I'm a doofus. I missed the fact that the analysis was conducted on your 2/3 soil to 1/3 mushroom compost blend. Anyway, my comment about 0.0 ppm available nitrogen stands. I think it's a lab error. My comments about salinity also stand because we don't know the starting salinity of the compost or the soil. That being said, the final blend is 23% O.M. by dry weight, which is super high. If the mushroom compost was 1/3 of the final blend by volume, that would put you in the 7 to 8% organic range by dry weight if mixed with a mineral soil. And that's if the compost itself were high in organic material. (The analyses I looked at for the compost ranged from about 30 to 60% O.M. by dry weight). So, it would be a safe bet that your 4-way soil is probably around 15% O.M. by dry weight or a little higher. That means that it was probably about 50% to 60% organic material by volume and who the heck knows what that O.M. was. If it was raw wood chips, you would still have some available nitrogen in the analysis, but potentially not enough to balance carbon and it's feasible that you do indeed have a nitrogen draw issue. Or, if it has a heavy manure component, that could contribute to salts. (even a high quality greenwaste compost will often have a salinity level of 5 to 7 dS/m). Also consider that such a high amount of organic matter has the potential to hold too much water, especially if drainage isn't all that great at the bottom of the planters.

Oh Lloyd, you always make me laugh. I can't find opera since she started her own network. edited to add "but I did enjoy Tom jumping her couch". edited to add "but I did enjoy Tom jumping her couch". This post was edited by dottyinduncan on Tue, Nov 27, 12 at 17:34

Raven -- Yes, it's the view from the lanai at our ccndo in South Kihei on Maui. We've owned it for 11 years and are there for a month or more in winter. It's a ground floor unit with parking just outside and all tile flooring. It's not fitted out to be totally handicapped accessible, and there are three shallow steps down from the parking level. From what you've written on the KT about your mobility issues, it could probably work for you. Message me for our VRBO ad number.

We are currently remodeling our bathroom and thinking through the design of our next one (this is a temporary home, we already own land to build on but a mortgage was cheaper than rent here ;) ). Features I am installing here that I have used in other bathrooms - LIT MEDICINE CABINETS! Oh my these are wonderful. Great ring of light for makeup and smart storage of toiletries, easily accessible. BOTTOM OF LINEN CLOSET IN BATHROOM SIZED TO HOLD A LAUNDRY BASKET. Keeping it tucked away inside the storage cabinet by the sink streamlines the flow. PLUGS IN THE CABINET AND A DRAWER OR TWO. I know we aren’t the only people with electric toothbrushes, curling irons, electric razors, etc. I had my husband install a plug on the middle shelf of the aforementioned linen cabinet and a bank of plugs inside a drawer on each side of the vanity for charging these things safely and keeping the countertop uncluttered. Remember that bathroom plugs need to be arc fault protected GFCI, and that goes for the ones in furniture, too. TIMER ON THE BATHROOM FAN. I love love love having the timer option on my fans so I can set them for awhile, leave the room, and let them exhaust without running for hours on end. Simple and convenient. **** Now as you can see none of these is particularly costly. They just make the bathrooms live well, and smartly, without requiring excess space or even fancy materials. I used several of these features in the kids bath of this house already and they add so much custom home convenience without some weird premium. And since this house is small and has a ton of people (we have seven kids), every inch of space needs to work hard for us. These upgrades are ones worthwhile. Sure, at the next place we’ll also have radiant heat throughout, a bathroom that is fully accessible and easily cleaned, bigger closets, etc. But it is these little things that make the most difference between a drywall palace mass produced tract home and a true custom job. The thoughtfulness and usefulness.