Container soil getting compacted

[ducks4you]

I have 3 horses and they produce LOTS of compostable material. I give my compost at LEAST 4 months outside in piles before I even consider using it. I dump in my big garden in November-December and that is 6-8 months old before it gets tilled in. The horse manure takes 4 months to decompose, the straw is well rotted and the FINE pine shavings help, IMHO, to create places to keep it from compacting. STILL, any soil, if left long enough will begin to compact from gravity. You find it along the sides and in the corners of raised beds. In a container, after the season is over you can reuse the compost. It is lovely and you have already removed the weeds, so no seeds either.
LOTS of sweat equity in gardening!
I DO use fresh horse manure around my roses, bc they thrive on it.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

I have 3 horses and they produce LOTS of compostable material. I give my compost at LEAST 4 months outside in piles before I even consider using it. I dump in my big garden in November-December and that is 6-8 months old before it gets tilled in. The horse manure takes 4 months to decompose, the straw is well rotted and the FINE pine shavings help, IMHO, to create places to keep it from compacting. STILL, any soil, if left long enough will begin to compact from gravity. You find it along the sides and in the corners of raised beds. In a container, after the season is over you can reuse the compost. It is lovely and you have already removed the weeds, so no seeds either.
LOTS of sweat equity in gardening!
I DO use fresh horse manure around my roses, bc they thrive on it.

Are those shrub roses or hateful hybrids?

 

[ducks4you]

Mr. Lincoln, Tropicana and yellow knockout...and 2 mini roses.

 

[Coolbreeze89]

I used 7 gallon bags and picked up these round green trays for them to sit it. The bags air prune the roots which is pretty cool.

The bags of which I bought 4 sets of 5:

Super Affordable Basic Planters and Grow Bags for a Beautiful Garden

Discover the perfect basic planters to enhance your garden's beauty, our collection offers a range of styles and materials to suit your outdoor space, shop now and let your plants thrive!

www.247garden.com

The actual bags I bought. Get a lighter color though.:

Amazon.com : 247Garden 5-Pack 7 Gallon Grow Bags/Aeration Fabric Pots w/Handles (Black) : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : 247Garden 5-Pack 7 Gallon Grow Bags/Aeration Fabric Pots w/Handles (Black) : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

2 sets of 10 Saucers for setting the bags and reservoir:

Amazon.com : Hydrofarm HGS14P Green Premium Saucer 14", Pack of 10, 14 inches : Plant Saucers : Industrial & Scientific

Amazon.com : Hydrofarm HGS14P Green Premium Saucer 14", Pack of 10, 14 inches : Plant Saucers : Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.com

Grow bags arrived and I transplanted 6 of my plants. Loving these bag. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Mr. Lincoln, Tropicana and yellow knockout...and 2 mini roses.

I gave up and put my last hybrid in a pot and it is doing wonderfully. Our clay kills them. I planted 30 red knockouts by literally plopping them on top of the ground and covering with manure compost and bark. They prosper. I have a red cascade that needs moving to more sun, and 3 of those knockout are in a bad place and need moving. My rose game is improving.

 

[flowerbug]

at one time out back in the fenced gardens we tried planting 30 roses there and they mostly died within a few years from black rot. in a clay lowland area it just isn't the best location for sure. a few years ago Mom planted some roses at one of my brother's house and they eventually died off or looked really bad so she dug them up and replaced them but also brought back the remains here (some of them are growing from rootstock and not any kind of wood above the graft is left) so now we have a few rose bushes growing back there again. so far the black rot and clay soil hasn't done them in, but we have them along the edge where they are part of a perennial garden.

as a kid i spent a lot of time in the rose garden i made and used to take flowers around the neighborhood to give to the moms. i had some good friends around who liked to talk houseplants and gardens. one guy thought i was trying to romance his wife and got mad at me. haha, no, i just liked plants and gardening...

 

[flowerbug]

...
I would also recommend if your growing Determinate or Indeterminate tomatoes to go to a minimum container size of 15 gallons, I grow mine in 30 gallon containers and the roots reach out to all edges of the containers.

a rough rule of thumb that mostly works is that the root size of a plant is about the same as the plant above the ground (if it is healthy). some plants can do ok a bit more root bound but garden vegetables are not ones i'd expect to do well in small containers.

adding compost and sand to potting soil half and half would largely defeat the purpose of using potting soil to begin with.

 

[ducks4you]

@Dirtmechanic , I have been amending this little bed for years, so I planted them into VERY well rotted compost. My yellow knockout can be smelled from the north side of the garage when blooming. The Mr. Lincoln was a rose I tentatively bought in April, got busy, left in the dark garage for 3 weeks and it was really growing, so I thought it would do well. The Tropicana took a little while to get started, but now is doing well. ALL have been flowering, and, of course, they were treated to horse manure! I intend to cover them BOTH well with straw before the winter to give them a fighting chance bc they don't have the roots of my knockout, which has been in it's spot for nearly a decade.
So...right now I have a cherry red (Mr. Lincoln), a whitish yellow (knockout) and an orange red (Tropicana), the Tropicana supposed to be a "climbing" variety, and planted right next to the support for my clematis, in case it deCIDES to climb.
ALL of them are being attacked right now by Japanese beetles, but they keep going. I send out my troops and let them fight the elements, but it's not fair for a newly planted rose to have to fend off the cold without a blanket.
I researched them both and they say zones 5-10.
Funny, on Mid American Gardener somebody emailed in a picture of a rose that they had severly pruned back, the J. beetles had left only 3 leaves on one stem. The panel politely mentioned this, but I KNOW that most roses are grafted and you can cut them back to a stem that will not bloom...ever. I HAD one of those in this spot until this Spring. It was tall, well leaved, no flowers. I pulled it out and burned it.
I have to reMEMber to prune my knockout in the spring, otherwise, all that I have done is water the newer ones. I keep a dehumidifier in the 4 car garage, and I empty 1/2 on each, so I am not even paying to water them.
They are in a small bed on the south side of the driveway right in front of the south half of the garage, full sun, with some winter protection.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

o

@Dirtmechanic , I have been amending this little bed for years, so I planted them into VERY well rotted compost. My yellow knockout can be smelled from the north side of the garage when blooming. The Mr. Lincoln was a rose I tentatively bought in April, got busy, left in the dark garage for 3 weeks and it was really growing, so I thought it would do well. The Tropicana took a little while to get started, but now is doing well. ALL have been flowering, and, of course, they were treated to horse manure! I intend to cover them BOTH well with straw before the winter to give them a fighting chance bc they don't have the roots of my knockout, which has been in it's spot for nearly a decade.
So...right now I have a cherry red (Mr. Lincoln), a whitish yellow (knockout) and an orange red (Tropicana), the Tropicana supposed to be a "climbing" variety, and planted right next to the support for my clematis, in case it deCIDES to climb.
ALL of them are being attacked right now by Japanese beetles, but they keep going. I send out my troops and let them fight the elements, but it's not fair for a newly planted rose to have to fend off the cold without a blanket.
I researched them both and they say zones 5-10.
Funny, on Mid American Gardener somebody emailed in a picture of a rose that they had severly pruned back, the J. beetles had left only 3 leaves on one stem. The panel politely mentioned this, but I KNOW that most roses are grafted and you can cut them back to a stem that will not bloom...ever. I HAD one of those in this spot until this Spring. It was tall, well leaved, no flowers. I pulled it out and burned it.
I have to reMEMber to prune my knockout in the spring, otherwise, all that I have done is water the newer ones. I keep a dehumidifier in the 4 car garage, and I empty 1/2 on each, so I am not even paying to water them.
They are in a small bed on the south side of the driveway right in front of the south half of the garage, full sun, with some winter protection.

I do not trust straw for winter. I have seen sawdust used, but I think I will just cover with compost to a good depth the way I do the elephant ears here in zone 8. That way in spring I can just rake it back and leave it spread out.

 

[ducks4you]

Good thought.