is food-grade or not, I don't know), and "no data is available" for several key areas (skin contact, ingestion...). Sure, I could assume the good people of industry are not going to sell us something that will infiltrate our bodies and cause us harm, but I like to see some proof, just the same. "Non-toxic" is a slippery term.

Non-biodegradable foam. I have no idea whether the shipping/packing foam I have is biodegradable, but thank you for pointing that out! I'll have to try soaking it for awhile, to see if it holds up. Now ... what possible terrible effects could result from growing vegetables in styrofoam, I wonder?

You don't have to soak it; just hold 1 piece under running water for a minute ... it will start to melt almost immediately if it's the wrong kind.

Osmacote is good stuff if you are going the chemical fertilizer route; it's time-release, so you really can't burn your plants, and it's easy! Just use some when you are potting your plants, and then, depending on how much you have to water, once again maybe mid-summer.

I know you'll love balcony gardening. While I don't balcony garden, I deck garden and it almost the same - lugging, wind, etc. One caution - if your soil mixture is too light, your containers will blow over when the plants get big and/or top heavy. A southern exposure is wonderful for many plants, but they will dry out very quickly on a hot, breezy day - especially if the humidity is low. I can soak containers at night, but by the time I get home from work the next day, the plants/pots are sprawled on the deck!! It is heart-breaking in Aug/Sep when they are in full bloom .

Thanks -- that's a good point!

I'm going to feel a little crazy doing this (maybe I'll sneak out under cover of darkness), but I think I'll just wind a loop of string around each larger pot and lash it to the railing or something. Then I can keep the soil mix light while preventing anything from falling over (I hope). My railing box plants aren't going to blow out of their boxes, are they? It's not a very exposed area, but it can get gusty around here....

I'm thinking about mixing pumice into my potting soil (soilless mix, whatever that is I don't even know! Peat?) instead of perlite, and pine bark if I can find it -- this is based on the string where Al is describing water considerations and soil mixes. Very helpful! I'm going to have to put a wick in my lemon tree pot -- it stays moist far too long, I think, and would be better off if it had some more aeration -- something I hadn't even really thought about, previously.

I'm going to put styrofoam at the bottom of my larger pots, just to lighten them a little and give them some insulation from the cold basement floor where they'll be overwintered.

Thanks for all the tips -- I'm hoping I can stave off any major catastrophe, but with as much as I'm planting, something's gotta make it!

dmoniker -

Yup, I try to lash/tie everything - containers and/or plants - to railing, deckboards (not too successful). I like to use the the velcro stuff where possible - it's about 1/2" wide and comes in a roll (light green in color). It's easy to work with, especially in those awkward spots that are hard to reach and tie knots, and holds tight forever.