Soil is the secret sauce

I know you are thinking this post should be in the Soil category, but I think it is more useful in Gardening for beginners.
If Permies has taught me anything, it's that soil is literally the foundation for gardening. I work at a co-op, and often run the nursery register. people always want an easy cure. Some magic liquid (usually in chemical form) to make things grow better, fix pest problems, battle fungus and so on. All to often building great soil would solve most of the problems.
Even knowing this I was brutally reminded this year. For the second time I tried soil blocking. At first I was so pleased with the results. A soil recipe of 2 parts peat, 2 parts worm castings, and 1 part vermiculite. It was a perfect soil for making soil blocks. The problem is I don't use peat. I didn't understand this soil. At first I over watered experiencing damping off for the last time. Then I didn't water enough. I did finally figure out the happy medium, and what survived looks pretty good. At first I thought it was a watering issue, and on the surface it was , but really it was a soil problem. I have been successfully starting seeds for a few years now, and why I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I hadn't factored in the difference the soil makes.
A good living soil makes a huge difference in growing strong healthy plants

Building great soil is indeed the "secret sauce" that acts as both a biological engine and an immune system for your garden. As you experienced with the damping-off issue, the physical structure of the soil (how it holds or releases water) is just as critical as its nutrient content.

Yeah the quick fix thing is so real. I see it with people asking about apps and tools too, they want something to tell them exactly what to do but skip the bit where you actually learn your own soil. Took me a couple of years of rubbish harvests before I stopped buying miracle bottles and just started composting properly. Boring answer but it works.