Hi Lynn, I went to Camp Cuyamaca in 6th Grade, I still remember the Camp Song (YEA,YEA,YEA,YEA CUYAMACA ;-) Yes, Oregon Clay and yes, it loosens it real well, check out my video link below. BTW.. Also ..Yes , I use Decomposed granite for breaking up the Clay as well as for providing Micro-nutrients to the Beneficial herd. Decomposed granite is a rock powder and is an excellent amendment for clay soils. All rock powders are great sources of minerals and micronutrients. All growing soils need them. As the microbes and macrobes like earthworms, digest the insoluble minerals, they break down into the various soluble micronutrients that all forms of plants need. For example, limestone rocks are rich in calcium. Granite rocks are rich in potassium, etc. Seaweeds of course are the king of micronutrient fertilizers and soil amendments. There can be up to 70+ trace elements in seaweed. In locations where seaweed is not readily available; rock powders is one answer to the problem. Research continues to reveal that insoluble tiny particles like rock powder minerals, can be easily digested or absorbed via microbial activity, over time, into the anatomy of growing plants, thriving in the presence of rich organic compost, and other forms of powerful biostimulants like aerobic compost teas. Obviously a heavy clay soil is very difficult to initially dig, whereas a sandy loam is much easier. Heavy clay soils can be improved considerably by adding a lot of sawdust and mason's sand. DO NOT use beach or river sand! Mason's sand, being crushed granite, has sharp edges and actually loosens the soil. Here is a link that might be useful: Jon's Wonderful Soil 2010

I've been gardening now in my home for 27 years and can only go by my experience, but I don't have problems with MG potting mix causing any problems in my gardens. When first dug, as there where no gardens anywhere on the acre of land we purchased with our home, I added plenty of peat, humous and top soil to the gardens. Kept turning them over and over and planted a few annuals the first year. As my gardens expanded to many different ones, I would put a handful of MG potting mix in the hole when the seedlings went in the ground. I always fertilized with MG fertilizer. My container pots got miracle grow potting mix in them and at the end of the season, the soil went into a compost area for next season. In the spring it was loaded with worms etc. I would mix the compost and MG soil in the containers and use the MG potting mix when planting in the gardens and the MG fertilizer for the plants. All of my flower and veggie beds are covered with bark mulch purchased by cubic yards from a local nursery and it decays over time into the soil. 4 years ago, I started WS seeds and used MG potting mix in all my containers to start the seeds and have had at least 90% germination every year. What ever didn't germinate went into a "let's see what happens" bed and some seeds have germinated in the area. I just let mother nature water them and see what happens. As I have dug out these seedlings do transplant I have found many, many earth worms in the soil there that is mostly sand and MG potting mix. This past fall, I wasn't in the best of health as I was emptying my containers of soil for the winter and decided to just dump the soil in left over plastic bags that had held the many cubic feet of MG potting mix I had purchased. I left the soil in the bags in the back of the house all winter. They where covered in snow, rained on, sleet, ice etc. Typical stuff for winter in New England. I hoped that the sun and heat within the bags would make a compost that was fairly good to use. Well, Saturday I decided to check the soil and see what had happened to it. Hubby dumped one of the bags that was almost full, making it about 2 cubic feet of soil, into a lawn cart. It smelled rich and much like a compost and it was full of earth worms. At least 30 of them in that one bag. Based on what I found in just 1 bag out of 4 of them, I fail to see how the MG soil is such a problem to the ground and gardens that we have. If, as you say, the MG potting mix would deplete the soil of good nutrients and not good for the soil, how is it that I have a bags of it left outside and they are full of earthworms, smells like compost and looks rich and healthy. I have had my soil tested many times in the areas of my gardens and the soil has always been good for my plants and that's with use of MG fertilizer. Now my lawns are another story, but I just keep digging up more and more of it as I think beautiful green lawns are a waste of time and money. New England weather does not produce perfect green lawns unless lots of chemical stuff and water is used. I prefer to have beautiful gardens instead. The only pesticide I have ever used is roundup on poison ivy and I don't like to use it but have no choice. My daughter is anaphylactly allergic to the stuff and when she was young, almost died twice from contact with it. My gardens are full of healthy beneficial insects, butterflies, birds etc. The only insects I gave up on dealing with is the red lily leaf beatle. When that problem became an hourly pick off the things, I pulled out all my lilies and got rid of them. Too many other beautiful plants to put in the ground without dealing with them. I recycle everything we possibly can, separating for the recycle pick up. For WS, we use only the recylces that are deep enough. My plastic bags are on their 4th year of use and still appear to be able to reuse another year, as are most of my containers. The ones we can't use, will go in the recycle bin. I use styrofoam cups for plant swaps and ask that the cups be returned for use in follow up years and they have been. The ones I use for starting seeds in, are in their 4th year of use right now and still in good shape for another year. When they can't be used anymore for seeds, I will break them up and use them in the bottom of containers for drainage. Personally, I think there are many more concerns for our gardens than he worry about MG soil. Bees disappeared from my gardens until the neighbors moved. They had to have a perfect lawn and the chemicals the lawn company used kept the bees away. Now they are gone and the insects are back. The attitude the public has "a little bit is good so a lot is better", is the dangerous thing. The products that are sold to the public and used for everything under the sun are a much bigger concern. The aim for a perfect lawn and all Scotts perfect lawn method is far more serious than MG soil problems, if they exist. It's improper use of chemicals that is the real problem. Just wish they could come up with a way to eradicate the misquito. that one serves no purpose and their bite can kill people. Like a student in high school that was a student of my daughter. That scares me a lot. Not MG potting mix. Fran

Another MG here....at least I completed the course but I was unable to do the volunteer work due to a medical problem. I did mine in Thomas Co., Ga. and here they require 50 hrs. of volunteer the first yr. and 25 hrs. every year after that to retain your "certificate". I don't need a "certificate". As for the class....way too much about turf grass! But the reason for that is that many varities of turf grass has been developed at the UofGa. satelite campus in Tifton, Ga....especially that nasty bermuda grass! I wish they had it all back, that stuff is horrible for people who have gardens & flower beds...it gets into everything. I was raised on a farm in central Ill. and have gardened most of my life. So I ended up teaching many things to my class...they were not things the UofGa. would promote cause I tend to use very little to no chemicals! Monsanto gives grant monies to UofGa. so they promote using chemicals for anything & everything! The class was interesting and I did get one very helpful item from it....no matter where you live or what you plan to do with your land...GET A SOIL TEST BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE! See what your soils actually need before you start putting things down that won't help or could make it worse. I found that my soils are in dire need of lime. Since we have several acres, I got ag. lime...it is loose (sorta powder form) so it won't go through regular lawn applicators, I've applied it by hand where I needed it. The thing is, it only cost $20 for one ton, but we did have to haul it ourselves. The cost of one ton of pellet lime in bags would be way beyond my budget. The ag lime also tends to last longer in the soils than the pellet. Most of the MGs in Thomas Co. are also wealthy women and a few men. And since I don't live in Thomas Co. I had another strike against me. My county doesn't give the MG class...it is geared more to field crops, both commidity crops (peanuts/cotton) and field veggie crops. I've learned more from being on several different gardening boards and asking questions than I learned in MG class. I've also taught a few folks things I already knew. So don't limit yourself to just one source of information...gather it from every place you go and then weigh it for how it will work in your area. No one has the same exact conditions as anyone else...even the neighbor next door or across the street/road. We all have to learn what works best for our own!

Don't panic, patients is a virtue in gardening. Just make sure to keep everything moist enough (but not waterlogged) in the heat. You can always add organic matter on top of your soil as a mulch that will slowly break down and feed the soil microbes. Aged compost and worm castings are always safe to add and won't burn your plants. I like to fertilize using things like used coffee grounds or other seed meals since they are slow release fertilizers. If I have some greedy plants that like lots of nitrogen and phosphorus, I give them a small hand full of alfalfa pellets. Be careful with the blood meal as it is really strong and a little goes a very long way. Enjoy.