kait-s, "I'm just following the directions on my Bu's Brew, and seeping the kelp and guano overnight, and stirring it a bit." Bu's Brew has cow manure as their compost. When I called the company,they said, "What the cows eat is regulated by an organic dairy farm, so our compost is safe." If I were you, I would get an air pump for a fish tank and let the tea brew for at least 24 hours. You don't need air stones as those are a waste of money and get clogged. Just weigh down the end of the air pump hose in the bucket and let it rip. Try this as you will get a much better tea than letting a non aerated tea sit for 12-15 hours. meyermike_1micha, Q When you say grow organic what do you mean? A I don't use any synthetic fertilizers Q Does that mean using a mix with compost and other poops in the mix? A Yes. I only use worm castings in small amounts and small amounts of compost as well. Q Does it mean using a soilless mix and using "organic fertilizers"? A Using part soil-less mix is the only way I know of to get enough oxygen to the roots. Yes I do use organic fertilizers. Q Do you have to transplant very often to avoid compaction of the mix? A No. I use as a potting medium that I feel is the most important key to my success in organic container gardening. As I'm sure you know a container medium with a base mix of compost and or peat moss will decompose very fast and your roots no longer get the oxygen they require. Q Do you have to bring them indoors at the end of the season, and if so, do you wrestle with pests in such a rich decomposing mix? A No. I live on the west coast, Orange County CA. As far as the pesky fungus gnats, I don't know what their potting medium is but I would guess it's mainly compost. They could add some other medium as a mulch to detour the fungus gnats away. I find growing organics in containers challenging and rewarding at the same time. There is definitely a fine line to walk but it takes a lot of time educating yourself, which most folks don't want to do. To me, it's definitely my serenity.

Arlene - for just starting seeds for transplant out, honestly, any halfway decent commercial soilless potting mix will do. I tend to avoid the ones that contain coir just because I feel the jury is still out on the safety/efficacy of unknown sources of coir; but that said, I accidentally bought some Miracle Gro Moisture Control mix this past spring and it doesn't seem to have killed anything so far, LOL! The MG Moisture Control has coir in it; the "regular" MG does not. When I used to mix my own, it was 1:1 or 2:1 peat and coarse vermiculite but I haven't been able to lay hands on coarse vermiculite for ages. Apparently, it turns out, the major mining operation/producer of vermiculite shut down in the 90s (I gather there was some scandal involved, over safety or what, I don't know) and since then sources of vermiculite are much fewer and farther between. Then I was using 1:1 peat and a good garden soil (MG was my choice) - which is OK for seed starting but no great shakes for anything likely to be in a pot for more than a single growing season. Now I am experimenting with various peat and "other stuff" mixes, including some barks that have been deemed unsuitable for long term mixes (too many fines, etc). For longer term I will be trying peat/pumice and peat/pumice/bark blends but haven't got started on that yet. Today I will be planting some ginger in a 1:1:1 peat/pumice/soil conditioner blend. My seed starting mix for the coming season will be: 1:1 peat and fines sifted from pine bark OR 1:1 peat and Scotts Turf Builder - a very consistent but very small pine bark product, with a small component of compost and "forest products" plus a very very small amount of fertilizer (1:1:1) I will alternate rows in my paks with one or the other, with the same plants planted in one row of each. I will have lots of extra starts to share, I think, LOL! I have actually started seeds in 100% peat. While there are undoubtedly seeds that won't start well in that, nothing I grew that year turned a hair. Seeds are generally pretty darn forgiving. I don't think you have a lot to worry about, whatever you choose. I would suggest choosing the option that is most economical for you, whether that is watching for sales of MG or Hyponex or what have you, or going with a mix of your own.

I can't help you all that much, here we grow blue spruce in fairly alkaline soil (pH 8) although it needs plenty of water. I wouldn't be overly concerned about an getting an acidic pH in the potting soil. You might ask the same question over on the Gardenweb Conifers forum http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/conif/ or containers: http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/contain/

'tis a good question, Steve. I have heard from some that Peppers require more nitrogen than Tomatoes (although that did not pan out in my various experiments with feeding peppers vs tomatoes last year - the opposite seemed true). I'm also thinking that more calcium in the tomato feeding could help with BER which is a huge problem in my garden for tomatoes but not peppers. However, my use of TomatoTone follows the recommendation of a guy at Debaggio's, a local nursery that carries a large variety of sweet and hot peppers (http://www.debaggioherbs.com/). I noticed their peppers seemed very healthy and bushy and asked about what ferts they use. They told me the only fertilizer they use on peppers is TomatoTone - one tablespoon when transplanting, then another tbs every two weeks. They said peppers and tomatoes have the same nutritional requirements and not to bother with anything else. I've kind of stuck with their theory on this, except that I added the fish/seaweed and much prefer liquid-soluble fertilizer just from a convenience point of view. Having grown both, it doesn't seem to me like they have very different needs nutritionally.