Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

These are a wonderful find, especially for the price. Before ordering these from Amazon I'd gone to my local Home Depot to look for these. I had a bit of sticker shock. So I came home empty handed and decided to check out Amazon. These were about $7.50 less for each one. I read the reviews and decided to try them despite some of the unhappier opinions. I ordered 3 for my back deck, assembled them and then decided that due to my procrastination I'd only fill one. (It was mid July by the time I got around to working with them. I'm a big "get the most bang for your buck" kind of gal.) Now, my mom had a green thumb. Actually, every one of her fingers was green and there wasn't anything she couldn't grow, even living in MA! She loved these window troughs and would fill them with ivy, geraniums, and anything else that suited her at the moment. So I thought I'd do the same. I filled the trough with good potting soil and several plants. When I was done, that trough was so heavy that I was afraid the brackets would snap. The brackets barely hung onto the porch rail. I knew I did something wrong, as mom's never did this. I went to Lowe's this time and looked for what she might have used to fill the trough. When I saw the bag, it rang a strong memory bell! Sphagnum Moss! I called my sisters and pieced together what she did to fill them. Following that pattern I filled my trough 3/4 of the way with Sphagnum Peat Moss. It's very light stuff that retains moisture well. I made an indent (hole, well, etc) for each plant and added about 1 cup of potting soil per plant. After I added the plants I covered them with about an inch of potting soil, added a layer of the Sphagnum then a thin layer of mulch. And the planter was 1/2 the weight, even well watered! It's hanging well and I'm excited to do them all next year. I didn't have to tweek the trough's bracket design or bend the brackets or wire them in place as others have had to do. Hope this helps! A side note... I bought a large bag of plain Sphagnum Peat Moss. Some people may not want that large a bag. The only smaller bag available at both Lowe's and Home Depot was the Miracle Grow Sphagnum Peat Moss. If you choose to use this, just be aware that it contains fertilizer so there's no need to use Miracle Grow on top of this. (I'm a big fan of Miracle Grow!) And a HUGE fan of these troughs! UPDATE: It's now 2021 and these troughs are STILL as sturdy as ever! This will be their 5th summer in the Virginia sun! (Obviously, I use new liners each year.) One of the troughs had an area where the black covering was beginning to separate from the metal underneath. Since it was on the backside, I wrapped it with electrical tape and you can't even tell. Still using sphagnum peat moss as the main filler to keep it light. My neighbor does the same thing thing I do with the sphagnum moss but tops her trough with dried moss (versus mulch) to help keep it light, which I may try this year. I'd love to add my finished troughs but... they're not finished! I wait to hang my troughs til a day or 2 before Mother's Day. Living in SW Virginia, out last frost is usually between the last week of April to May 8th. And because the troughs are suspended, I add a few more days to ensure the flowers will thrive. Wonder if I can get 6 years out of these troughs? Still a BIG fan!