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

Before I discovered that our well water was high in pH and alkalinity I never really thought about using a fertilizer that might reduce pH and alkalinity in water and soil, but from what JaG posted looks like Miracid wouldn't help anyway. I am bumping this post off page 2 because I just saw this reply and wanted to comment. The MG type ferts typically deriving most of their nitrogen from urea *will* result in acids being formed in the mix itself. The formation of these acids can be very helpful in offsetting the pH raising effect of irrigation water with high alkalinity. The distinction I want to make is that if one wishes to exercise greater control over the irrigation water itself, these ferts won't do that. The acids are the result of bacterial conversion from one N form to another. The actual fertilizer powder doesn't have the acids required to lower pH or alkalinity all by itself. In other words, if you want to reduce pH/alkalinity of the water itself, add an acid to it. Vinegar is a safe, inexpensive, esy to find source of an acid (lemon juice would be fine too). Using a fertilizer that forms acids goes the extra mile in that it will form acids inside the container that can then 'go to war' with with the various carbonates and bicarbonates that would otherwise raise pH introduced by the irrigation water. As a side point, it's not necessary to accept a 30-10-10 formula (or whatever formula is currently being labeled as 'for acid loving plants'). Any of the water solubles that get most of their N from urea or ammonium sulfate will result in the acid formation occurring.

As said above, the sun is not 'destroying' the organic matter in the soil. Warm climates decompose soil organic matter faster than cool climates. And, dry climates tend to have less soil organic matter because they grow less plant material which is the source of the soil organic matter. Although 30" average rainfall is not all that dry, that's nearly what Seattle gets after all. So shading the soil is not going to help. Soil organic matter is always transient. It is 'eaten' by the soil microbes to provide nutrients to your plants. You have to keep replenishing it, just as you have to keep eating more food over and over, every day. In my cool short summer climate, once a year can be enough, but in your warmer long summer climate you may have to add organic matter twice a year or more. You could garden primarily with native plants, Texas has a huge selection of very nice native plants, that's what got Ladybird Johnson inspired after all. They would not need any soil amendments or fancy handling. But if you're trying to grow conventional veggies and fruit trees and such you may need to do something else. I have grown those in California's extremely basic adobe clay, with less than half the rainfall you get, very successfully. I never amended the soil for the trees. where lack of drainage was an issue I planted them on raised mounds. In summers I built watering moats around them - we got no rain at all in summer. They got mulched every year with compost. Veggies went into clay soil amended yearly with compost and sulfur. Can you get tree chips from a local arborist? They're usually free for the asking but you have to be able to take a full truck load, usually 5 yards or so, at a time. Tree chips are great mulch and might work for your hugulkultur also.

Hi again everyone, thanks for all the feedback for my original question on NPK - Lisa, it seems that the bloom booster ratios vary considerably as we have a water soluble one here in Aust. which has a ratio of 15.8: 6.7: 25.3. Regarding the Seaweed product Kerry mentioned, as she said it is not marketed as a fertilizer but as a "tonic". It's a wonderful product which I have used as remedial treatment after severe hail damage where the hailstones were like small oranges and my exposed broms and vegetables looked like green confetti spread all around the garden. I have also used it after we had a heatwave on New Years Day a few years back where my exposed broms and vegies suffered severe heat damage as well as during a three day cold snap the following year where the exposed broms and vegies suffered severe cold damage. The plants bounced back much quicker than they had in the past from similar damage. However knowing what I do now, I should have used it as a preventitive treatment rather than a remedial one due to the following claims made by the manufacturer: Frost tolerance: It reduces frost damage, by lowering the temperature at which plant cells will freeze. This 'anti-freeze' effect reduces plant damage and hastens the return to productive growth once the temperature improves. Heat tolerance: It significantly increases a plant's heat tolerance and is taken up systemically, so it assists the whole plant. It can also aid in the return to productive growth following hot days. Drought tolerence: The same mechanism that protects against heat also provides significant protection against drought stress. It can even reverse the effects of dehydration after a single foliar application. Disease tolerance: It has been consistantly reported that plants treated with it demonstrate reduced incidence and severity of disease. Improved plant establishment: It contains naturally occurring plant hormones which stimulate root growth needed for rapid establishment of new plantings. It reduces the effect of transplant shock. (I get excellent results by giving my baby seedlings a soak in it before I plant them up and a good watering in with it after they have been planted. There are other benefits as well, just google the brand name to check them out and look at the fact sheet. I think there is also an international branch of the company so it could also be available for many of our brom friends on this forum. Thanks for the feedback once again, all the best, Nev