I'm not sure how to say it's almost assuredly not 'Al's mix' that is to blame w/o sounding defensive, but I'll try to explain something before we try to get to the root of your troubles. If I say it's not the soil, based on my own knowledge of how it performs, it would be easy to discount what I say as simple bias; but when you scan the threads & see that hundreds of others have had excellent results, it makes it easier to see that without bias or being defensive, I can assure you that the poor results you had were not because a recipe I supplied was poorly formulated. That leaves us now to explore what the trouble might have been, and where to start looking for a solution. I can tell you though, that you'll need to offer additional input after I sketch a framework quiz. Note that I haven't rejected the soil as a possibility - only that if you followed the recipe, it wasn't the recipe at fault. We know that elements can combine to make a compound that may not resemble any of the elements in any way. Similarly, soil ingredients that may be perfectly suitable in many situations can be mixed to form a soil that is wholly unsuited to container culture, and the reasons could be myriad. The soil blends I recommend are meant to operate as a system, using as few parts as possible to provide the primaries of good aeration, water/nutrient retention, and structural durability. There is a fair amount of adaptability built into the soil. You can increase aeration or water retention by making a few changes, but once you get too far away from the particle size guidelines I mention, things can go south in a hurry. So, the first thing I would ask you to do is describe the soil. How much of what ingredients and about what sizes were the parts? The pine bark was uncomposted? What did you use for fertilizer - what rate - how often? The fertilizers you used listed the elemental nutrients included and their %s - what were they? Did you lime the soil? Do you have pictures of the stunted plants? The mix is fine for starting seeds - seeds LOVE a well aerated mix & thrive in it, as long as other cultural conditions are favorable - air:water ratio, adequate light/ temperature/ nutrients, nothing phytotoxic in the soil, no elemental toxicities (too much of a particular element). When using uncomposted bark, there would be a certain degree of N immobilization that needs compensating for, something to consider, too. Al

I would be tickled to death if you would trade me these... Beet - Crosby's Green Top - 10 trades SASBE Kohlrabi - White Vienna - 10 trades SASBE Spinach - Resistoflay - 10 trades SASBE Swiss Chard - Eldorado - 10 SASBE Swiss Chard - Fordhook giant - 10 SASBE Swiss Chard - Rhubarb - 10 trades SASBE Swiss Chard - S2550 - 10 trades SASBE Swiss Chard - Silverado - 10 trades SASBE Swiss Chard Hy. - BEC 211 - 10 trades SASBE I have some TOM seed in return if you would like. Please let me know, j_stocky@hotmail.com

Well the nitrogen is being used up as time goes by anyway, so nitrogen will not be a problem in a few months. I believe that pottasium is good for the development of root structure ( could be wrong someone please correct me on this) so if you don't mind adding kiwi fruit and or bannanas in small trenches around your plants as they break down that should help the development of your roots. On the other hand, if you have the time or inclination, you could have the crop grow over the season without harvesting but keep adding nutrients that will help develop the root structure of the plants. just my 2 cents.

This is the "recipe" and notes I saved from last year when Field posted it. Thanks Field! ******************************************************* April through October, spray monthly (or only when needed) with the modified Cornell University organic spray (see formula below) to control black spot, powdery mildew, spider mites, and aphids. Modified Cornell Formula: Mix into one gallon of water, in the order listed: 2 tbsp. of ultrafine horticultural oil (such as Sunspray oil) 1 heaping tbsp. of baking soda 1 tbsp. of fish oil/seaweed emulsion 3-5 drops of Superthrive® 1 tbsp. of mild dishwashing soap (such as Palmolive green -- but see note below) . [Note: Labels on newer containers of Sunspray oil indicate that it now contains an emulsifier. In that case, the dishwashing soap can be omitted.] Mix well and spray with a pump-up sprayer late in the evening, after first watering your roses thoroughly and spraying them with the hose to scare off some, most, or all of the beneficial insects. DON'T ADD VINEGAR. NEVER USE ANY TYPE OF FISH OIL/SEAWEED PRODUCT CONTAINING SULFUR WITH A HORTICULTURAL OIL SPRAY. AND NEVER MIX A CHLOROTHALONIL FUNGICIDE (e.g. Daconil or Fung-onilÂ) WITH HORTICULTURAL OIL OR USE THEM ON ANY PLANT WITHIN 10 DAYS OF EACH OTHER. For black spot control, it is important that you spray all of the plant's wood, as well as the foliage. It has been found that the black spot spores reside in lesions in the canes and that they attack, not only the foliage, but also the canes and prickles. Used with permission from the Field Report