Any soil that is too wet 2 weeks after a rain is a soil with problems. Whether a "moisture meter" actually does a good job of actually measuring soil moisture is highly debatable and it is simpler to just take a handful of your soil and squeeze it and smell it to see whether that soil is too wet or not, and less expensive than spending money on a tool that probably does not work. Soils need to be evenly moist for plants to be able to uptake the nutrients that are in the soil that plants need, but a soil that is too wet will also keep plants from doing that since air is also necessary and a too wet soil excludes that air. Perhaps these simple soil tests can help you determine whether your soil is too wet and what, if anything, needs to be done to correct any problems, 1) Structure. 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. 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 drains 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 you soil will smell. 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.

Much like when I clean a room in the house: it gets worse BEFORE it gets better :) The card stock trick from Podcast 10 (covering the leaf/leaves BEFORE you yank them) helps you imagine life without it/them. My theory is if the leaf looks like crap it's gone; baby & yellowing leaves: gone. (those are the easy ones! :) I figure gaps will fill in but why make a plant waste energy on damaged leaves just because it fills a gap. It will never get better! The more energy spent on the center/outward the better - the sooner there will be improvement. Q2 - "Do I need to open my plastic container often to let the soil dry out a bit?" If you think it's too wet - it probably is. Too wet could spell disaster = mushy, dead leaves. "Wicking" is tricky and I would make sure it's not keeping the rooting leaves soggy. (I don't wick leaves or root in water but as they say: do what works for you!)

Lemon balm makes dense plants. In my opinion, they look best that way. I'd leave it be. Herbs do best if planted one type per pot. Yes, we've all seen the beautiful mixed herb planters. But they do grow best if not shaded or crowded by other plants. And they all have their own sun, water, and soil requirements. With keeping them separate, you can address those specific needs. I would keep the goji berry tree on its own so you can attend to its needs as you need to. I haven't tried growing hyssop from seed. They are short-lived perennials so while I wouldn't expect any/much usable plant material from it this year, I would expect it to reach full-size quicker than many other perennials. Maybe full-sized by the end of its second year? I would suggest starting your seeds for use next year. Buy an older plant for use this year. FataMorgana

It would be foolish and possibly not code compliant to design your own foundation for unstable soil instead of using an engineer. A good contractor or the local building inspector could advise you about that. I've been an architect for 45 years and I wouldn't have anything to do with it. The superstructure can be designed with the building code lumber span tables which I assume you have. 2x10's for the second floor would meet the code for strength but would be unacceptably bouncy (this is not addressed in the code tables) so I suggest 2x12's or stiff I-Joists. The rafters can be 2x6 without a structural ridge beam if there are rafter ties between the wall top plates (attic floor level). If the rafters are farther apart than 16", the roof sheathing should be thicker. But if you want a cathedral ceiling, the ridge will have to be a structural beam which will require posts and/or a bearing wall in the middle of the house. You might get away without a structural ridge beam with rafter ties at 4 ft o.c. if you reinforce the wall top plates. This would require the building inspector's approval or an engineer. Another idea might be to raise the attic floor above the wall top plates and use larger rafters but to get the ceiling very high would require a roof steeper than 4 in 12. This should all be spelled out in the code. Trusses might save money but the attic space would be virtually unusable but its not a very tall attic anyway. Its all a matter of trade offs. The walls can be 2x4 or 2x6 if the required insulation will fit.