I use a compost mixer.
Container Soils and Water Movement in Containers (long post)
You can also place all the ingredients on a tarp. Pull the corners toward you alternately so the ingredients remain on/in the tarp. This method will quickly and thoroughly mix even large batches of soil.
Al
aaah...I sure like that one...!
A Testamonial:
Al, I finally found pine bark fines, and mixed up the "big batch" of your soil in May. My only addition was a jar of water-retaining crystals. I potted up about 12 dahlias, and they are going INSANE growing in this medium! They are far out performing the dahlias that are in the garden. I admit to being a skeptic about a potting soil with all these big chunks, but it does not dry out and pull away from the sides of the pots like commercial mixes do. I find the commercial mixes turn to cement if allowed to dry out, then become hard to re-hydrate.
A big Green Thumb ups!!!
-Melissa
Melissa,
Everyone looks at me real funny when I tell them I grow my dahlias in pots because I cannot dig them. But, I'm telling you, they do great in pots. I even had to divide the tubers this year.
Jeanette
Jnette - how tall are the dahlias you grow in pots? I'd love to try it.
Oh, Jeanette, c'mon over to the dahlia board!!! There are many folk who only set dahlia tubers in pots, even when they plant them out in the garden- it's called a "pot root" when you do that, and the theory is that the tubers are more easily wintered over- just cut the dahlia stalk and move the container into shelter for the winter.
Yup Jax, that's how it's done. Pirl, the tallest one I have is about 5 feet? But Jax, I don't plant mine in the garden. I could I suppose, but then I would have to dig the pots!! I have mine on my deck.
Some time ago I told them over in the dahlia thread about planting them in pots and they weren't too interested. Mine are so healthy looking and budded but right now they are only about a foot tall not counting the pot, and I pinch them to make them bushy so I don't have to stake them.
LOL, maybe I am making them short without even meaning to.
Jeanette
BTW, you guys, I thought Terry started a Part 2 of this thread. It is getting too long for us dial ups. I'm going to "Unwatch this thread.".
Jeanette
Thread is continued here: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/719569/