Questions & Observations:
REF. Soluble Mycorrhizae -- I'd purchased a 4lb. bag just before planting season last year & had actually forgotten that I had it. I just rediscovered it in my stash but then noticed it has an expiration date on is of 02/2022. I would have purchased this late March/early April of '22, so there's that. Thoughts- should I toss it or use it? Have you used it for Dahlia plantings?

REF: Mint Compost
I'm taking a break from planting rose bushes (only 9 more to go...) and had purchase 4-26Qt. boxes of Heirloom Roses "Natural Mint Compost" -- man, does it ever seem nice! I plan to take a bag of it to a local farmer w/ 40K or more acres in production of various crops, hoping to convince him to grow it (it's a long shot, but you never know!) From what I could guess from a quick Inet search, it seems it is, thus far, only grown on the west coast, so I think it would probably be a smart move for him ,,, and I could be his 'trial garden', lol. Have you used Mint Compost in Dahlia planting and what are your opinions & experience on/with it?

REF: Soil Type -- CLAY -- and not the type of clay I've ever experienced. The base (I have raised beds of '50/50" soil) is clay. It's not the Louisiana Gumbo type I had in the Houston area, nor the type I experienced in Upstate NY. It's mustard yellow with maybe a slight tint of orange and it is SLIMY. I'm using a Hori Hori to make my holes as I have to sit cross-legged to dig thanks to a back issue which makes using a shovel quite awkward. This clay type has so much "cling" to it that each stabbed dig with the Hori Hori, I have to slide the clay off the tool - it's that slimy and it's quite light, aka, a nudge at the top edge and it slides right off. It doesn't crumble, it stays in those slivers that I'm sliding off the tool Obviously, it's holding tons of moisture. Last year when I planted my rows for Dahlias, I really didn't run into the clay because the rows were high enough. But when I went to dig the tuber clumps up at the end of the season, I discovered that many seemed to have sought the clay level - growing deeper instead of outward. I had MANY foot long tubers. It just seemed odd to me. Also to note, that while I wasn't up to my normal snuff all last growing season (thanks, "Long Covid" that kept me bedridden for the most part), I did manage a regular watering schedule, so I can't really factor in lack of moisture as being an issue. I'm contemplating whether or not I should bring more soil in to make those rows even higher? My limited understanding is that clay really doesn't have many if any nutrients - true? But why did these tubers seem to sink and grow so deep, when there was plenty of nutrition surrounding the plantings? This almost seems like a silly question, but the unasked question...

Thanks, all!