Here is a little interesting blurb I found on the Chill Out! Roses website....an article on Jeff Lowenfels...he has written a book, 'Teaming With Microbes' and articles written about how his grandfather had used this theory to fertilize.....rather interesting.... ...."An oversimplified, nutshell explanation is that root systems produce exudates and carbohydrates that attract fungus and bacteria, and while they're down there dining away, the joke's on them. "They're the bottom of the food chain," Lowenfels explains. "They get eaten, and the things that eat them poop out excess nitrogen and feed the plant right in the root zone. "That's how trees get fertilized. Not Miracle Gro. Not MagAmp -- you know what I mean? So, ha! I never knew that." That's because until recently, soil researchers couldn't see what was going on down there, he said. Lowenfels' Miracle Gro days were over -- because chemical fertilizers contain salts that suck all the water out of these beneficial, simple cellular structures and kill them. "I was so embarrassed," he said. "I couldn't believe I had been writing about gardening for as long as I had and had never heard of half these words." Words like "mycorrhizal," "hyphae" and "vascular arbuscular." Judith

I'm always glad to hear from you, Kippy! Thank you, Nastarana and Campanula for your info. Hi Camp: you are right about "a few handfuls of native topsoil into sterile potting soils". Two books on roses in container recommended the same. ... (one by Douglas Green in Canada and the other by Field in Texas). Since I love to do experiments, I'll going to try the 2-20-20 low-salt index of 7.2 (compare that to high salt index of other soluble fertilizers with urea at 74 index, and ammonium sulfate at 88.3 index). Kelp4Less sells 2-20-20 at $14 per pound. I tried the Schultz Bloom plus at 10-60-10 on my petunias in pots. That was GREAT! Triple blooming and triple root growth. That's sold at Lowes food on-line for $2.99. If I see that at Menards, I'll grab it (my soil is tested low in phosphorus.) What's special about 2-20-20 formula, besides being organic and low-salt, is the blend of Mycorrhiza fungi added: Soluble Inoculant powder Mycorrhizal fungi and 19 beneficial bacteria inoculants. Beneficial Endo Mycorrhizal fungi species ..... They also added molass, which fungi loves. It would be interesting to compare the results on petunias using chemical 10-60-10 plus my clay mixed with potting soil, versus organic 2-20-20 with endomycorrhizal, bacteria, and molass. Here is a link that might be useful: Low-salt & organic 2-20-20 at Kelp4less This post was edited by Strawberryhill on Wed, Mar 6, 13 at 12:31

"Which brings me back around to the OP question... Matty, what kind of soil-less mix are you using? Is it dry, or compressed and you fluff it? Or is it wet to some extent before you use it? That will play a factor with what ratio of compost you use too. And I think your compost is probably dry since you pasteurized and sifted it? This can change the ratio I earlier stated too. I use a majority of dry fluffy soil-less mix, and add in less of wet compost. If you are handling your materials opposite in water content, that ratio would be WAY off. I might suggest something more like a half scoop to a scoop of dry compost to 3-4 scoops of soil-less mix." Beesneeds: I used some really cheap seed and cutting mix from Home Hardware made from "...the finest quality Canadian sphagnum peat moss, composted softwood bark fines, horticultural grade vermiculite and a wetting agent to help absorption of water." The compost that I pasteurized remained wet until after coming out of the oven, so while I'd anticipated that it would be dry and crumbly, it was wet when I measured it 1:1 with the seedling mix. I managed tosort of crumble it into the smallest bits I could, but many were about pea to marble sized. I made an effort to removed bits that seemed to be still a bit to difficult to break into smaller pieces. I added some perlite and vermiculite (maybe a tenth volume of the 1:1 mix) and enough water to dampen and darken. One reason I decided on peat pots was that I figured if the compost was too rich or held onto water too long, these pots would help with aeration. So about half of my seedling got this 1:1 mix, and the other half were put into straight Home Hardware seedling mix. In retrospect, from everything I've read about the need of developing roots for light, fluffy soil, I'm figuring I probably should have used less compost? However, All the seedlings (several types of tomatoes as well as some Hungarian Yellow Peppers) are all growing at the same rate, and seem, to my noobster eyes, to be thriving and developing nicely. The less-than-optimal light that the seedlings received in their first couple of weeks post-sowing started them off leggy, but since being transplanted into 3" pots right up to their cotelydons and being put under the T5 HO 6700K double fixture, they all look healthy.

Dave- I haven't used it yet. CoriAnn uses it. I'll ask her. I'll let everyone know if I see any improvement to anthracnose after I foliar spray since I don't have much blackspot. I'll also see if it helps with aphids since I have these too. Patty- funny in a not funny, haha, way! I think "ironic" might be the better word. Is anthracnose as bad a disease as black spot? My roses look awful but they still have their leaves unlike with bs. And some of the Kordes are fine as is Julia and my DA Windermere and Queen of Sweden. I'm still learning. Since it doesn't cause complete defoliation I'm thinking (hoping) it might be the lesser of two evils. I haven't sprayed yet, partly out of laziness but mostly out of concern for the environment. So many of these products are harmful to aquatic life. Our property abuts a designated swamp. I'd hate to cause damage to the eco-system there. My hydrangeas and hostas look fine so it doesn't seem as bad as yours. I'll let you know when I use the Pro-tekt. With luck it just might do what it says it does. Wouldn't that be great :-) Kelp4Less has silica powder available for hydroponics. According to the info it has recently been approved asa plant nutrient recognized by science. It's helpful for those who especially grow in raised beds or pots which CoriAnn does. I have bought from Kelp4Less. They're a bit pricy but have great service and organic products. The video is a bit long but here's the link if anyone is interested- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB5pBCdnMTE Dave- it seems according to the Kelp4Less is used as a drench not a foliar spray. It might be because they are geared more to hydroponics though. Their's is neutral ph. There are 9 reviews by buyers that say they see improvement in stem strength, leaf strength and disease resistance. I don't think CoriAnn gets much disease in CA where she gardens but she does get extreme heat and uses Pro-tekt for heat and drought stress. Sharon