We have good success with straight compost (homemade from garden cleanings and vegetable scraps or from our regional waste management composter - we’re planning a formal trial to compare the two) in containers, and both of those options are free to us. It does settle a fair amount, especially the first year, but we just top off every season (and sometimes mid-season for tomatoes in a new container). When it gets to the point of not having room to add an inch of new compost to the top after 5 years or so, remove some for a refresh.
I think perfect might be to add 10 percent clay to compost, but that’s not locally viable.
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