You want to use a soilless container mix. Do not go cheap. That will cost you more in
the long run.

My mix:

BX pro mix. About 2 to 3 cubic feet
2 50 lbs bags of composted manure
2 50 lbs bags of silica (play sand)
10 to 20 pounds of espoma plant-tone … good for the soil critters and it will not burn.
Make sure containers have drainage
If needed add in some miracle grow potting mix. No need for perlite or vermiculite.
Mix in a wheel barrel.


If the containers are large fill the bottom half with good clean straw and add your
planting medium to the top. The growing medium will migrate down through the straw.

I currently don't have a storage area (in temporary living situation), so making that much isn't realistic for my needs. I've moved a bunch of indoor plants (veggies, herbs) outside onto an apartment balcony; I couldn't control the bugs that came in with the soil.

Any suggestions for a much smaller amount of container soil to tide me over to when I can go with what you suggest?

At 3 parts grow mix to one part play sand. A small bag of Espoma plant tone (5 pounds)
should be plenty.

Do not buy Lowe’s house brand container mix. It is crap.

My plan was to transplant them to the big bed once they were big enough. They did not do well for some reason, but our weather was really wonky in April. The few little tomatoes I transplanted out of those have taken off now. I used the same soil mixture in the big garden as I did in the boxes--good commercial top soil from my local garden center, mixed with our own compost (goat or chicken poop, used wood shavings/bedding, and hay). You could probably substitute peat, sold in bags, also at a garden center or big box store. Maybe even a little bit of straw, (also good for mulching around plants, just don't get seedy straw that will hatch.) I also throw in some earthworms that hang out in our compost piles.

The idea is to get good healthy loose soil. You want nitrogen (the main component in Miracle Gro,) but too much of it will give you lots of leaves, and not much fruit.

I explained above, to Botany. So I need a small amount as I have no place to store a large batch. It's frustrating for sure.

All can be mixed with perlite or vermiculite.

use and recommend Gary's Top Pot. He's a nurseryman in Tustin, CA and several southern CA outlets sell his bags. Google Gary's Top Pot Soil recipe...or watch the video in which he explains why his mix works and what's in it.

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I grow indoor stuff in it, my tomatoes in 15 gallon cans (along with some compost and such in top 6&quot , fruit trees in 30" boxes, and succulents. There's no fertilizer in it, so can be added near surface or on top.

Works.