That only works until you get a plant in the container.Yep. When Peat Moss gets over dry it becomes hydrophobic and repels the first attempts to water.
My solution to the problem is to not water the peat moss, just mix it in while still dry with the other 2/3 of the basic mix and do a quick stirring. Then start to add some water and continue to stir. Start to add the amendments and if necessary a bit more water. Before long the peat moss has soaked up the water to match the humus. By then it is so fluffy it seems to be closer to perfectionthan any bag on a pallet at the store.
I've found wetting agents like aloe or actual soap (not detergents) can help with the rewetting process.
I just have a bad attitude with the CSPM. And, I keep a worm bin but not a compost pile so I'm trying to work within my issues and not create too many additional projects.
I'll try experimenting with increasing the leaf mold component. It's made basically with a fungal breakdown process rather than bacterial like with a traditional comost pile, but I've seen the finish product test out to be about 50/50 fungal/bacterial.
I also water with worm casting extracts. I feed the worms my kitchen scraps and cover them with chopped up autumn leaves so I should have all of the nutrients that I would get from a traditional compost pile. Not the consistency for sure, but the leaf mold is very hummusy, and it has lots of deep earth minerals that the trees mined for me the previous year.
