Do you have an easy recipe of making your own mix for a gardening-beginner? Yes. I would recommend using what is known around here as 'Al's 5-1-1 mix' for annuals and perennials grown for just a year or two before being repotted. For plants that will stay in the same container/mix for more than 2 years I would recommend what is known around here as 'Al's Gritty mix'. The 5:1:1 mix is 5 parts pine bark (very small pieces), 1 part perlite and 1 part peat. The gritty mix is 1 part pine bark fines, 1 part Turface MVP and 1 part grower grit (#2 sized). For more information on this I will refer you to this thread. Don't get too hung up on specific ingredients and percentages. The principle is using ingredients that will be of a large enough size (above 1/16th inch) for as long as the plant will be in the mix. This provides superior aeration. The higher the percentage of organic matter such as peat or bark, the faster the mix breaks down and aeration suffers. The bark breaks down much slower than peat though. Anyway, read the thread and you will learn a lot. If you can't find suitable ingredients to make your own mix in time to get the season started then just get the regular MG potting mix and take until next year to learn more and locate sources for ingredients you want.

I pour boiling water in the pot with the soil. We have bread trays leftover from a route so I turn one over & set the pot on top to drain. Sometimes I dump all the soil in something after it's all cool down. I wash the pots in warm soapy water too.

Rina, I used the Miracle Grow Moisture Control soil because there are times when I'm away a couple of days and unable to water my container plants, which sit on a hot patio. I wanted a soil that might give me a few extra days here and there between watering. I thought the MGMC might do the trick, but it's just a bog. Ok, so apparently I need to replace the soil. What does one do with a lot of surplus soil? Can I sprinkle it throughout the garden, or is this stuff to be discarded and forgotten? Bragu, thanks for the link. That's quite a dissertation on soil. A lot of valuable information when I can find the time to read the whole thing. :)

Perlite gets yellowish deposits/fungus (?-I am not sure) when constantly wet, and maybe from too much fertilizer too, so double check your watering routine. Maybe you are watering too much? You could help by using light layer of topdressing with gravel, it will also keep down lightweigth perlite. But it will not improve the overwatering should that be the culprit or if there is a disease of some kind.