Hi Pirate Girl, Thanks for the IMO & IME slang. I don't think you are rude, just expressing your opionion. I appreciate your input. Re: your statement, "I don't wish to be rude Melba, but given how you recount your history since 1970, is that to say you can't grow, change or learn new & better ways of doing things?" Beleive me, in most aspects of my life, I am a very detailed & analytical person. Before retiring, I received several promotions because of "my attention to detail & analytical abilities". (my kids & and some others feel I am too detailed, but are appreciative when I provide a thought that only "I" would come up with.) My history with plants since 1970 is NOT doing the same thing since that time. I have tried many new & different (&sometimes better) methods of transplanting, many types of soil, bought several books, plus some of my own ideas. In the long run, I have not eliminated my problem, but My own ideas (clear pots, shallow pots) have worked the best/longest for me. As I have gotten older, I realize I function better with hard-copy info vs flip-back-and-forth online instructions, and sometimes need to observe something being done. I think if I had a good plant "buddy" & could observe their methods, I might solve most of my repotting problems. I sometimes wonder if I am not like some cooks. Many can cook everything perfectly every time... while others (using the same recipe) can never get the recipe to turn out the same way twice. Thanks, Melba

Thanks, everyone, for the great advice. Since I could not find a Turface retailer nearby, and since I did not want to wait (call me impatient), I went to the local NAPA store and bought 25 lbs. of Floor Dry #8822. Cost less than 10 bucks, which is cheaper than dirt. Literally, if you compare to bagged potting soil. Tried out the new mix on a few plants. It's around 50% Floor Dry, 20% gravel, 20% perlite, 10% potting soil. I removed the chicken grit, because mine is for chicks and is the smaller size. Didn't think it helped (but it is nice for rooting cuttings). Here's a pic of my Sarcocaulon herrei in the new mix. I actually liked the look of the mix so much (more natural, if I can say that about a potted plant) that I did not top dress with gravel. I know there are still more fines in there than some would recommend, but I think that, overall, it is a big step up from what I was using. Drains like a Shih Tzu through a goose. Unless I run into issues, I'll probably wait to repot everyone else until they go outside in late spring. Or, if I get snowed in for a weekend and feel the need to get my hands into some dirt. Thanks, again, for all the help. Bill

Worm castings are pricey. They are the best soil additive, except for the liquid which comes from worm bins. I would suggest that you purchase worms, and put them in your garden, Caroline. That is what I did when I first moved to NM. It was late fall, so I kept the worm bin in the house until spring. By then I had had a chance to add soil amendments so the worms would have something to eat. Worms cannot thrive in poor soil. My worms have multiplied and spread themselves. During winter they burrow deep into the earth, about eighteen inches. Lorna

I think Ron's got the right idea, esp if your VC is really wet. 2 points. There has to be a lot of light on the top tray, and the babies take a lot longer to move than the adults. If you've got LOTS of babies, you may only be able to scrape off a thin layer of compost each time you take some. Fluff it up every once in a while to encourage drying and allow the noxious sunlight to get a little lower down in to the tray and hurry the worms along. One woman did this and put her 'finished' tray on top of a working tray. The next morning, she had more worms than ever in her 'finished' tray. The worms had moved up. To avoid that, have the tray just below the finished tray have only bedding and food, no (or few) worms. It needs to be a place the worms are willing to go to, but not have lots of worms that will also want to come back up. As the amount of VC on the top gets thinner and thinner, the worms won't have much choice but to go down. You'll never get all of the babies out. The only way I know of to get most of them out is let the finished, 'worm free' VC to sit for a month or three. This allows the cocoons to hatch (is that the right word?) and the babies to grow to a size that's more reasonable to pick out without having any adults laying more cocoons in the mean time. Then you can either try the light method again or put a slice of melon rind on the top of the VC, wait until they congregate there, and scoop of that portion of VC with the worms. They need to be big enough to be able to move effectively. Just don't wait so long that they become sexually mature and start depositing more cocoons. According to the experts, it can take 30-75 days for the babies to emerge from the cocoons and 53-76 days for the worms to become sexually mature after they emerge. Many of your cocoons will take a lot less than the 30 days to hatch as they were deposited a while ago.