The sphagnum peat moss has been at some point a monster to me. I remember digging down to see what was wrong, and seeing areas of hard sphagnum peat moss under a plant. I heard that it was bad to use in Oklahoma where we will have weeks of 100 degree or more temps. Keeping the soil moist and watering twice are good ideas - I always water twice. I am glad you made that suggestion because in a given bed, I will lightly water then return to soak. My problem is that the only way to see if you have watered sufficiently is to dig under the mulch on top, and go into the soil to see if it is dry or wet. I do that every so often. I am afraid that if I don't check regularly enough, I may lose everything I have in pots. I can easily re-water top soil or compost, but if that sphagnum peat moss is dry, it is not that easy to moisten. My question was what would I use to replace the sphagnum peat moss? I wondered about mushroom compost replacing the sphagnum peat moss since I use it in my rose beds. I suggested soiless potting soil since I used that before this year. Also what is in the bottom of the containers is regular potting soil purchased from Lowe's. Since I think that only growing vegetables for a year at a time would keep the roots closer to the surface, I wondered if it mattered that the soil underneath was older soil. My pots are extremely large and the roots should never go down too far, so I am thinking I don't need to put anything down there before I add newer soil. My potting soil bags say: "Professional Nursery Blend" and on the front in a bubble it says "Mushroom compost products". That is what we used last year, and the texture is like regular compost. It isn't like a block of sphagnum peat moss. For what it's worth. All of our containers have holes in the side, and they don't "smell". You are lucky if you have always studied and then planted. I had a swimming pool effect once that cost me 12 Mister Lincoln roses. I was so proud of them that I dug out a huge plot and added pure compost - right on top of the hard clay. By the time I could smell them, I had killed them. Then I had to remove all the product, and add regular soil. (I forget the name of that product, but it was like mineralite magnalite - something I bought at a nursery. That experience with the roses makes me appreciate good soil. Sammy

I know I'll probably take a hit for this, but I'll stand firm on my assertion that the mix of equal parts of peat, black soil, sand, and perlite is a poor choice for houseplants - especially for inexperienced waterers. We can actually quantify what makes a good container soil, as noted above. Aeration is KEY in container soils and this mix WILL compact and WILL NOT hold enough air for an extremely high % of plants to ever grow at or even near their potential genetic vigor. I'm the first to say that it doesn't matter what soils are actually made of, as long as they provide anchoring, nutrient and water-holding ability, and most importantly - they must hold an ample volume of air and allow gas exchange at the rootzone. The soil described above will lack aeration and adequate gas exchange. That a particular person does something for a number of years with results that are acceptable, doesn't mean it should be adopted by others. Saying, "It works for me" is simply a statement and should not be regarded as a clarion call that others should follow blindly. That's all I have to say, and it's just an opinion, but it's easily supported by science and practical experience, and can be corroborated by dozens, if not hundreds of folks I've helped with soil problems over the years. I'm not trying to stir the pot here, just trying to help folks see that there are better choices than the mix we're discussing. Use science, don't fight against it. (I wish someone famous would have said that so I could offer it as a quote & it would carry more weight) ;o) A friend of mine, Joe Pye, comes to mind as I consider the reasoning of some. Joe Pye would get up every morning before work and bang his head against the wall. He always said it worked for him. One day he got tired of banging his head and decided to change, so he kissed his wife goodbye instead. Joe never did go back to banging his head. Moral: If your happy with how things are growing, please maintain the status quo, but at least allow there just might be a better way. Al

Both Kimmsr and Wayne have valid points. My best result in breaking up clay was when we rototille fresh grass into the soil early spring, with a bumper crop of tomatoe. My second best result was when we used A HUGE PILE OF COARSE SAND. Someone mentioned using fine pine mulch to break up clay. Great idea! Walmart sells them for $2.88 per bag. We rototilled them into the soil, it was nice and fluffy. For the same result would take 10 times the amount of sand. I looked at the ingredients on the professional potting soil made by Ball Corp. for their annual flowers: 40 to 50% composted FINE pine parks, peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, lime, and gypsum. This soil mixture yields better result for my roses than green-bag MiracleGro potting soil, and Organic MiracleGro potting soil (brown bag). The 40% Composted pine mulch potting soil is much lighter, fluffier, holds water longer, and I don't have to water pots everyday in hot summer.

Adding organic matter to your soil, and it is clay, will not make adobe. That does require a certain type of clay found in the southwest part of the USA and in Mexico, not Kentucky. What your soil does need is ample quantities of organic matter and those tree leaves that fall each year al lover Kentucky would be the best thing to add to your soil. Peat moss is a non renewable resource, cost money, and contributes little to the health of your soil while those tree leaves will help add nutrients, make the Soil food Web really happy to have a good, nutritious food source available, and they will get busy and make that clay you have into a good, healthy soil, in time.