jewlz, this is just a thought as I don't have true square foot garden soil in my beds. The true believers in the performance of this way of gardening are absolutely dedicated to doing it right up front. Think of it this was when you are looking at cost. Your vermiculite comes out to about $1.75 sq ft based on your space. Look at your other costs that way to see how much difference you are looking at by breaking it down that way. The 1/3 of each part of the mix is something they preach not to deviate from. So, if you want to do it the right way, your investment now will give you peace of mind. Example, your local nursery includes peat in their mix. Too much TOTAL peat and you will have a nightmare on your hands. Read all of the labels carefully. Good luck on whatever you decide.

Didn't you post this once before and Garden Web deleted it? Give it up already....

momof2doxies: thanks for the photo! That helps me visualize. I think if I do BB there I'd have to do something contrasting -- either striped like yours or end grain. shanghaimom and ci_lantro: reinstalling the Jenn-Aire as a functioning cooktop is not possible. We have a stone house and the exhaust vent to the outside is already covered up and re-stoned, so I can't hook it back up. (We had a lot of stone work/patching done before we moved in and had the vent patched at the same time, before we really discussed options for dealing with the big hole!) This is a strange and quirky house, so the patched counters will just have to be one of its charms!

The poster registered October 8, & I think this is the 3rd or 4th forum I've seen the identical post, with no reason given for the request for info ("I'm writing my doctorate", "I'm writing a newspaper article", etc).