>>2139053Basically work out the water and nutrient requirements for your target crop.
My mother's basic:
2 part fluffed peat or crushed charcoal
1 part compost
1 part local dirt
Bag o' worm shit
Mulch with lawn clippings and wood chips
Charcoal and compost hold nutrients that peat doesn't, but peat holds more water.
Using fresh fill dirt supplies minerals and microorganisms that perlite and vermiculite don't, and fulfills the same drainage function.
Compost, paired with a healthy biome, makes for a slow drip of nutrients throughout the growing season. Worm castings are immediately available nutrient.
Adjust the proportion for your particular application, amend with potassium, calcium, phosphorus, etc. Add compost to the top to maintain, or mulch deeply with untreated organic matter.
Potatoes and squash will grow in straight up piles of straw. Not as well, mind, but it's a good way to make your compost pile productive as you wait. I also inoculate my compost and mulch layer with winecap mushrooms. They're easy to identify, perforate the soil, and speed top layer decomposition.
