Go to Walmart. It is 8.27 for 2 cuft of hyponex potting mix. It is in a green bag. It is not the old hyponex in the black bag, this new mix is really good and cheap! My house plants love it. Cant wait to try it outdoor.

Spend a little extra money to get SFI tested compost. It's worth it. Really? You think so? Somebody makes a AAA compost that Dr Ingram looks at under a microscope and says 'Yup, lots of bacteria in this. No idea what those bacteria actually are or do, but there sure are lots of them.' The person them gets the certification they paid good money for and places that AAA compost in a sealed plastic bag where it sits for who knows how long in temps who knows how high or low until you buy it. Tell you what. For kicks take that crap out of the plastic bag and send a sample to the good doctor to see what she thinks of it after it's life in an oxygenless bag. Let's not get stuck on stupid here. If aeration is important to quality compost and quality tea how does being enclosed in an oxygenless plastic bag factor in? It's a big little scam. Dr. Ingram is the woman who tells golf courses how to manage their greens and fairways, but whose own lawn looks a mess. She talks about how continual oxygen is necessary, but to get a sample to her for testing requires being sealed in an oxygenless environment while shipped. Assuming she is sufficiently bribed the test is OK, the product is then packaged in sealed, oxygenless containers while it sits on a shelf waiting to be purchased. In a black and white world, we really need to use some gray matter.

Sure you can compost salsa. You can compost ice cream, yogurt, orange juice, chocolate (although composting chocolate would be a crime), brownies, rotten eggs, etc. The only things a home gardender should not compost are things that are poisonous/toxic like the eucalyptus or coral tree/plant, oleander, any plant that has the word poison in it (poison ivy/oak) etc.; meat products like leftover hambergers that did not get eaten for dinner; bio sludge (human or animal waste); or anything that has a needle or thorn like cacti (cati are also toxic), roses, bougainvillea, etc. It takes a long time for the needles to decompose. I do not want to reach into my compost and get stabbed by half decomposed thorns. I heard of a guy who tried it and it was a disaster. Many types of thistles are both thorny and toxic so I stay totally clear of these as well. When it comes to toxicity there are gredations - from 1 (major toxicity) to 5 (animal toxicity). If a plant is toxic to humans it should be assumed it is also toxic to animals even though not all plants that are toxic to animals are toxic to humans (chocolate is deadly to dogs, but a ambrosia to humans). Some plants like the oleander are very toxic (roots, stems, and leaves) while some are only mildly so (hollyhock). But just to be cautious I don't compost any of them. For most of the really toxic plants composting does not inactivate the poison. As long as you have a pile that has a good mix of nitrogen to carbon with good air flow and the right amount of moisture you can compost anything. The bacteria and fungi don't care what it is - if it is organic they will break it down. Tom

"It just is not wide enough to retain optimal heat." My earlier post "Also you must not have read my post as mine is right now 160-165 depending on where I stick the thermometer. Like I said the bin isn't even 1/2 filled and it's at that temperature so your theory of needing that size bin to provide that temperature is just plain wrong." PK's earlier post PK, I do not concede the point. In the beginning of November, I made two side-by-side mesh bins and filled them with exactly the same ingredients in one day. One was 30" in diameter, and one was 40" in diameter. I kept daily records on these two piles as I have on all my piles. The core temp was slightly higher on the 40" bin; but more importantly, kept the temp. up for a longer period of time. I'll give the exact numbers next time I'm on line. I don't think I said the core temps would be higher on a wider pile, but rather the heat would be retained longer. Val - I don't have a problem with racoons, but my dog takes no interest in my piles when smelly day old fish scraps have been put in the middle. Keep in mind that I only add fish when the core temp is 130F or more. This dissolves the fish scraps (mainly bluegill or small) in less than ten days. People who have odor issues often add smelly items when their core temp is not this high. My next door neighbor is adding whole banana peels to a 30F core and wonders why they don't break down as quickly as mine.