I agree with Jesse, coarse sand should work nicely in your mix, and I try to stay away from peat moss mixes. I live just a few miles from Kevin, in Dallas, OR. We tend to get a bit colder and some times wetter than Kevin's place.
I have sandy loam in my raised beds, and it drains very fast. This leads to having drought situations in our dry summer. Some how they all manage to handle the big swings in conditions throughout the year.
I spent today out in the sunshine and groomed 7 beds today. How wonderful it felt. Here is bed #14.
I did have two colonies that I had to do some clean up on, 'Gold Nugget' and 'Rose Toujour'. This is a great time to go out and see which varieties handle our cold, wet winter conditions. Many show no damage at all.
Rita, I put about an inch of chicken grit under the leaves of the rosettes and cover the open spaces with more grit. I find that it helps with the freezing and thawing that we get so much of. It also keeps the soil from making contact with the underside of the plants, and prevents mud splashing on the colonies.
Julia, I think you get a lot more rain up in Seattle than we do here in the Willamette Valley. If I was up in your area I would probably cover mine in the winter.
