I've read that others recommend rehydrating it like that, but decided it's not the best option for me. That would mean doing only 1 of the 7 bags each day worth of planters, and that would take even longer. I set up in the garage like I said, one reason being easy cleanup with spilt potting mix, dead leaves, old plant containers and seed trays. Another reason is to keep me out of the direct sun all day while planting, usually it's much hotter here than yesterday and keeps me out of the hot sun, plus every loose particle of dirt sticks to me then. If I worked with wet soil, I'd be one huge muddy mess, plus the weight of the planters would make it that much harder to move out of the garage into its permanent spot in the yard.
So I've been cutting the bales of the Pro-Mix in half, dumping the half into a large yard tub I use and breaking the clumps up by hand and filling the containers from that. That's been quicker than trying to work directly out of the bag and filling containers from them, but still not near as quick as just pouring the Miracle-Gro bags into the containers. If the Pro-Mix gives me better growth and flowers all summer than the Miracle-Gro, I'll probably still do it though, as much as I'd dislike the extra time and work.
