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

I think too, we could chase the question in another direction. What if we asked and answered what's in the soda/juice/sweet tea that offers a potential benefit to the plant and is there anything in the leftovers that is potentially limiting?? In the juice & soda, we know there might be natural or artificial flavorings, neither of which are likely to be beneficial. There is water, which we know isn't a plus. We already know that some of the bio-compounds in tea are potentially limiting. So, we're left with the primary consideration, which is the sugar content. Let's clear the way by saying if the drinks are artificially sweetened, it's almost a certainty that it would have a limiting effect, or at best would offer no advantage to the plant. Even if it was needed and could be used by the plant, sugar couldn't be absorbed by the plant in molecular form. The hydrocarbon chain would need to be cleaved. Sugar (CnH2nOn [n is a number from 3-7]) hydrocarbon chains contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are never deficient under normal circumstances, so nutritionally it looks like the leftovers are a bust. What does sugar actually DO when it becomes part of the soil solution? It increases the level of TDS (total dissolved solids and EC (electrical conductivity). What this does is make it more difficult for the plant to take up water and the nutrients dissolved in water. The goal of a good nutritional supplementation program should be to keep TDS/EC as low as possible w/o the level of nutrients being so low it causes nutrient deficiencies. From this, we can see that ANYTHING in the soil solution that is not nutritional is going to be limiting. To illustrate why non-nutrients in the soil solution are limiting, lets say that in a plant growing strongly, 800 ppm fertility is perfect when only the nutrients essential to growth are present in the soil solution, and they are there in the same ratio in which plants use them. Anything lower than 800 ppm carries the potential for deficiencies, and anything above 800 ppm makes it more difficult to absorb water & nutrients. Skewing the RATIO of nutrients in the soil solution even when the total ppm remains at 800 is also limiting. Adding sugar or any soluble substance the plant can't use has to be limiting. At 800 ppm with sugar being 100 ppm, there can be nutritional deficiencies even if the nutrient ratio is perfect. At 900 ppm with sugar being 100 ppm the effect is limiting because it makes it unnecessarily difficult for the plant to take up water - the primary cause of spoiled foliage in houseplants. I'm done. ;-) Al

Worm leachate = initial breakdown fluids of organic matter mixed with oversaturated (with water) bedding (like coco coir or peat moss) and a little bit of worm urine. There are both beneficial bacteria and harmful bacteria in this liquid. However, there is also waste fluid, which does contain some good nutrients. Using leachate... DILUTE!!! DO not pour directly on leaves which you intend to eat (like lettuce, spinach, arugula) however if you pour onto the soil surrounding your plants at a dilution ratio of 10:1 water to leachate, this should not harm your plants nor make it too concentrated in the soil. Storing your leachate...if you put in a jug or bottle, do not close the lid!! The leachate generally already smells a little funky, so adding insult to injury, you will promote anaerobic bacteria growth if you cut off what little oxygen the leachate is receiving. I no longer get Leachate in my bins... the secret you ask?? Follow these simple steps... 1. put food (including veggie scraps and egg shells) into a ninja or similar blender. I add a small amount of water to this as it helps break things up nice and small. Blend. 2. Take blended material and put into a strainer/sifter large enough to hold said food scraps. 3. Place strainer above a bowl to catch liquid, as there will definitely will be from (1) initial breakdown of food and (2) the water you added to help pulverize your scraps 4. Let bowl/strainer sit for at least a day, If you have bad fruit flies, cover strainer with screen or put an old shirt over the whole thing (bowl/strainer) At this point, you may see some mold growing on top of your blended food, this is fine and actually a good sign, it means that the food is already breaking down...better for your worms to eat!! 5. After a day or two, mix this drained and partially decomposed food mass into your worm bin (while adding the bedding material throughout) 6. Voila!! This works really well for me and my worms are happy as clams...well probably more happy because they don't get eaten :)

NPK values are NOT dependent on what you feed the worms and you won't be able to manipulate the end result, which is closer to humus than anything, rife with bacteria, which is what makes for a healthy soil - any type of compost can be high in various trace elements depending on the feedstock [some foods are high in boron for example, others high in sodium], but the NPK will always be pretty balanced in the range of 1-1-1 to 3-3-3, a soil amendment, not a fertilizer bacteria work on the nutrients of mixed organics - N for them is like protein for us, Carbon for them is like carbohydrates for us - enough of each and they breed and multiply - the worms 'slurp' the microbially rich decomposing surface layer of the material. and do a poor job of digesting the bacteria, leaving castings that contain much of what went in, including live bacteria, which continue the process .... eventually the worms and bacteria together break down all the material [continually re-ingesting the castings] to a very stable humus Bill