You are asking some very good questions.......keep it up :-)) Organics in container gardening are highly overrated. It is really important to understand the concepts behind container growing and how radically they differ from inground gardening. The key elements are fast drainage and aeration.......once you have achieved those two primary factors, everything else can be massaged to your specific needs. Durability and textural content of the potting mix should be your focus - nutrient levels are addressed by fertilizing and watering is key but these will always be outside factors under the control of the gardener, not the soil mix. The reasons significant percentages of organics in a potting mix are not advised are multiple. First, organics continue to decompose and breakdown, squeezing out pore space, reducing to a uniform and small particle size and then impacting the fast drainage required. Second, depending on source the moisture retentiveness may be excessive. Third, their nutrient content, if any, is low so it makes sense to evaluate exactly what they are providing in the way of benefits compared to what they may detract from the potting mix. There will likely always be some percentage of 'organics' in a potting mix - without any there would be NO moisture retention! But it is important to consider the source - peat is already nearly fully decomposed so no further breakdown is expected - particle size won't change (but is small already). Both coir and bark fines (usually composted bark fines) are very slow to decompose and add both a degree of moisture retention as well as durability. Why do growers use compost or manure at all if their nutrient content is so low? Because this kind of organic matter is vital to inground growing conditions - not container growing. Organic matter adds the textural component that most garden soils lack, it lightens and adds aeration and it encourages a healthy soli biology. And it does have nutrient value although limited compared to a "fertilizer". That's why compost and other organic matter are considered soil amendments, not fertilizers. Their importance and relevance is directed at inground gardening, not container gardening If you haven't already, I would strongly urge you to read this excellent and extremely long running post I've linked to from our recognized container gardening guru, Al (tapla). It pretty much explains it all :-)) Here is a link that might be useful: everythg you could possibly need to know about container soils.

Flying high you win the prize I looked all over the Internet and could not find the sink. You did, that is it! See the site you found shows the sink to be a more green rather then blue. I also see the sink is 82lbs. The guy that I purchased it from said 35lbs but the way he was struggling I said no way. When he put it into my car yesterday the back of my van went down. Yikes! Thank you all for your words of encouragement. I couldn't decide between the square or the round and I am still kicking it around. But the square is in my trunk. I wanted something ultra modern different and I think I got it. We got a super deal 439.00 including all the drain plumbing. I tell ya if you look hard enough there are local people trying to keep their doors open so give them a chance. There are others that won't get off their %$#. I ran into that yesterday too. Oh it is so frustrating some of these snooty shop owners. Oh gosh I am getting off topic. fnmrboberts thanks for sending your picture over I like the coloring you used and I also liked to see the example of the dark counter and a dark cabinet that was a great idea to repeat the frosted treatment on the mirror. Profrip Yes your right the Sirius line. I have made no definite plans on anything as far as color. It is such an issue. I like your thoughts on the white counter with the chips of green however those type of counters are a throwback to the old mica counters and I just can't wrap my head around doing that however I do like the idea. The only permanent decision would be this sink, which reads very green. dolfanz thanks for the comments on the upkeep and the rain-ex good point. I generally leave a stack of rolled white towels at each sink and I think we will have to get into the habit of using them for a quick wiping it out. I think I need to start a new thread "show me your bathrooms that used green!" I would like to do something different on the back wall behind the vanity. When I walk into my finished bathroom I want to be giddy like a school girl! My tile decisions could make or break that experience.

Those co2 jobs are for 3/4" condensate drains I believe. I would not try it, could blow apart the drain down the line. What you need is a proper snake ! 3/8 " cable, electric driven, make sure the cable has an inner core braided steel cable, if it does not you will surely kink the hell out of it. This snake should be fine for up to 2" lines. Also you might want to put in a proper cleanout as this seems to be a continuous problem. With a proper cleanout you can often clear grease stoppages by shoving a garden hose down it, sometimes this is the only way to clear a grease stoppage as the snake goes right thru the grease, tennant could handle it themselves. You could probably find a used snake on craigs list for a fraction of it's original cost, just make sure to pull the cable all the way out to make sure it's not kinked to hell.

Thanks, Vith. The goal is to gain counter space to one side of the existing sink cabinet, and I thought we might gain enough by shifting the sink cabinet as far to one side as the existing plumbing (inflows) allows. We may end up moving plumbing anyway, but we're on a tight budget so I was looking at less costly options. But if I understand correctly, you're saying the drain could still be in the center of the sink; is that right? I like the fact that an offset drain allows you to empty the strainer without removing, say, a large baking sheet from the sink, so I may opt for the offset drain anyway. I thought it might also simplify the under-sink plumbing as well.