I think Im going to start using a cover mulch of some sort to keep the the topsoil from drying out too much. A whole lot of magical stuff happens in the top 3" of soil!! Try to maintain soil moisture evenly, so TopD's become a thriving compost layer. When its bare and goes thru wet-dry cycles, all the life we try so hard to maintain dies then we reinnoculate, then it dries too much again and microbes die off again....just in that top layer though, the rest of the rootball doesnt experience the die off cycles, but when we water in at feed time all the soluble nutes from the dead microbes get brought down into the rootzone where this can be beneficial or too hot depending on feed concentration. So having steady moisture, like a Blumat does, I think the power of the rhizo can really take off and require less feed volume. This is where my mind takes me sometimes.....glad I can bounce this shit off you guys and get it out of my head!!