# Square Foot Gardening, Mel's Mix question



## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

I am planning on putting in several SFG beds this year. I have been calling around to price the peat moss, and vermiculite, and this is going to be really, really expensive. How well would my beds work if I just used compost to fill the beds, or used a mixture of compost and peat moss (1/2 and 1/2 I guess). I want my beds to be as productive as possible, so I am willing to shell out the $$$, I was just wondering if other alternatives will/would work as well.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

I never use peat moss. It's really got no redeming qualities.  Basically its inert & does no good. Better stuff would be expanded shale, decomposed granite, lots of compost.
Patty


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## wy_white_wolf (Oct 14, 2004)

our lastest bed (filled last spring) was filled with straight compost about 8" deep. It is doing great this spring. Have garlic about 8" tall and onoins are about 4" tall. Our last frost date is about 30 days away. 

We purchased the compost fro $12 a yard from the local landfill.


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## belladulcinea (Jun 21, 2006)

We use his mix in my sfg and it's wonderful. The soil is light and doesn't compact, any weeding is a breeze. The peat moss and vermiculite is what keeps it fluffy and the compost gives the nutrients. I will never go back to digging in the regular old clay dirt we have again! Once it was put in the garden we have just added our own compost to it.


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## RAHN (Mar 10, 2009)

The peat gives it volume and the vermiculite allows it to hold water longer. You won't get the same results without using the other two components.


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## myheaven (Apr 14, 2006)

Try to think of it as an investment. You only have to purchase the vermiculite and peat once. Just keep adding you own compost.


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## Jenn (Nov 9, 2004)

I did all compost when I moved here- hadn't read his latest book. Now have some decrease fertility and volume (and then poor water retention) where I haven't topped the beds off- vermiculite but ?not peat moss would ahve helped.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I didn't use peat moss either- I used my own horse manure compost, composted redwood bark and vermiculite. So far so good.
Around here, animal compost get too sodden. The bark adds "fluff".


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## CJ (May 10, 2002)

I love Mel's Mix, it is wonderful stuff! However, you might try your local farm store for cotton seed hulls in place of the vermiculite, if you can't find or afford it. It's a pretty decent substitute.


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## Tricky Grama (Oct 7, 2006)

FYI-from the dirtdoctor.com library-


Peat Moss Problems 
Inspired by the discovery of a fully preserved ancient human body in a peat bog, Dr. Terrence Painter, professor emeritus at Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim, is studying the use of peat to preserve fish. His intention is to come up with an economical way to expand the market for Norway&#8217;s nutritious cold water fish. The current method of preservation, filleting and flash freezing, is very expensive. 

A millennium ago, the Vikings used water from peat moss bogs because it would stay fresh during their months at sea. Scandinavian freshwater fishermen traditionally preserved their catches in peat bogs. In Scotland, tubs of butter have been found in peat bogs &#8211; intact after 1,800 years. 

Peat bogs have long been known for preserving organic material. Researchers believe organic materials lasts in peat bogs due to a lack of oxygen or the presence tannins. In tests, fish buried in peat moss or treated with a moss extract stayed fresh weeks longer than untreated fish. 

That&#8217;s all good news for preserving and shipping, but the report accidentally proves why peat moss is a poor choice of organic matter for potting soils and bed preparation. We don&#8217;t want antimicrobial matter. Just the opposite. Compost is cheaper, recycles local or regional organic waste products, is alive, full of nutrition and makes plants grow and stay healthy. 

This may all make peat moss sound like a good soil amendment, but that&#8217;s not the case. We want to use soil amendments that stimulate microbe growth rather than prevent it.


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## ceresone (Oct 7, 2005)

My problem --is time! I'm going to have about 25 raised beds-4'x16'x221/2". Thats a lot of area to fill. I have chickens, and horses, plus all the leaves I could ever want-good compost, right? BUT-thats over the years, to build it up. I'm 72-and I need at least the beds half full, in my lifetime. If I can use peat--and cotton seed hulls to help NOW, it sounds good to me. Perhaps everyone dont have as much to fill as I do-but I hear the clock ticking-and I want to use them.


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## oberhaslikid (May 13, 2002)

I converted last year and was worried I wouldnt do well.I made 6 new 4x10 beds and started the bottom with news paper.Layers and layers. then added big bags of leaves and half filled the boxes to take up space. Then cleaned the goat barn and the chicken house put a layer of that.Then peat moss layer and then topped off with top soil.My DH insisted it needed dirt to plant in.I planted right in the layers and it was Great.
Fill the bottom up with what you can get cheap and do the Mel mix on top.

This year we turned everything and the soil is Superb.


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## Paquebot (May 10, 2002)

There's some misconceptions here about peat when the actual facts are the opposite. Peat has been known for its beneficial qualities in gardening for centuries. In the presence of soil bacteria, it does indeed break down to add humus to the soil. That then becomes a storage unit for nutrients which may be lost either by leaching or otherwise escaping. In raised beds, one of its main roles is in water retention and subsequent slow release of same. It does the same with nutrients. 

Martin


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## anniew (Dec 12, 2002)

You could also incorporate Lasagna Gardening (by Pat Lanza) techniques in the raised beds...organic matter of various sorts and some organic fertilizer and/or manure will give you nutrients.


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## Grandmotherbear (May 15, 2002)

I keep referring to the Farm Day at Echo Farms in N Fort Myer, an anti-hunger concern thru encouraging smallholder/family farming/urban gardening. In their beds they used packing peanuts and compost (The non-organic kind- any styrofoam would do) The idea is to provide air spaces and keep the organic matter from packing down.
I garden in containers, not raised beds, but my sweet potatoes are permanent in their large containers. I have been amazed at how quickly their soil level packs down- within a year you only have 2/3 of the soil you started with. Hot tropical sun dessicates and evaporates organic material. I may go to shredding newspaper and adding it to the sweet potatoes.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I have a 2,500 square foot garden of raised beds. The beds vary in size and also soil mix. I go by PH Level and requirements of what I am growing, then add what is needed by the variety. For general Veggie Gardening, I went with a gardening soil mix 1/2 with well composted manure mix. Works great! For some beds, like for our Blueberries, Peat Moss is topped with compost. They sure look happy! Raspberries needed a different mix, so did the Grapevines, Marionberries, and Kiwi's. I had to cut back on the Nitrogen for the Kiwi's as they are young, yet. The Strawberries got a rich soil with plenty of compost. Typically, I do 60/40 if the compost is rich/denser. Otherwise, go with 50/50. Last year, our garden area was 1/2 the size it is now, but here is what it looked like:

http://www.christiemachineandwelding.com/christie_ventures_inc_015.htm

We use French Intensive methodology and self-sustaining principles. Between the rabbits, quick Nitrogen feeds, Worm/Compost bins, excellent soil amendment, and then there are the Chicken House straw/manure (must be aged). 

This year, we are really going to have a wonderful garden! I added a lot more variety and am NOT growing corn (takes too much space). We can barter for corn with a neighbor who grows a lot of it.

For raised beds? Use a U-Bar for aeration. My husband just built me one, and I am insisting on painting it before it gets used. He was amused!

Happy Gardening!


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## harplade (Jul 14, 2005)

what's a u-bar?


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

For a good description of a U-Bar, which every gardener should have:

http://gardening.yardener.com/YardenersToolshedofProducts/HandTools/LargeHandToolsForDigging/ChoosingAUBarDiggerTool

This tool should be used in every garden. Tilling should only need to be done once UNLESS you are running a large farm operation. There are methods you can use to avoid tilling the soil, aerate with a U-Bar, and use compost. 

My husband actually looked disappointed when I told him he would never have to till the soil in our garden beds again. The grin on his face when he brought out the U-Bar he built? Priceless! Mine is built slightly differently- all out of steel, including the handle. Yes, that means it is heavy-duty and weighs a fair amount. He designed it the correct shape, but didn't add the diagonal bars (normally used for strength), because they weren't needed.


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## AshleyB (Aug 6, 2005)

oberhaslikid said:


> I converted last year and was worried I wouldnt do well.I made 6 new 4x10 beds and started the bottom with news paper.Layers and layers. then added big bags of leaves and half filled the boxes to take up space. Then cleaned the goat barn and the chicken house put a layer of that.Then peat moss layer and then topped off with top soil.My DH insisted it needed dirt to plant in.I planted right in the layers and it was Great.
> Fill the bottom up with what you can get cheap and do the Mel mix on top.
> 
> This year we turned everything and the soil is Superb.


 I have a huge pile of hay and goat manure that we cleaned out 3 weeks ago. It is about half way composted. 

If I halfway filled the boxes with the hay/manure, and then put Mel's mix on top, would I have a big problem with weeds? That is my main concern. I don't want extra weeds.


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