Heather
look at the bag and make sure it is "potting" not "garden" soil. garden soil is too heavy for pots. Some brands of cheap potting soil are heavy also. potted plants will struggle to grow.
Lowes carries a brand called Jungle Growth that is not too expensive and good (again make sure it's "potting" not "garden" soil, they make both)

If it's heavy to lift it's too heavy for your plants.
Rather than buying anything to add to what you have why not start over and use the heavier stuff in the garden. Peat can be just as expensive as a new bag of the right stuff.

Good luck.

Denise

I've never done any winter container gardening, but I had a some decent luck with some homemade earthbox containers a couple years ago. I grew asparagus beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and some flowers, along with some other veggies (corn, eggplant, and blackeyed peas) that didn't turn out so well.

The university of florida had a couple of really good publications out - all available on the internet - for vegetable gardeners in Florida. The one I'm linking below is specifically for container gardening, and it's by Dr. Stephens who puts together phenomenal guides for UF.

Have fun!

Here is a link that might be useful: Container Gardening Guide from UF

I agree that it sounds like you are using top soil instead of potting soil. You don't have to use the expensive miraclegro-type stuff; there are several brands that are much less costly. I really like one called Jungle Something.. Jungle Grown? Jungle Growth? I think it's Jungle Growth. They sell it at Lowes but I've found it several times at Big Lots, too. When I see it there I stock up. I like it because it contains lots of pine fines, the well composted tiny bits of pine bark.

Kate

Thanks guys. Nope, it's definitely potting soil. I dug the bag out of the garbage to confirm it. Timberline brand from Lowe's. Seems really fine, though, and therefore forms a really dense medium. I remember seeing the Jungle stuff there. Maybe I'll have to grab some tomorrow.

I even found a little seedling in the potting soil. I put it in a pot to see if it will grow. I'm curious whether it's a weed or something else.

Thanks for the link, mylonite. I'll have to check that out!

Heather

Hi Heather,

Sure sounds like you have a "soil" mix instead of a "mix" mix. I agree with Kate and Denise, you'd be better off starting with a commercial mix as you figure things out. Jungle Growth (Lowes) would be a good start but another less expensive good mix is Expert Growers mix from Wal-Mart, its $8 for 2CF, mostly pine bark and drains well like JG....Keep us posted.

Tom

I posted a link to my pictures in a prior topic"Photos anyone" Most of the vegetable plants in that post are in pots. I get the free compost from the Solid Waste Authority and it does wonders to my plants. Because it is free I fill the entire pots with it with a little room for mulch at the top.
Jay

Thanks everyone. The soil is definitely Potting Soil and even says that it is great for container gardening. However that doesn't mean that it is GOOD potting soil.

The eggplant looks real good. I think that I planted it in MiracleGro potting soil.

The ficus seedling looks pitiful. I'm going to repot it in starter mix.

The tomato is hard to tell, but I just don't like the look of the soil. I think I'll wind up repotting it in some other soil, maybe the Jungle stuff. I'll run by Lowe's on my way home today.

Maybe I'll mix the "cheap" soil that I have in with some other soil, and use it somewhere else. Or I'll be able to use it in my raised bed in a few weeks when I finish weeding it and put in the soil and compost, water it, and look for the rest of the weeds to sprout.

Thanks again!

Heather

Heather, you can get some perlite to add to your heavy soil. It will make it alot lighter.

But I agree with everyone on the Jungle Growth!

Good luck with your container gardening!

I also agree that if the soil is too heavy, whether it is garden soil or potting soil, you will have problems. And I think they are also correct that it is easier to repot them in the good stuff than to try to add things to it. Me, I go for the Miracle Gro with added fertilizer. I find I don't have to fertilize my potted plants for at least three months if I use that. It's more expensive, for sure, but it is so convenient, and I've had really good luck with it. Plus, if it is an annual plant, by the time the timed release fertlizer is gone, the plant usually is about ready to expire, too. Or if it is still looking good, I just spray with some liquid Miracle Gro while I'm doing my other plants.

I also like Scott's with Osmacote, but it is harder to find now. HD quit carrying it, and Target never did.

Good luck with your containers. I just love growing stuff in them. My favorite is coleus...I can have coleus in containers 4' tall, and so easy to landscape with. You can move them around if they start getting too much sun, or too little, or they look a bit ratty. I just swap them out for something that looks better.

Hope you enjoy raising veggies this way.

Marcia

I don't grow veggies but I use Lowe's Jungle Growht mix for my roses here 'next door' to you in N. Fort Myers and the roses are doing great. :-)

equal parts pine fines (aka pine mulch, available at walmart), vermiculite (big bags purchased at ace, special order, at a fraction of the cost of the little bags at walmart), peat moss (big bales of it, at ace), and mushroom compost... that's my recipe. cheaper than anything, and perfect for big pots or window boxes.

Thanks guys. I did get some Jungle Growth tonight. I'll repot the tomato plant tomorrow.

ill-mannered: I do have some mushroom compost on hand. Maybe I'll mix some of that in with it.

BTW, I saw that I should bury the tomato plants up to 80%, close to the top leaves. However there are already a couple of fruits on it about halfway up. Can I plant 50% of it in the soil instead of 80%?

And when I plant it, is it okay to leave "branches" or "stems" close to the soil line? If I plant it at 50%, that brings the soil line to just below the fruit that is currently on the plant. Will that cause a problem as the fruit grows?

Thanks for the info!

Heather

I see a previous message saying that someone used "homemade" earth boxes. Wondering how to make them and if it is better to buy them. I met a man that buys them and swears by them for Florida gardening. Need further information. I live in The Villages (Central Florida). Is someone close to us that sells them?
Thanks

dclegg - if you check out the Container Gardening Forum you'll find countless posts about earthboxes, both the purchased kind and the home made kind. I haven't used them but there are several people on that forum who are pretty fanatical about earthboxes.

Kate

This link might help!

Kate

Here is a link that might be useful: Self watering container instructions

I order my Earthboxes online. At Christmastime they had a dramatic reduction in shipping costs. I bought 5 more for about $28 each plus the total shipping was only $19.95. I don't know if the sale is still in effect. I already had a couple of Earthboxes on my back porch because I found it easier to keep my herbs close by. Plus, these are on rollers so when we have a freeze I can easily move them up close to the house.

I have been to the Earthbox Research Station in Elenton, FL, but I found it still cheaper to order online.

Christine