Ayuh, I do that. Dried leaf mulch, too, is in the bottom of the deck pots. And I've got plenty of compost. It's just that the loam that I bought years ago is so dense with sand that I have to put peat moss in it to loosen it up or it will smother.

The previous load of loam (alas, from many, many years ago) was wonderful. Got it from a pig farmer. Rich, black, had to watch out for the occasional shard of glass, but otherwise it was gold. But the pig farmer had died by the time I needed more. This load (which has been sitting around for way too long) was a disappointment. HAS to be blended with organic matter or it's lethal. But because it has to be mixed, it's lasting forever. Nothing's perfect, I guess...

Checking out the memoir writers group this morning...

Linn