Take photos and post them, you want to be sure of what you have before taking any advice!

Well your guy gave you sort of good advice. Peat is water repellent when dry - it has a high surface tension. It is a really good idea to moisten peat before mixing it with other amendments. And when it dries down it can be a huge PIA to get it moist again - it makes a water repellent crust. BUT there is NO way that your peat mix from three years ago is repelling water because you mixed it wrong - unless it hasn't rained in 3 years. It sounds like you have a very light mix in your raised beds. I wouldn't really put a new layer of peat on top - that too will be water repellent when it dries. If you have compost/composted manure I would mix some into your bed every year before planting. Maybe some top soil too. Since you already have some crops in your garden - top dress wherever you can and scratch it in well. You can mulch with chopped up leaves and/or grass clipping too. There are also products like 'soil moist' that help your soil hold moisture. Use very lightly - when I first used it I had some amusing volcanos of gelatin globs. I would only use SM where the soil is always very dry.

Rita, I knew Pat Sloan was doing a radio show, but really had forgotten about it. I was quilting today, and wished I had something to occupy my brain....TV is distracting....and I can't see it. This is going to be great! Thanks for sharing this. Is the link below the one you go to to listen online? Here is a link that might be useful: APQ

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