The title of this thread shows what I feel is the problem. Either/or.
One or the other. And I'm not really sure what each is. I love compost
and manure, and I'm going to mix up a little Miracle-Gro to feed my
porch plants this morning.

I think you made a good point. I decided to use Miracle Gro this season and
start a compost pile for next season. Every years I'll work on the soil and
when I feel it is good enough, I'll go entirely organic. It may take 2 or 3
years but slow and steady wins the race.

I didn't want to risk unhealthy plants this year since I worked so hard
getting them in. Being a new home owner I finally had the chance to have a
garden, so this year I got the soil that was there.