Thank you for taking the time to post, Al. And I won't initiate an argument, just simply point out that some won't use a synthetic, no matter what. I am one of them. I don't have an idea how or where those types of fertilizers are produced, whereas, organics have been around forever, and therefore tried and true. There are good reasons, recycling not the least (i.e., compost, vermicompost) to incorporate this type of routine, of course. Since the mid-2000's, when coir started to gain traction, there have been many gains made in using coco. The salt issue is almost completely gone. (there are plenty of scientfic studies to show the effects of salinity, and even side-by-sides of different brands) I do believe that the best brands are now well-known. I am more of the mind to use BOTH peat and coir in a mix, to get the best qualities out of both. Again, I like organic growing, and I'll probably always be the one to tell you that there is a taste difference that is a direct trade-off for lack of yield, produced by my lack of cutting edge know-how. Either way, this isn't so much of an attempt to persuade people to choose organic, as to inform those who already have. I have a tomato plant growing right now in a 3 gallon pot, with straight Botannicare coir. The color is a little light, but the leaves are absolutely huge, and the yield is very good. Not as vigorous in growth as my SIP tomatoes in straight peat and perlite, but also a different variety. So take it with a grain of salt. I have only fed the coco with Dr Earth organic ferts, once every two weeks a dose of compost tea, and every other week with fish and seaweed. I water it until it runs out, and then let the excess wick back up over the course of the next day.

Thank you for all your responses! You are right, it is a bit late - I should have asked this question sooner. The vegetable blend from Lyncso came pre-prepared (top soil, manure and redwood) and I don't really know what the ratio was. We just happened to have some of our backyard dirt (clay - san jose type, no idea what that means) in to fill the remainder - mixed well. So, it is more clay than initially intended. That said, I also think one of the comments was right on, I did "compact" the dirt a little as we put it into the bed (4x11x18) but it seems to keep sinking. Very easy to press on it and compact it. When I added this last bit of seeds for beans and broccoli rabe, I turned and compacted the soil a little by hand first to see if that will help. I'll definitely do Fava this winter in some of the bed, but I will also do other winter veggies. that brings up a question, in an area where continuous gardening is possible, when do you amend? I can imagine by the time the summer veggies are done I will already need to have added the broccoli, cabbage, spinach and other winters. Buckets sure seem easier :-)

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Karen - I don't fertilize anything. We do, however, compost (on a grand scale of course), augment the soil as needed, and veggies get grown in containers filled with compost and a bit of perlite. In our flower garden the soil ranges from very lean to somewhat rich depending on where you are. I sort of plant out with that in mind, and occasional relocate plants that act like they need richer or leaner (or drier, sunnier, puffier) soil. I've got a rather negative attitude about commercial fertilizers and a strong bias against juicing up my plants and turning them into nitrogen junkies. Best to save that particular rant for a thread that's actually about that topic though! :) More on track with the original topic, Minnamouse, if you had all that trouble with damping off you might really want to consider a good commercial blend. The reason I say that is because they are mixed to provide an appropriate level of moisture retention and trying to get that with your own mix could be a real challenge. I like Promix and Sunshine mix best and personally dislike Miracle Gro. Part of that is probably due to regional growing condition bias. Miracle Gro dries out way too fast for me here while the other two stay at just the most perfect moisture level for much longer times. I do think that Miracle Gro may have an advantage for people growing in wetter conditions. The same features that hurt germination rates for me and made planting out challenging would probably have been advantages in growing regions that got a lot of rain this year. If you are still working at getting good results with WSing, I'd make ProMix a first choice in areas where you usually don't have muddy gardens and Miracle Gro potting mix a first choice in areas where mud in the garden is common. (Sunshine mix is less readily available and more pricey.) I'd hold off on using home mixed mixes for anything but seeds you have in huge abundance where won't be upset if they don't grow. That's actually what we do - I use our home grown container mix for things like zinnias where I have many giant bags of seed available. When you have a load of surplus seed you can live with a potting mix that wicks water in a less than perfect way or that might crumble or break apart when you try to transplant hunks of seedlings. Lynda