And, the soil company rep responds to Plants On Deck via email:

“I’m glad to hear that you are seeing fruit on your plants, so things must be improving somewhat. In regards to the 8 lb potting soil, I have performed basic testing on a sample pulled from our current inventory. What I found is that the pH range was running 7.2 to 7.9 which is higher than what most vegetable prefer. This in combination with finding salt levels ranging from 2.52 to 3.22 is likely where your issues rest. [This company] would never use herbicides that would prolong in the raw materials and cause the symptoms that were viewed in your attachment. The plant response you are experiencing is likely due to nutrient imbalance and high pH and salt levels.

I have kept our office informed of my test results on the 8 lb potting soil and will make a final recommendation once a full nutrient analysis is completed at a commercial laboratory. That testing will take about a week to see back results. At that time I will forward those findings to you for your review.

 My apologies to you on this less than expected product performance. We hope that we can resolve this matter so you can continue to count on [this company] as a dependable supplier of potting soils.”

Soooooo, if your soil runs a pH too high for veggies, why are veggies pictured on the bag? And high sodium levels? That’s bad news. So yeah, that could mess things up.