I'd say you're overthinking/worrying. Not really uncommon for the beginner, I was the same way. As time goes on you will learn lessons that will change how you approach gardening in the future. Gardening is a constant learning experience, treat it as such and it's a great hobby. If you expect to just throw some seeds in the ground and start producing mass quantities of (great quality) food, you're most likely going to end up disappointed. However if you expect some failures and are prepared to learn from them, it's very rewarding when you fix your technique for the next time and everything goes much smoother. I'd guess you're over-fertilizing, but without exact amounts and dates it's impossible to say. When it comes to fertilizer, less is more. Plants IMO do much, much better when they lack certain nutrients, than when you over-fertilize and shock/burn them. So it's safer to under-fertilize than over. At least IMO. I gave my beds blood meal a few months ago. Right now all I'm fertilizing with is compost tea. My plants are doing fine, although one of my tomatoes did develop BER, so it might be time for me to step up my fertilizing regimen a bit. Cucumbers and green beans are doing just fine without anything beyond the compost tea though. As for your whens and how much, I can't honestly tell you. I'm not experienced enough to know what is generally required like some of the veterans here seem to. I know after I gave my plants nitrogen burn I'm being very cautious about how I approach fertilizing. I'm basically just letting things go more or less naturally and keeping a sharp eye for the first sign of any problems. When a problem pops up (like the BER) then I'll consider increasing my fertilizing. I'm going to use this process for at least the next year or two, until I become better at judging what the plants need before a problem develops. Oh and all fertilizer definitely does not have higher nitrogen content than the other ingredients. This seems to be the case at like Lowes and Home Depot though.. Their selection, at least at my stores, are total crap. It's basically limited to about 3-4 different kinds and that's it. And that's counting miracle grow original and miracle grow tomato as two separate fertilizers. This post was edited by IAmSupernova on Mon, May 20, 13 at 11:48

Of lately, but not always, I have been putting my potatoes in a shallow trench, maybe four inches, covering with dirt but not to the top of the trench and covering that with a foot to sixteen inches of leaves, or straw if I run out of leaves. If you trench down up to eight inches, the deepest I have planted but then I did not trench then, I simply dug a hole, one does not really need to hill, just check for potatoes maybe reaching the surface. You can then simply put soil over the potato or use some sort of mulch. When I dig even with the shallow method, I bury the vines in the "hole" the old one came out of (I actually make a hole) as the potato vines leave the soil in fantastic conditon the next spring, although it is not a good idea to plant potatoes in the same area year after year after year after year unless you amend the soil. This year as I had a box that had been left out in the rain and was just nasty looking, I took Miracid and spread it over the area of one potatoe plot and roto-tilled it in before planting. I did notice the plants that came up in that plot were definitely a deeper green, but that, outside of making the soil more acidic which is good, does not do much for potato size or quality.

You can use most any growing mediums you want. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Some hold moisture better, some hold more oxygen, some provide better drainage etc.. For my drip systems, I cover the bottom drain hole with a screening filter (that I cut out of a cheep replacement furnace filter). Then I add a layer of rock I get from my back yard (though any river rock or fish tank rock will do). That I wash to get all the dirt off, and sanitize by soaking it in bleach water for an hour or so. I use the rock to add weight so the plants don't become top heavy and blow over in the wind (I grow outside). However the layer of rock also provides excellent drainage properties, holds the furnace filter screen in place, and takes up space so less growing medium is needed. Then on top of the rock in the bottom of the bucket, add the growing medium. I like using coco "chips" myself, because it's fairly inexpensive, holds moisture very well, and while still being able to allow the roots to be well aerated. 2 cubic feet of coco chips is about 15 gallons when expanded. With the layer of rock at the bottom (about 1/3) of the bucket, that's enough to fill 4, 5 gallon buckets. Coco fiber is the same material as coco chips (made from coconut husks), just smaller particles, so it dosen't aerate as well as the "chips," but still does a good job (chips just do better). The chips are about the size of small wood chips for your smoker, and the coir (fiber) texture is about like peat moss. Here is a link that shows some different typical growing mediums Growing Medium, I haven't used lava rock, though I understand it works well also. What ever growing medium you use, you'll want to rinse it off well first. The coco chips (or coir) will color the water at first, but wont hurt the plants at all, and eventually rinses out. Treating water (like water filtration systems), or nutrients to use? Sounds like you meant what type of nutrients to use. Miracle grow dosen't make a line of hydroponic nutrients that I know of, and I'm not familiar with "pro teck," "Lanka," or "super thrive." But you want to use nutrients designed for hydroponic plants. Fertilizers that are for use in soil don't contain the micro elements (elements used by the plant in small quantities) needed for healthy plant growth (because soil contains enough of them). Soil fertilizers generally only contain the macro (elements used by the plant in large quantities). Hydroponic nutrients are designed to be complete, and provide all the mineral elements (macro, and micro elements). So just make sure their made for hydroponic plants. I have used both the General Hydroponics Flora Series nutrients, and the Verti-Gro nutrients. The GH flora series is a 3 part nutrient (that needs all 3 parts to work correctly), and because it's a 3 part nutrient, it allows more flexibility in mixing them for your specific plant needs. However if you grow enough it will get quite expensive, making about 390 gallons of nutrient solution from the 1 gallon concentrate jugs, and costs about $100 (shipping not included if you need it). The Verti-Gro nutrients are a 2 part nutrient that needs both parts to work (the fertilizer, and calcium nitrate). They come dry and are mixed separately in water jugs to create a liquid nutrient concentrate, that are generally mixed evenly into the nutrient solution. The 4 lb combo special (fertilizer, and calcium nitrate, SKU#: FCombo) that includes shipping and runs under $40, and makes about 500 gallons of nutrient solution. The 25 lb quantities make about 5000 gallons for about $130 (shipping included). Here are a few others that are priced similar to the Verti-Gro nutrients that I haven't tried yet, but plan to test out in the future. QuickGrow nutrients J.R. Peters nutrients (I especially want to try these) P.S. If you want to send me a e-mail at; rocketman1022000@yahoo.com with the title "drip system" I can send you complete directions on how I built one of my drip systems. It's in PDF, is easily printed out, and contains many pictures of the build. Even if you don't build it, it will probably give you some good ideas.

I would definitely get other estimates. I would also take a closer look at the structural part of the deck. I find it hard to believe a 25 year old deck is in as good a shape as you believe. Ron