Yeah, all of my planters that have this brand of soil have that kinda thin greenish moss stuff on the surface. We have had a lot of rain, and the soil seems to stay damp pretty well, but the drainage holes seem to be functioning (it never turns into soup, even when it's raining). It is not a mix that I am impressed with. I used miracle gro soil last year, and this was a lot different. It appeared to be heavy on the wood product (almost kinda sawdusty), and when I first wet the soil, it didn't want to drink the water at all--kind of an oil and water effect. I had to stir the water into it, it was weird. Not at all like other potting mixes I have used.

There are probably close to a hundred recipes on line for potting soil mixes acceptable to an organic gardener but I have had good success with my compost for many years, even though there are amny that tell me it will not work and my plants will die although they have produced a bountiful harvest growing in that medium. This link may be of some help. Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Potting soil

I just gave away a bunch of those flats and pots that hold the quart size and gallon size. I kept quite a few to start new plants but my garage looks like a used nursery shed, lol. I was glad to find someone to use them. I need another shed. Hubby seems to think the one we have is for the various mowers and and weedeater etc. Doesn't he know that one must save bunches of pots to make new plants and then you have to have more sizes to repot as they grow, lol. I wish I could get a whole truck load of potting soil. It will be perfect for those plants Barry. The crystals you add yourself aren't as bad since you can control the amount you use. I think the miracle grow kind has too much for most plants except in the heat of the summer.

It sounds to me like you have a fair amount of experience and know how you want to proceed. Overall, I'd just add mulched leaves and grass as you plan to do and see/adjust as you go forward. Location and type of soil (warm/sandy for example) affect how much organic matter is retained in soil, as well. There are also practical considerations, like whether it makes sense to re-till after you've already done most of it, and how much 'compost' you have access to and its condition (how well aged, etc). If it's a large area, and you're tilling to ten inches, it'd actually have to be a large amount to make much of a difference. (Obviously your existing soil has at least some organic content - roots, stuff you've tilled in, etc., too, just not clear how much). Probably my only specific comment is you mentioned aeration a lot, but not clear that's a big issue in sandy soil. Anyway, you've done it, and I'm not arguing with your reasons, specific/local conditions matter. If you're feeling scientific, it might be interesting to till in compost to a smaller plot and see how that goes, just for comparison. A few random thoughts in no particular order: -I put compost in scare quotes because it really does depend. Compost from fibrous/woody materials will generally leave more stuff behind, "finished" or stable compost will reduce less in volume, and stuff that is 'raw' will settle and reduce in volume a lot more. Woody/fibrous inputs will (at least temporarily) tend to 'rob' nitrogen for the breakdown process, but also don't break down fully and can even become semi-permanent. -You say you'll add milorganite, that's a type of compost-like organic material, but I have no experience with how it degrades over time in soil. I'm guessing it mostly disappears over time. -A lot of the benefits of compost are for the structure of the soil and ability to support soil life (fungus, microbes, and yes, worms, etc). Also the partially-digested stuff and fungus hyphae and the like make the soil sticky and yet with air in them. Tilth and all that. -Does the compost itself have a lot of nutrients? Not its most important role although mostly doesn't hurt. Plays a bigger role in storing/keeping/sharing some of the nutrients (fungi moving them around, etc). -The roots of plants also do some aeration and affect drainage as they sprout and grow and die off etc., too. -I think your points on worms are mostly accurate, some types of worms will do their own aeration, eat plants, bury some, etc. There are probably some exceptions, but mostly I've heard people say that adding / introducing worms usually not very effective, it's more a question of conditions for them to thrive than adding them. If you have some, can't hurt to spread them around, but just probably not worth spending money on them. -Side note, compost worms - ones that live mostly on surface or close to it, or in piles of decaying matter - don't tend to dig down deep in soil, but it's amazing how they'll just show up. No need to go out of your way to introduce them, but if you spread some compost with compost worms in it, they won't hurt. Anyway, let us know how it goes, always interesting to hear. I've written too much when all I wanted to say was 'mostly, spreading compost on top won't hurt.' In fact spreading uncomposted organic material on top - within reason, ie in somewhat thin layers - as mulch or whatever - mostly won't hurt either.