@dleverette When making 5:1:1 mix, I break-up the compressed chunks of peat so they pass through a 1/2" screen. I toss any sticks and such on top of the raised beds where they break down with time. Here's a tip you'll find very helpful. For large batches of 5:1:1, pour the bark onto a tarp laid on a flat surface, then wet the bark a bit. Then, add the screened peat and spread it over the bark. Add your lime on top of the peat, then put down the perlite and wet that. The trick is to use just enough water to make the mix damp when it's thoroughly mixed. Both peat and pine bark are hydrophobic (water repellent) when allowed to dry below about 20% of their water holding ability. This makes a dry 5:1:1 mix extremely difficult to rewet if you don't moisten it when you make it. The moisture in the mix diffuses, moistening the bark/ peat and "breaking" its tendency to repel water. Within 15-30 minutes of making the mix you can pot plants and water them in thoroughly w/o the frustration associated with trying to rehydrate a dry soil. FWIW, I don't use coir. As many times as I've tried it and cone comparative experiments, I've always had problems or been dissatisfied with the results. You might be interested in a comparison between peat and coir I wrote several years back: Peat vs. Coir Sphagnum peat and coir have nearly identical water retention curves. They both retain about 90-95% of their volume in water at saturation and release it over approximately the same curve until they both lock water up so tightly it's unavailable for plant uptake at about 30-33% saturation. Coir actually has less loft than sphagnum peat, and therefore, less aeration. Because of this propensity, coir should be used in mixes at lower %s than peat. Because of the tendency to compact, in the greenhouse industry coir is primarily used in containers in sub-irrigation (bottom-watering) situations. Many sources produce coir that is high in soluble salts, so this can also be an issue. Using coir as the primary component of container media virtually eliminates lime or dolomitic lime as a possible Ca source because of coir's high pH (6+). Gypsum should be used as a Ca source, which eliminates coir's low S content. All coir products are very high in K, very low in Ca, and have a potentially high Mn content, which can interfere with the uptake of Fe. Several studies have also shown that the significant presence of phenolic allelochemicals in fresh coir can be very problematic for a high % of plants, causing poor growth and reduced yields. I haven't tested coir thoroughly, but I have done some testing of CHCs (coconut husk chips) with some loose controls in place. After very thoroughly leaching and rinsing the chips, I made a 5:1:1 soil of pine bark:peat:perlite (which I know to be very productive) and a 5:1:1 mix of CHCs:peat:perlite. I planted 6 cuttings of snapdragon and 6 cuttings of Coleus (each from the same plant to help reduce genetic influences) in containers (same size/shape) of the different soils. I added dolomitic lime to the bark soil and gypsum to the CHC soil. After the cuttings struck, I eliminated all but the three strongest in each of the 4 containers. I watered each container with a weak solution of MG 12-4-8 with STEM added at each watering, and watered on an 'as needed basis', not on a schedule. The only difference in the fertilizer regimen was the fact that I included a small amount of MgSO4 (Epsom salts) to provide MG (the dolomitic lime in the bark soil contained the MG, while the gypsum (CaSO4) in the CHC soil did not. This difference was necessary because or the high pH of CHCs and coir.) for the CHC soil. The results were startling. In both cases, the cuttings grown in the CHC's exhibited < 1/2 the biomass at summers end as the plants in the bark mix. I just find it very difficult for a solid case to be made (besides "It works for me") for the use of coir or CHC's. They're more expensive and more difficult to use effectively. The fact that some believe peat is in short supply (no where near true, btw) is easily offset by the effect of the carbon footprint of coir in its trek to the US from Sri Lanka or other exotic locales. That's the view from here. YMMV Coir Study: https://sites.google.com/site/plantandsoildigest/usu-crop-physiology-laboratory/coconut-coir-studies Al

What is SAYS in the bag is much less important than what is actually IN the bag. To growing strictly in compost of mixes made of of very large fractions of compost is to unnecessarily saddle oneself with a difficulty factor best avoided. The reasons: 1) Water retention is based primarily on the size of the particles that make up the substrate. All small particles, as in "finished" compost, and the medium is sure to hold too much water and too little air; and, much of the excess water will be held as perched water. This ultimately means north of 3" and up to 6-7" of the soil in the bottom of the pot will be 100% saturated after a thorough watering. This means that for extended periods the planting will be subjected to limitations imposed by a lack of oxygen. Lack of oxygen kills fine roots, which halts top growth until new roots are again capable of regeneration (requiring a draw down of the level of water in the pot). Regeneration of new roots requires resources that would otherwise have contributed to adding more biomass, blooms, fruit, stored energy. Unfortunately, about the time the root to shoot ratio has come back into balance, the grower is usually watering again, which begins a repeat of a cyclic death/ regeneration of roots which can rob plants of immense fractions of their genetic potential. 2) IF the compost is in larger pieces (not finished), expect an unmanageable (or nearly so) level of nitrogen immobilization. Then, if something cultural occurs to kill off the large populations of soil biota (like over-watering or high soil temperatures, insecticides making their way into the soil) associated with nitrogen immobilization, look for ammonia toxicity to make its appearance. It is SOOO much easier if you start with 75-80% of coarse material (>1.8") and add only enough fine material to adjust water retention to something you can live with. Do understand though, that when your watering intervals start to stretch out to beyond 5 days, you'll be sacrificing a notable measure of your planting's potential on the altar of convenience. If you can measure your watering intervals in weeks instead of days, an immense amount of potential in terms of growth rate, vitality, the plant's ability to defend itself, and yields where applicable, has almost certainly been lost. Al

Yes, Val and Lloyd - I understand - and do stay on my case. That's the only way I'll learn how NOT to post in forums like a technical paper is written. And have begun posting a warning... Well, annpat - I'd deliver a ton to ya, just for 'grins & giggles' if you were close, but 50 miles is usually my range limit for deliveries. And y'all should never have to buy hay for compost when there's so much of it available 'out there' free. Last month me and some volunteers from our local composting/gardening group delivered 208 cubic yards of free compost and trampled hay to our members.. One member raised his entire 40' x 60' garden up 12 inches and had to put another level of cinderblock around it. Got photos of it. Recently landed another 'bonanza'. Over 1,000 cu.yds. of free prime compost and trampled hay in this one and 800 still to go. Soil nutrient analysis was 'off the scale'. One day I'll get around to telling y'all how to do that. 'Course it does take a bit of driving fuel and time... And one of these days I'll provide information on how to 'test' C:N in the field in layman's terms, so folks know whether a pile needs more browns - or more greens - and why the microbes care so much about that narrow range between 40:1 & 20:1... Once you 'get a handle' on making compost fast, on a consistent basis (with what is available in your area), there's really not much to it, but to do it. I'll do that via my website - Val was so right - say it in one place, with lots of photos, then folks can come back to it, and ask questions about what they don't understand... But gonna take me some time... Just filed my application for the Texas Rain Catcher of the Year award. It's on my website now under Rainwater Harvesting/TRCA Application. Awesome project. We moved into the house last May. Still think GW should have a Rainwater Harvesting forum... Never did find out who at GW to contact. SoilGuy

You will find a lot of disagreement about whether sod needs to be removed or not, but if you plan on putting a raised bed, 6 plus inches, over the sod there is no need to remove it since the raised bed will smother the grass. On the other hand I have created numerous ground level planting beds simply by covering the existing sod with newspaper/cardboard and covering that with shredded leaves and that has killed the grass growing there and left the soil in a very good workable condition. There is nothing wrong with clay that adequate amounts of organic matter will not help, in time. Texas A & M does a good job of soil testing, and you have the added benefit of having a resource readily available to answer questions from both the horticulturist and maybe Master Gardeners. Visit the campus and you will find there are demonstration and trail gardens, not just farm studies. In addition to the soil tests done by Texas A & M you might want to dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Soil test for organic matter. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. For example, a good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drainsâ too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell, to9 a point. Too much organic matter can be bad as well. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what your soil looks like.