Time to show of your combo containers!

Doc, That's probably Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting mix they make several different types. Ric mixes up something for me not exactly sure what all he puts in it. He gets a bale of some kind of Pro growers mix, adds perlite to keep it from being so heavy, those water crystals to give me a little wiggle room when it comes to watering, and a time release fertilizer. We keep it in plastic trash cans. Then if I'm potting up something like the sedums I take some of that mix and add in some of the builders sand that is here and some cactus grit. For the pond plants I just take dirt from the garden as I want something heavy for in those pots.
I'm glad that everyone likes my boots a couple of years ago they did a whole thread or two on different shoe/boot combos over in the Garden Art Forum. Some of the shoes they used and combos were really wild. They kept a lookout for the wildest shoe/boots they could find at yard sales and thrift shops. I held off planting them last year thinking I would come up with some great combo idea. This year when I got the sedums I decided to just go with a pretty simple plan but I'm happy with the results.
Doc love the ScareCrow idea. How about filling his head with some of that floppy grass you know the oriental one with the red ends. That would make for some interesting hair. LOL
I was eyeing up some Persian Shield at the nursery last week but decided I couldn't handle another plant that needed to be over winter and I had pretty much gone through most of my pots so I walked away with thoughts of next year.

Glad to hear good news on the coir---But--when I rehydrated my coir brick it didn't need at all the amount of water they said, so go slow.

Scarecrow head with hair could be a milk jug with top cut off , face painted on--or use that inside a more decorative thing for the face..with a hole in the bottom maybe you could prop the jug on the top of the scarecrow pole by its handle. just a thought.

Doc, sorry I should have typed out the whole name, it is Miracle Grow Moisture Control that I use simply because it is easy for me to get and it works for me.

The question yet unanswered is: What is the element or elements that is being used in Miracle Grow Moisture Control if it is a bagged growing medium product or is it a Miricle Grow Moisture product to be added to other mediums. In either case I am attemting to find out specifically what the moisture holding element being used is comprised of or manufactured from.

Going to the Miracle-Grow web site we find the missing information described as a wetting agent. Otherwise the medium is pretty standard organic stuff......coir, spag. peat, kelp meal and such, It is very expensive if you compair it to your own creative use of the contents. You may have to Google up (wetting agent) and pick one you like.

I use Scott's Organic Choice medium but I doctor it up with coir and kelp meal. It has spag. moss and peat in it. Literally by adding compost, garden soil which is sandy loam and sand for some plants like the Semps my basic organic home made potting medium is equal to or better than Scott's Moisture Control. A teaspoon full of Dove liquid soap per five gallons of water would be a fine wetting agent. All a wetting agent does in a potting medium is help the water added be distributed more evenly and more quickly. It would possibly improve drainage and smother fungus nat larva. They do not make that claim. I speculate for them on the drainage and nat larva controll.

I am really pleased to see Scotts getting into the organic product merchandise merchandising. Lowe's in my area reports the orgainc mediums are selling like hot cakes. Their Organic Choice medium is the all time sales leader in this area. They are big enough to lead the organic market. Why they waited so long to jump in is anybody's guess.

Apparently the Moisture Controll product has been sold out and not replaced in this store. That is why I had not seen it yet.

I might add that anyone who doctors up either of these two products will have an even finer product. From and with my local soil, sand and compost comes some live garden worms. That is a fact and they are most often found in increased numbers by fall or as I work the pots throughout the summer. If you stay organic with your potting soil and feeding program there will be no salts build up and no need to do anything more than add new medium to the old left over next spring. I dump the pots in a wheelbarrow add new and give them a bit of organic fertilizer. That does it all in one movement. I refill the pots, water them good, let them settle a week or two, top them off and start planting.

Doc I use the watersorb crystals in my potting soil it absorbs and holds the water. I put that in my boxes and pots you have to have a light hand doesn't take very much. I was always drying out the boxes and pots just didn't get around to watering just when I should. I'd notice that the plants look a little wilty just as I was running out the door and think I'll get that when I get home. Then by the next day when I finally got to them they be dropping leaves all over the place. It has been a real plant saver for me. They can be pretty pricey but there is a long term co-op for them.

I stand on the side of the road watching....Watersorb. I have read their claims. Somehow having been hurt by or others being hurt by man made inorganic fertilizers and the insecticides, fungicides, miticides and all other cides that should be labeled "BIOSIDES" I have a natural tendancy to not use this product. Meanwhile I get a similar good result using compost and coir in my potting mediums. Since the Watersorb product brings no natural biological elements to the patch I would rather play with other ways to arrive at the similar results. I can see when in a soiless chemistry oriented growing it may have commercial value. I will continue to keep an open mind. At this time I stand in the shadows watching.

Doc, I believe that we may follow in your footsteps one of these days. At one time we were a little more organic or I should say Ric was and I just used whatever he had or made. We have gotten away from those practices but I see a day when we will drift back. I've been thinking that this winter might be a good time to do some reading. Although the inside of my house has just as many old unfinished projects as the yard does. LOL

Holly, Just leaning that direction one step at a time gives me great satisfaction. I would be the first to say is that the healthy soil thing likely is more within understanding and achievement with a strict organic position within the possible range as one learns and backs out of the chemical support world.

I've been in the nearly satisified category for years but have never achieved a fully organic garden let alone the serious lifestyle that naturally develops with the practice. Both the wife and I have achieved a lot. We have the utmost admiration for anyone who does achieve an honest organic gardening practice and lifestyle. Our farmer's market has half a dozen growers that are certified organic and one who raises certified organic Black Angus, another with eggs and milk and still another with cheeses from that milk. We support them on a program of yearly use of their product. We live close enough that we can see our beef grazing within our normal travels. We can see our chickens scratching in the fields as they used to be raised. In the summer we meet and chat with them at the market. Winter time they deliver and discuss what they have available for next week. They actually horse trade with us for our Asian pears and tomato excess. All of them now have computers and use them to show us what is available. Ten years ago neither they or we ever dreamed that so many people would be asking for their products.

You guys and your #$%#% Persian shield. I sent Ric out today to pick some up for me. LOL I have no idea where I'll put these plants come fall. Ric was running a few errands today and I asked him to stop by the little nursery down the road and bring me back one of their Persian Shields and a couple more of the Blue Lobelia. I'll probably pot it up today. I still have plants sitting in the driveway to be planted and today I was trying to think where I could put the last few Tuberroses. I decided to put them in a pot and I was thinking now what could I put in a pot with them? Then the thought how pretty that Persian Shield at the nursery was. So the Persian Shield, TuberRose and Blue Lobelia will be all potted up together and set out in my "Tropical Corner"
Doc, Years ago we raised a few animals on our little property we had dairy goats, chickens, pigs, rabbits, turkeys and one year even a cow. We had a vegetable garden and would have meals where everything on the table came from what we grew or raised. Fertilizer for the gardens was just a shovel-full away. It was a more organic lifestyle. But as life got busier with full time working, 4 growing children and a few horses to take up time and space much of that went by the wayside. I doubt we will ever have animals again but in the last 2 years we have started to revive the old Veggie garden and with it that old organic interest.

My tropical corner is doing great. Here is an updated pictures, we have blooms everywhere.

One more from the Tropical Corner, This shot includes the pot with the Persian Shield, Tuberose, OSP Blackie, and some more of the Blue Lobelia. That Persian Shield sure is beautiful glad you all lured me into getting some.

What a difference in just ten days! For some reason I forgot to pick up Persian Shield this year and I miss it :( I don't know how I missed the turtles in the first picture but I love them! Especially the pot holder on the left - where did you get him? I collect anything with dragonflies but I'm thinking whenever I get my stream project started I might have to include a collection of turtles and that little guy would be perfect!

Not much to show for containers this year, but this is one Rick put together - a few older Pitcher plants that needed a home so he combined them in this combo.

RCN, Love that little stone trough with the Pitcher plants. A nice way to showcase them. All the turtles were gifts. The old concrete one was a Christmas present from a friend, the large clay one a Mother's Day gift from my daughter Julie. The one you like was also a Christmas gift from the son of an old friend, I'm kind of a second Mom to him. It's resin but has the look of wrought iron. That's a Hawaiian Spider plant that Buttoneer gave me and it usually sits with my house plants but this year I put many of them outside. Isn't it a rule that if you have 3 of anything that makes it a collection? LOL

This is my first Persian Shield. When I first saw it at the little nursery down the road, it was WOW what is that, is that a Persian Shield? I hadn't seen them for years and didn't remember them as so large, more of a small house plant. I wanted to bring it home but thought where will I put it at the end of summer? But then everyone started to post pictures of theirs and I kept thinking how pretty it was. When I needed to find something to do with the Tuberose the first thing that popped into my head was, go get that Persian shield. LOL

Gosh I LOVE that plant...*sniffle* sadly she doesn't love me. Look beautiful!!!

Here is one of my first combo pottings. My guess that the Caladium is Fire Chief. I just grabbed a pretty pix with bag of six at the big box store. Sorry I'm a guy....that's the way this guy picks stuff. Don't throw any rotten tatters.

This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 4:14 PM

Sorry about this. There seems to be a site problem. As usual it was fixed. This post edited to eliminate duplication.

This message was edited Jul 16, 2008 9:27 PM

Hey Doc that looks very nice.
Here is another guy pick.
Ric and Jamie drug this old Terra-cotta drain pipe home, to use as a planter years ago. Jamie was pretty young at the time and we took him to the nursery and let him pick out what ever he wanted to plant in it. He picked portulaca and celosia. Oh such pretty colors. Every year the portulaca reseed and I pick up some celosia to add to the planter. Jamie is 25 now so I've been planting this the same way for at least 15 years or maybe a little more.

doc- ya done good.
Holly- how sweet. I would drug that home too! I'm not excited by the flowerpots at all the cheap stores that all look the same.

This container combo has really filled in. I want to take some starts from the coleus before frost hits to winter over in the house, I love the burst of color.

Here is one I have hanging over the edge of the deck.

BRINGING BACK MY POTS

Mid season showing flowers and herbs in the stacked pots.

MORE POTS a hodge podge.

AND............the part edge of the patio wall

"Thou shalt covet thy fellow DG's pots" Gosh, Docg. everytime I see those tower of pots you have I say "I have to get me one!"
I'll add to my wish list for next year.

Doc, Your hodge podge looks beautiful. Do you like those stacking pots? They look nice.

Lady, Love that pot in front of the garage. Very very nice.

Holly.......the stack has been an education. There are two sizes of pots. Bottom or larger ones are 24". The top of both stacks are 12". Each melds and fits into the pot below enabling water to drain down so one can not overwater. The larger pots hold a quart of water in reserve. The engineering is such that the soil in each pot is in contact with the pot below and the pot above at all times. This creates a wicking up of water to maintain a nice evenly watered soil structure as the engineers have fooled gravity. Each contact point is the same height below it's mass so wicking will be the same in each pot providing the available water is the same below. This really works fine. The dish at the bottom holds reserve water and has wheels to help rotating the pot. Only thing about that is one needs to have a skeeter doughnut or a few drops of cooking oil in play to get the skeeter nympths and that water gets dirty but not ugly because of drain down from the top.

My medium is or has been this year.....25% good garden soil, 25% finished compost, a 25% blend of sand and vermiculite and 25% coir. Coir is an exceptionally good water retension holder, organic with minor growth hormones and ability to rot. It supports excellent structure and continued maintenance of the soil biology. A few worms get translocated. It is not unusual to find them living and healthy in the pots when dumpped for the winter.

Thanks Doc, I had looked at those pots at the Phila Flower Show and almost came home with a few of them. Sounds like they work very well. They certainly look nice.

Bunch of coleus