Well, I knew Jack, in fact Jack was a friend of mine, and your HD clerk was no Jack (to paraphrase).

That's exactly what I have been doing and it seems to work fine. To wit, from www.compost.org: "Composting is the decomposition of plant remains and other once-living materials to make an earthy, dark, crumbly substance that is excellent for adding to houseplants or enriching garden soil."

Other comments?

I knew I didn't know Jack when I watched a distant relative serve coffee to her 5, 7 and 9-year olds... just before we went to another relative's funeral!! Funeral = a place where you would want kids to be calm and quiet, right? I obviously don't know Jack.

Compost, in my opinion does not in any shape or form belong in a container. The diseases that comes with it alone is a good reason not to use it. Buttttt diseases probally wont matter as the plant will drown before any thing else gets it.
Plant em if you got em.
Sam

I'm under the impression that you wouldn't use it in a containter, but in the yard is fine. Dirt/soil/compost compacts in a container, and gets hard/heavy. Potting soil is different from garden soil/top soil in that it has perlite and such added to keep it from compacting. If you still want to use it in pots, why not just add a lot of perlite on your own?
Lori

I'm doing pretty much as Lori is suggesting. I make lots of compost from stable bedding and it breaks down to some really amazing dirt. I bought some 4 cubic feet bags of vermiculite from HD and mix this stuff into my compost. I now have containers full of rich soil that drain beautifully. Oh, and I mix in some 10-10-10 granular as I mix in the vermiculite.

I didn't know which size of vermiculite to buy so I got both of the sizes they offer which is coarse and medium. I think I like having both sizes. The medium actually seems pretty fine to me and the coarse is about what I expected which is 1/8" to slightly larger then 1/4" chunks.

Each year I do things a little differently as I evolve with this container planting but I have done pretty well in the past and this mix with the vermiculite is the best soil I've had so far. The vermiculite certainly wasn't cheap but I'm thinking it will be worth it.

Oh boy, that darn Jack!

After reading what you all had to say, I think I'm going to scrap that idea. I don't want to mess with the perlite, etc. Thanks for your words of wisdom.

Perlite is not a problem, although I wear a mask with it and peat when I wetting them. It's the vermiculite you have to look out for since it contains asbestos.

If you check things out over at the Container Forum you'll find they don't recommend compose in containers, although there are always heated debates over there with folks that swear by their results with it. I don't do it but again, you'll find folks here that love it...you have to find what works for you.

Tom

You mean Jack of All Trades, Master of None? (I was called that twice the other day, in two different contexts, and I'm a girl) or Jack Frost? (cause I sure know him this year).

Like Tom said, you have to find what works for you but I have had great luck with compost in the yard and none with mixing it in containers. It doesn't seem to drain well or if it gets dry, it compacts and water runs off.

Since you decided to scrap the idea, either just return the bag with a big Bronx cheer to the clerk, or make some of your yard plants happy.

Good luck!

Melissa

Make a tea with your compost and use the tea in your pots.
Then spread the compost 'tea bag' contents in your garden area.
I use a large cheese cloth bag hanging above a wash tub and pour water through it.
Your pots will love it especially if it is worm composted.

Best of both worlds,
Lou

You can also use that compost as top dressing/mulch on beds/ornamentals....

Thanks again for the additional advice. The compost tea sounds interesting. Do you just pour it through or does it have to "steep" a while, Lou?

You could do it either way, what you are looking to get is a batch of liquid micro-nutrient tea for your pots.
I have a watering system and hang the bag and put a dripper emitter set in the top with my washtub underneath.
These are the same dripper emitters I use for my orchard tree system of watering.
The same system of watering you probably have seen when you visit a nursery.
I imagine letting the teabag steep in it's own juices would also work as you slowly run water through the top of the bag.
Why buy organic liquid fertilizer, when you can make your own.

Lou

Thanks, Lou.

This was definitely a weird conversation

I've been making compost for 30 years and its the ONLY thing I use in pots. Too heavy??? huh??

I sift compost for my seed flats. It's full of weed seeds but since I plant my seeds in rows its easy to id the weeds and pull em out, a few minutes every few days.

Compost has the light fluffy structure that is perfect for pots and flats. If I'm potting houseplants or patio plants that are going to stay potted, I like to use compost that's a little short of being finished. If it has a good rough texture you will always have good aeration, and as the twigs and bits diminish in a year or two, you just repot.

Another rule I like to break: I mix a bit of fresh chicken manure - just a tablespoon or two in with the compost for long term potting. I've never burned a plant yet, and their growth rate is phenomenol.

Wear a mask wiith peat moss - it harbors a micro-organism that can give you a deadly lung infection. Ditto perlite - it's got asbestos.

Why not just use compost and leave those Canadian peat bogs in peace? Mining is extremely destructive.

Perlite is made from volcanic rock.
It does not contain asbestos.
This is another urban myth with no science behind it.
The dust can be irritating as any can any dust source.

Whoops!
Editing gone bad right there!!
Dust from any source can be irritating.
There- that's better.

Buzzy, where do you live? Are you in the heat and humidity of Florida?

I agree that a mask should be worn when working with all this stuff and I may be wrong but I believe it's vermiculite that provides asbestos exposure, depending on where it's mined from. If you have any literature that perlite has been found to contain asbestos I'd sure like to review your references.

Tom