I pulled out all the stops for a supplemental above ground container garden this year, and I'm trying a variety of soil/fertilizer combinations. The substrate is a cheaper big box version of Pro-Mix , fertilizer free. I've been throwing a few handfuls of organic MG bark type soil amendment from Costco to keep the containers from drying out. I have a large bag of organic fertilizer which I am using in my 6 inground plants.

I'm considering adding a handful of bagged topsoil to get things going. Any current comparisons or research to see if organics break down in soilless mix. Anyone using the organics in the containers?

Not having a good year as it is. A tree company sprayed the neighbors tree for the second time this year. The tomatoes usually outgrow the first round of spray, but they are still in bad shape. I think they must be using a different stronger product, whatever that may be. The beans are all distorted too. Sungold and Esterina are stunted and have 3 blossoms each. Sad !

- Lisa

What a shame! Is there any way your neighbor can give you a heads up the next time they have the spray people out again? At least it would give you time to cover your stuff. My guess is that unless you say something, they have no idea there's a big problem! Now, whether they're nice enough to let you know is another story........ Hopefully they will.

Sorry to hear about that spraying!

I do organic containers. Compost, fully composted horse manure, kelp meal, bone meal, chicken manure pellets, liquid fish and molasses, have all found their way into my pots at one time or another. I've not used soilless mix, but things do break down sooner or later. The horse manure which I first used last season has retained its superb moisture retaining qualities in the mix, and apart from a little coarse compost from the garden (small twigs in it) I'm not worrying about adding something just for the texture this season. I was using kelp for that, but like other ferts it all breaks down before the season is over.

Worm castings do well in containers.

I add TomatoTone or if I can’t find that GardenTone in my 5-1-1 mix, plus a bit of Azomite. This year I also included alfalfa meal and it did provide a nice growth spurt over the first couple of months. Once fruiting is in progress I hit the plants with liquid Texas Tomato Food.

PlainJane, do you make your own container mix, or is the 5-1-1- mix a common commercial variety? I have a dwindling stash of Tomato Tone too. Sadly the closest feed store selling alfalfa closed the location. It's an Amish furniture store now.

On another forum, there was a discussion of whether an organic fertilizer could be broken down in a soilless mix (it doesn't matter which ProMix organic in the yellow bag or the moisture control non-organic in the pink bag sold at Wal Mart) with no obvious (to me) source of microbes.

Cole_Robbie, I assume you mean fresh worm castings. Would a bagged product have any residual microbial activity?

- Lisa

greenthumbomaha wrote: ↑Mon Jun 06, 2022 10:04 pm On another forum, there was a discussion of whether an organic fertilizer could be broken down in a soilless mix (it doesn't matter which ProMix organic in the yellow bag or the moisture control non-organic in the pink bag sold at Wal Mart) with no obvious (to me) source of microbes.

I add some Kellogg Organic Plus Tomato, Vegetable & Herb fertilizer for the microbes (shipped free from HD) in my containers.

...Packed with an all-organic mix of beneficial microbes for root development and kelp meal for an added nutrient boost,

I also add Espoma Garden-Tone which contains Bio-Tone which also contains microbes. Garden-Tone instead of Tomato-Tone because I can get it a lot cheaper.

My mix is based on 5-1-1 which I made years ago. Lots of stuff (egg shells, spent tea leaves) has been added to it over the years. I use DE instead of perlite. Also it usually needs more peat. Now the main addition to the mix is Kellogg Patio Organic Patio Mix. Some of my containers are just Patio Mix with some organic ferts and also Osmocote. I have also been using the Patio Mix for seed starting after removing some of the larger stuff with a sieve or picking them out.

I use soilless and with organics. I usually mix the stuff early spring, to have some time to get going. There's always bacteria somewhere, I'm pretty sure the organic fertilizers are also not sterile.

@greenthumbomaha, I make my 5-1-1 mix using pine bark fines, coarse perlite and coco chips and fiber instead of peat.
I mix in a big wheelbarrow and add the TomatoTone, Azomite and alfalfa meal.
I rotate the grow bags through a regimen of a bleach soak and dry in the sun and wipe down the tomato cages each spring with a bleach solution.
When tomatoes are finished I use the bags for other veggies, and usually throw in a handful of GardenTone or whatever dry organic fert I have around.