1) Every ingredient that you listed for the Fox Farm soil is extremely fine. Since water retention is dependant primarily on particle size, you should expect a medium made of all fine particulates to be extremely water retentive, something I try very hard to avoid in containers. 2) You can read about soils and how durable soils that remain well-aerated long after peat/compost-based soils have collapsed can offer a greater margin for grower error and make things much simpler for the grower if you follow this link. 3) Not necessarily, but if you think about it, what will you do if your pH falls outside the favorable range? Start adding acids and bases to change it? In commercial situations, pH is usually tested frequently and adjusted by injecting a wide variety of chemicals that have elements plants need into the irrigation water. Since pH is affected by temperature, fertility, plant material, moisture level, even time of day (Plants help to control the pH in the rhizosphere to make it easier for them to uptake nutrients. This effect is reduced when plants are undergoing periods of reduced transpiration, which in turn has an effect on pH.) I'm not saying that because I ignore trying to control pH that you should, but I've never found it necessary to fret about it in any container planting. I might consider the plant prefers acidic conditions and forgo the use of lime and maybe use a urea-based fertilizer to take advantage of the acid reaction, but other than that, I don't worry. Remember that Media pH is far less important in container media than in mineral soils, and if you're supplying nutrients in soluble form, unless the pH is WAY outside favorable limits, your plant will be able to assimilate the nutrients. You can find considerable discussion about this in Dr C Whitcomb's work, "Plant Production in Containers II". 4) On average, plants use about 6-10x more N than P. Since the P in NPK is not a true measure of P supplied (P is reportted as the % of P2O5 [phosphorous pentaoxide]) you need to use a multiplier of .43 to tell the actual amount of P. In 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers, there is 7x as much N as P, so you actually have a considerable cush in 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers. Plants use roughly the same amount of nutrients throughout the growth cycle in relation to N, so I'm not sure where the idea they need larger doses of P during flowering/fruiting comes from. Tissue analysis of fruits and blooms show roughly the same levels of P as other plant organs, which meshes nicely with the idea that consistent P levels at approximately 1/6 that of N are entirely adequate throughout the growth cycle. I actually don't boost K by adding the ProTeKt, I reduce the amount of N, which also must reduce the levels of P and K. Since I can see by my plants that what I said above about P is true (also confirmed in the text cited above, which is essentially the Bible on container production) and P levels remain adequate at reduced application rates of 3:1:2 ratio fertilizers, I only need to be sure plants are getting adequate K. I can do this by incorporating some potash in the soil when I make it in anticipation of the reduced N applications for tomatoes, or simply forgo the increase in TDC by supplying it later as needed by using the ProTeKt. Al

skizot, first of all, there is the law of limiting factors (see Liebig's law) which should determine whether a fertilizer is needed at all. Then there is the ratio of N,P and K in relation to each other. This ratio is the result of field trials and can be different for the same crop grown on different soil types. By far the most 'problematic' is nitrogen; the usual inorganic sources are very soluble and liable to leaching by rainfall or irrigation (inorganic urea will go from a solid product to a gas directly). To counter this, manufacturers are always seeking to extend the availability of nitrogen; this adds to the cost. I am more interested in the 'N sources' as stated on the fertilizer bag. If the bag proclaimes "16-4-8" and it states "Nitrogen source: 16% derived from urea", then that tells me that I can expect a quick green-up and an equally quick "green-down". If I get a strong shower of rain within a day or two, a great deal of the product will be dissolved and carried to places where it does not need to be at all, really. IBDU is a slow-release form of urea; it will cost more; the application rate will be the same as for untreated urea (lb. Nitrogen/1000sq.ft.) but it will give a more long lasting effect and will be better for the environment. I feel that the homeowner is misled on this issue. One manufacturer marketed the same "numbers" to commercial operators and homeowners. The difference was in the Nitrogen source. The all-soluble was much cheaper but would have to be put down more frequently to maintain the turf quality. Guess who this was marketed to.

Hi Kitty: it's like a drop of refreshing water to hear your kind words. I admire your positive spirit and learning-mind, which I strive for. Your picture looks good to me, much better than the dandelions lawn here. I googled pumice: "A very light and porous volcanic rock formed when a gas-rich froth of glassy lava solidifies rapidly." Good stuff high in phosphorus. Ingrid's soil is decomposed granite, nice and fluffy, and has twice more phosphorus. Her garden is gorgeous with tons of blooms. Alfalfa meal at 2-1-2 works well for her soil, but not for my gluey clay low in phosphorus. Peat moss pH is 4, good to neutralize alkaline tap water. Layering clay with straw and horse manure is much better than my mistake of making potteries by mixing amendments into my sticky clay. Charcoal, or wood ash is very alkaline, pH 10 to 12 (from more than 2 sites). I took some ash from my neighbor's fireplace and tested it, it turned bright green in red cabbage juice. My Mom had acidic soil in Michigan and she dumped wood-ash on leaves (pH 4 to 5), let the rain (pH 5.6) neutralize it .... then use it many months later. She told me to keep fresh wood ash away from roots, otherwise it will burn. Leaves (acidic when fresh), straw, and pine fines (pH 4 to 5) work as buffer: they neutralize extreme pH in soils. I won't get into the boring cation and anion exchange. Coffee ground is also a buffer, it was pink at first, but after soaking for 20 minutes in red cabbage juice, it turned clear. I made many planting holes last year to fix my heavy clay at pH 7.7: Hole with sulfur: it kill all earthworms, didn't help with blooming. A blueberry grower in Soil Forum reported the same with sulfur. Hole with bone meal: still stingy in blooms. Same with 46% superphosphate granules. Hole with alfalfa meal: major glue-up into cement, roots can't expand, leaves turned yellow and shrivel no matter how much water given. Hole with peat moss: not bad, at least I didn't water my 10 azaleas and rhododendrons for the past 12 years ... until I experimented with sulfur and high-nitrogen fertilizer and killed 2 this year. Hole with 1 cup of Hollytone NPK 4-3-4, with sulfur, killed all earthworms, still stingy. Then I spreaded it on the surface around Radio Times, it broke out in blackspot. Making the surface slightly acidic is a great way to germinate fungi. The logic for the high pH in bagged Moo manure, or mushroom compost through adding lime: 1) to deodorize 2) to suppress fungal growth in bags. That's the same logic in spreading wood ash around rose bush: 1) high potassium to fight disease 2) high pH to suppress fungi. Kitty, if people complain about the smell of your horse manure, it means that lime hasn't been added to deodorize, so the pH of you pile is safe. My pile of horse manure has no smell ... the stable told me they put lime to deodorize the enclosed stall in freezing zone 5a winter. I tested it in red cabbage juice and it's medium blue (pH 7.5) in spring, but much more alkaline in winter (pH 8). My good planting holes are, from best to OK: 1) Hole mixed with pine fines (pH 4 to 5), lots of blooming from the humic acid released by decomposed pine, and its 21% water-retention ability. 2) Hole mixed with leaves - lots of bloomings. NPK of leaves is 0.8 / 0.35 / 0.2 Leaves retain water well, and phosphorus is released with decomposed organic matter. 3) Hole mixed with grass clippings - kind of stingy, it might be from the high value of nitrogen. NPK of grass is 4 / 0.5 / 0.2 ... my clay retains nutrients well so higher in nitrogen can make it stingy. Below is a picture of own-root Sonia Rykiel leaf turning chlorotic from nitrogen and iron leaching out of a pot (I watered it with soluble NPK of 18-24-16, with 0.1 iron, plus a high nitrogen soluble NPK of 32-10-10, with 0.33% iron). Compare that to the dark green, own-root Golden Celebration leaves to the right. It's planted in heavy clay mulched with horse manure and alfalfa meal. Both are slow-released nitrogen, and horse manure has iron to make it dark green.

John Lee, with most things in life, knowledge is power. The more your learn and know about various aspects of gardening, the more able you will be to to make informed choices about how to care for your garden and help your plants to thrive. Compost or well aged manures are great additions to any garden setting. They will assist in improving soil structure, help to retain moisture and nourish and encourage a healthy soil biology. They do add to soil fertility as they break down and release nutrients but slowly over time and not to a significant degree. And for many types of plants, that may be all that is necessary. I have always mulched my gardens with compost on an annual or sometimes, semiannual, basis and for the vast majority of trees, shrubs and perennials, that yearly or twice yearly addition of organic matter helps to provide all the nutrients they require. I have rarely, like almost never, had to resort to a commercial fertilizer and only then when a specific plant was showing a specific deficiency. Annual plants, like most vegetables or those that are cropped/harvested, may require a different approach. First, they have different nutrient requirements due to their short lifespan and need for high productivity. They are often considered to be 'heavy feeders' or demand and pull a lot of nutrients from the soil in a short period of time. Compost or manures may be inadequate in terms of providing fast access to the nutrients they require as well as in the amount of nutrients they contribute. This is where fertilizers come in handy. They are a known quantity so you can apply precisely what is needed. And commercial fertilizers are available in both synthetic/manufactured formulations as well as those that are 100% organically derived, so you can use whatever approach you prefer. Dry organic fertilizers are not water soluble and like compost or manures, take time to release nutrients so those need some lead time to be fully effective. You have to be able to anticipate the plant needs in some respects and that becomes much easier with more gardening experience. And as Richard noted above, there are blended organics (Espoma products are an excellent example) that can address a range of nutrient requirements. Homemade organic fertilizers become a lot muddier in terms of knowing what is being provided. In most cases you are just guessing and in any event, the nutrient output may be minimal as well as delayed. One of the ways around this is to make your own blended organic fert using known quantities, like blood or bone meal, alfalfa or other seed or grain meals and rock dusts. But it does take a bit of math to figure out what percentages of what nutrients are being provided so most just shortcut this step by purchasing and using a prepared mix. Compost or manure teas or those brewed from discarded plant parts, as well as worm composting leachates, can also supply some nutrients but again, they are unquantifiable so to a large degree an unknown factor in nutrient supplementation. Their big advantage is that the nutes they contain - whatever they are - are immediately availble for the plant needs.. One type of product - compost, manures, commercial synthetic or commercial organic ferts or even the teas - is not necessarily better or worse than another. They all have pros and cons associated with them. Becoming familiar with them all and understanding their attributes and their drawbacks as well as knowing what the requirements are of the plants you are growing will help you to make the most informed choices. It is definitely an experiential process but the more you garden and learn/research, the shorter that time frame will be.