bboy, we're talking vegetable garden here.....plants that have a high nutrient demand and that do grow best in amended, highly organic soils. And there is ample evidence that vegetables can thrive in virtually 100% organic 'soil', such as one would expect with using only compost. If the area in question has not been tended or actively gardened recently, it IS very likely organic matter is deficient and tilling in several inches of compost is going to help, not cause the problems you allude to, which tend to be idiosyncratic at best. One of the primary benefits of using organically sourced materials is that it IS pretty darn hard to overdo them. Because of the way they work - in tandem with soil organisms - it is virtually impossible to create "nutrient overload". And they tend to offer nutrients in very low levels anyway, so one would require VERY large quantities of anything, especially compost or other OM, to create "abnormally high levels". As to nutrients not "immediately utilized", that statement makes no sense. It takes time for organically derived nutrients to be converted into plant accessible forms - with almost no exceptions, nothing takes place immediately so the products cannot be utilized immediately. By virtue of these two principles, leaching of organic products and therefore pollution is very uncommon and is typically limited to runoff from large piles of manures.....hardly the case occurring in most home gardens. While Chalker-Scott sometimes has valuable things to offer, she also seems to have a very simplistic understanding of soils and soil biology. And organics. And I dislike her approach of stating everything in such no-uncertain-terms without offering any documentation or substantiation to support her theories. And she is not addressing cropping or the growing of harvested edibles, which is an entirely separate set of conditions. Interestingly, much of what she says is in direct contradiction to the Master Gardener publications she supposedly oversees. Here is a link that might be useful: WSU Master Gardener publications - vegetables

I and in your same type boat- and after months or research and viewing- The bluestar is the way to go - performance, appearance, char grilling and in the price range of 5000. for the 36- plus you can add additional 22 K burners if you want- and there is no better gas broiler - look at the eurostoves web page they have great pix/photoshow of the unit with the broiler lit and burners on- good luck

It is with mixed joy and sadness that I am here to announce that the hostage has been released after long and intense negotiations! Thank you to the expertise of whidbey who, apparently, has access to top secret information on the '3-second rule' not available in my manual (or perhaps, not yet found in my manual). Within just the last five minutes, the turkey breast was released from the strangle-hold of my Electrolux wall oven upon the third attempt at holding down the lock button for three seconds. Unfortunately, the turkey breast did not survive the night in the clutches of the evil-doer. A memorial service will be held this afternoon at the compost bin. Tomorrow, I will scheduled my grief counseling as I struggle over the guilt of how I may have unwittingly contributed to this tragedy. Perhaps I did, in my frenzy, press the lock button and wasted the sacrifice of that heroic bird and the accompanying organic roasted red potatoes. As I gaze at the open oven door (drying out the overnight condensation build-up), I notice that the two dogs and two cats have also gathered at the oven to pay tribute to the deceased. At least, I think that is why they are here....

As trailrunner says, there are recipes on the website including one for turkey. Re the probe -- it's excellent for large pieces like roasts and needs to be inserted all the way in. I used autoroast for the turkey last year. The way I cooked turkey forever is to jump start it at 425 for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 for the remainder of the cooking. I tent the top with foil after the first 20 minutes. That's what autoroast does more or less. I usually do a 12 pound turkey, which always was done in about 3-1/2 hours. But the 325 is very gentle on autoroast, I baste and that loses oven heat and it takes 15 minutes or so to come back up to temperature. So with the basting and time lag to return to the right temperature, the turkey was taking too long. So I adjusted the temp up to 335 for the duration, which is my suggestion unless you don't plan to baste. My oven is very accurate and I've done the same recipe for 20 years. If this is the first time you're doing a big turkey, I'll make some suggestions to help it along. I remove mine from the fridge before I go to bed and put it in the laundry room sink -- not stuffed. My laundry room is cold -- 62 to 68 degrees. You don't want to do that in an 80 degree kitchen but if you have a colder room (my sister in law used her screen porch) it will help. I don't put raw egg in the stuffing and I stuff right before roasting. So I leave the stuffing out overnight also -- again in a cool room (62-68 degrees). (If you need a mushroom/sourdough stuffing recipe I'm glad to share, send me an email). I do chicken right on the rack but use a roasting pan for a big turkey. Last year, I got the probe into the turkey leg first then connected it in the oven -- either way it's tricky since something is hot. I managed to get it into the thickest part of the leg, not touching the bone. I'd be interested in what others have to say but with an 18-20 pound turkey I think you're looking at 5-1/2 to 6 hours of cooking time with the autoroast at 425-335 provided the turkey and stuffing are not refrigerator-cold and ajusting for the quickest possible basting 4 times during the cooking (unless you have someone strong to take the turkey out of the oven to baste). You could call Miele consumer help people to verify that.