I have:

1. three compost piles of good dirt/leaves/and a winters worth of coffee grounds, kitchen scraps. One ready, two need one more turning now that they have thawed.

2. Several 20lb bags of pea gravel

3. More leaves yet to haul away (I'm thinking of mulching them with my lawn mower if they ever dry out). Then, adding them to the final turn of the two C.Piles.

4. A supply of rocks/sand/dirt mix in a pile nearby that I can raid if I need. (I got the ok).

8 containers with drain holes (and wicks this year) from 8 gal plastic to 12 gal on wheels ready to fill. And a few 5 gal buckets and window boxes to experiment with.

So, what should be my recipe for the containers. I have good regular dirt (yard came with a 12" thick supply) to add to the compost if needed.

2 parts rocks/sand/dirt mix
1 part pea gravel
1 part compost

Mix it together and tweak the amounts of the ingrediants until you find the mix you want.

I'm trying the same sort of experiments right now with things I've collected throughout the winter. I've got some different things than you, but so far the mix above is most similiar to what has been working best for me.

I don't have any leaves, but if I did, I would put a thin layer on top of the containers for a mulch.