compost always settles or compost further so you need to top off the beds after every harvest OR keep adding enough mulch to break down further to maintain volume adding coffee grounds or dried grass clippings (herbicide free) as mulch will help retain moisture once the soil warms when tulip petals fall in western WA we don't have your heat, but we do have dry summers. your raised beds will warm more quickly than clay soil, so congrates for the mixture over time it just gets better & better if you keep adding compost we have to add lime yearly because of acidic soils & rain that leaches it out ask around what other raised bed gardeners do in your immediate area - that is most helpful to you What works here for us with small raised beds 1. check soil temps affects what germinates now more than soil mix later planted seeds catchup with early, so no rush until soil is at least 40 degrees (it's hard to wait when you want a garden now!) 2. grow what you love to eat or want to try to disguise in family meals because it's good for us (kale & swiss chard are grown here for those reasons) 3. plan for succession of crops & 3 season or almost year round growing spring planted: peas, lettuces, green onions from sets followed by summer warm weather vegs (trellis to save space & improve fruit quality or picking ease) save some space for midsummer plantings of fall & winter harvested crops 4. protect from pests such as: slugs, rabbits, deer?, dogs, cats, balls/frisbees... great ideas on SFG forum for cages (doesn't have to cover entire bed, just what you need to protect netting propped up with sticks covered by upturned water bottles/jugs upturned clear totes 2 windows as a tent or wire covered frames lots of creative options out there & something to keep you busy when you can't yet plant the garden Enjoy a productive gardening season! Corrine

I use 511 regularly, where I work we provide machinery that focuses on cleaning grains, plastic extrusions, reclaimed sheet rock, reclaimed glass etc. we separate unwanted fines, or unwanted particle sizes from many various products via screening, air aspiration as well as other methods. This brings me to my question about gritty mix, I just happened upon some poly beads about 3/16 diameter, could this be used as the grit fraction in gritty mix? What I mean by grit is the the granite, or the inert fraction of the mix, the beads seem to be nearly inert, I process all my pine bark through a machine called a reel eliminator, it has various sizes of screens so I can dictate what particle size I want by varying the screen size, I always look for the bags of pine bark mulch that looks some what composted, and separate that into the fines I want, typical what ever will go through a 3/8 screen. I processed 4ea. 2.5 cubic bags in 10 minutes last week, sure makes it easy compared to my screens at home. I am wanting to make up some gritty mix primarily for some citrus trees in my greenhouse, these polystyrene beads have become plentiful and don't weigh very much. You guys are the experts and would love to hear your opinions, Thanks

If one reads the "hundreds of reports" - or a representative sample, as hundreds do not turn up if you search under those terms - one will discover that the ability to control damping off diseases with compost is irregular at best. Even the Cornell study - which addressed only the control of Pythium with vermicompost (not homemade or purchased yard waste compost) added this caveat: "However, it is important to note that composts suppressive to a single pathogen are often conducive to other pathogens (Bonanomi, Antignani et al. 2010), so there is no guarantee that these materials will suppress disease caused by other soil borne fungal or oomycete pathogens." And while compost is well known for its disease suppressing abilities in garden soil, the use of it in a seed starting mix to achieve the same results is still very much up for discussion. Other studies report that the quality and mix of ingredients and an assay to determine specifically what microbial agents are present and at work in the compost need to be considered when determining the effectiveness of compost in a seed starting mix to control damping off diseases. Since home gardeners have minimal control over exactly what is in their compost microbe-wise, just assuming any compost will have the same results is optimistic at best. And that doesn't address the other issues rampant with including compost to a seed starting mix, like creating an excessively moisture retentive medium. Overly wet soils are one of the primary factors in developing damping off problems in the first place. So 100% incorrect information??? Not even close! It helps to actually READ the reports. If making your own seed starting mix, it is far better to follow instructions for creating a lightweight, fast draining, sterilized mix than to experiment with what untreated compost may or may not contribute to the process. – Use sterile well drained soil mediums. Avoid wet or compacted soil. Raise seedlings in treated commercial growing compost. If home-produced compost is being used, steam-sterilize the compost to destroy pathogens. Soil mix has to be held at 140 deg. F for at least 30 minutes to ensure sterilization. -- If starting plants indoors, in cold frames, or in greenhouses, plant seeds in steam treated soil or pasteurized potting mix. You can purchase treated potting soil or prepare your own. Soil mix must be held at 140° F for at least 30 minutes. UCDavis IPM

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