[Cynthia, Prescott, AZ]

I understand that sphag can build up fertilizer salts faster than other mixes. Maybe you might want to fertilize at half the usual schedule.

The terra cotta will help the sphag to dry quicker, but I only use sphag in very small pots, so no real exerience here. I would expect the skewer method to work better with sphag than bark, as the skewer will make very good contact with the sphag.