Wow - you're going WAY back. ;o) 1) None of the other recipes supported the 3:1:1 - it was a typo & I think I cleared that up somewhere in the first thread. 2) I encountered lots of weed problems, even with small quantities of manure, and I discovered a number of products on the market that deliver the minor elements reliably and in appropriate ratios, so there was no sense in including even small amounts of manure. N - nitrogen P - phosphorous K - potassium (whooda thunk it - right?) ;o) Ca - calcium (back on track now) Mg - magnesium S - sulfur Fe - iron (another hard one) Mn - manganese Cu - copper B - boron Z - zinc There are a few more, but they are needed in such small quantities that they are almost never deficient 3) Read labels. If your fertilizer doesn't contain N,P,K,S,Fe,Mn,B,Cu, and Z, you should probably include a micronutrient supplement. Most soluble fertilizers contain NPK,Fe,Mn,Z - some Cu, too. Container soils should be limed with dolomite to provide the Ca and Mg (and raise pH), or have gypsum added to provide Ca and Epsom salts used to provide the Mg and S. I don't mind if you pick this part of the post apart and ask questions about what you don't understand. If you contact me off forum, I'll arrange for you to get a suitable source of the minor elements. If you'd rather order online - you can try Home Harvest (or your favorite source) for 'Earth Juice Microblast' as a source for the minors. Alternately, you could just order foliage-Pro 9-3-6 fertilizer, which has ALL the macros, secondary macros, and micros in one formula. It's as close to a perfect all-purpose mix as I can imagine, I also doubt that you would have any micronutrient issues if you lime and use either MG 24-8-16 or 12-4-8. If you did, it would likely be S, because bark and peat are very low in S. You could solve that issue by adding a little agricultural S (easy to find) to your soil when you make it. You might also be fine if the CRF you intend to use (Osmocote?) has the minors in it. I can help you cover all the bases if you tell me what you intend to use and what is in it, or how far you're willing to go to cover the bases, but just ordering the Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 instead of using the MG is by far the easiest. If you're sure you'll be diligent about fertilizing, I'd even suggest you skip the CRF (Osmocote). Easy instructions: Make the 5:1:1 mix according to the current recipe. Make it moist. Put plants in it. Fertilize occasionally with FP 9-3-6 Water when needed, but not too much. Don't let it dry out. Come back and tell us how you did. ;o) Al

Nell ~ I love your Azalea walk. Very soothing. I need to make some cuttings from my azaleas, I have two the same, pink and white flowers. Between my blog and my website I don't have time for making more, free or not. It's all I can do to keep up with those two things and reading everyone else's. Maybe this post will inspire others to make pages of their gardens and blooms though. Especially now that it's cold and people are staying indoors more, dreaming about their gardens come spring. It was 48 and felt like it was 42 this morning. For us that is COLD. Have a lovely day ~ FlowerLady

DH notices typo's. Within a block of one of the top high schools in the nation is an underpass. The state signage warns: Low Clarance. There's a coffee brand in Hawaii: Bad Ass Coffee. (Guess they thought "Naughty" was too risque.)

It has an astonishing bloom cycle, SunnyB - right now, it is looking like most mallows at the dog-end of summer - a bit ratty...but a savage shearing anytime now will spark an amazing revival of overwintering bloom - truly, November seems to be a peak flowering month. Sphaeralceas had me in their grip for a while until a tiny cutting of a delicious pale pink (and still NOID) turned into a massive shrub...while the smaller coral coloured types have been iffy, even in a Z8 winter. The enormous althea cannabina is doing its thing on the allotment - would not recommend for a small garden as it is a seeder. My mallow adventures have led me down some strange paths - hermannia for example, and the tropical sida with a sideshow of numerous abutilons and hybrids - it has been a relief to concentrate on the lovely white moschatas...although they have struggled to establish themselves this (dry) year, I have high hopes for next summer.