Mel's mix compacted help

Hello everyone last year was my first year doing square foot gardening,overall it was a pretty good year.The question i have is i live in Michigan and with the snow we had the level in my beds have dropped around 3 to 4 inches in each.What should i do when it thaws out mix it up or add more of Mel's mix and rotate it. I had to use bagged compost from Kellogg it was called KELLOGG GARDEN ORGANICS ALL NATURAL GARDEN SOIL, along with peat moss and vermicuite .The bags contained the following in them

INGREDIENTS: This product is regionally formulated with organic materials (including one or more of the following: Processed Forest Products, Recycled Forest Products, Arbor Fines, Peat Humus or Compost), Composted Poultry Manure, Rice Hulls, Gypsum, Worm Castings, Bat Guano, Kelp Meal and Organic Fertilizer. In Georgia, this product contains: 85-95% processed forest products, composted poultry manure, rice hulls, gypsum, worm castings, bat guano, kelp meal, and organic fertilizer. In Texas, this product contains: recycled forest products, gypsum, composted poultry manure, organic fertilizer, worm castings, rice hulls, bat guano, kelp meal.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Hi there. To rejuvenate my compacted beds I usually add a wheelbarrow of compost. No need for more Mel's mix, as it is not recommended.

Camprn's correct (as usual )

Add more compost, but I also mix mine up...it kind of "fluffs" it up so it has that nice loose, friable feel to it.

I wouldn't add more of the Kellogg's compost.

It's very heavy on "peat equivalents" (the first several ingredients listed), and light on manure-based items.

I agree that you should add more compost, preferably, say, a four-compost mix.

Please let us know if you need ideas for compost brands and/or types.

If you have ideas for compost brands or types please let me know since i'm new to this. thanks for your help

Although I don't know what's available in your area in Michigan, here are a few thoughts:

- Whole Foods compost, which should be available somewhere near you, probably beginning in March or April.

- mushroom compost

- chicken compost

- leaf mold (generally homemade)

- EcoScraps (similar, I think, to the Whole Foods product), often found at Home Depot

- Gardner & Bloome (a Kellogg's division) Harvest Supreme

- rabbit or llama beans (manure), probably available locally; Craig's List may be a resource

- locally-produced plant waste compost, usually free, but be aware that it could contain trace amounts of pesticides/herbicides

I'm sure others will chime in with further options.

Happy gardening, and don't forget to post pictures!

I know that Sanderson will suggest you look on craigslist.
If you search for compost and also manure, you usually find a good number of responses.

As Camp stated, no more Kellogg's. Just good compost to mix in and bring the level back up.

Donna listed some good sources for compost. I screen out remaining pieces of wood in bagged products. Don't need any "wood" to tie up nitrogen.

Ralitaco, Yep, Craig's List.

thanks for all the input,so i should put in around 3 or 4 types of compost into existing boxes. as a follow up i will being putting in 4 boxes that will be 4x4x 10 inches deep any suggesting as to what to fill them up with should i start with Kellogg and mix in some compost .I hope i'm not being a pain but this all new to me it's something me and my daughter decided to do together since i had stents put in last year ,eating healthier no better way then fresh out of the garden.In my area there is limited places to get stuff Home Depot,Walmart and Lowe's. can always order online thanks again.

The only Kellogg product I will use is the Harvest Supreme. Even that one probably should be sifted. 

You should be able to find mushroom and chicken compost, at the very least, at one of the places you mentioned.

Where are you located in Michigan?  Again, Whole Foods has a great compost product that should soon be available.

Not sure if anyone has tried this. But there is a company in MI that maybe a good source for some ingredients.

Dairy DOO- http://www.dairydoo.com/shop-vegetable-gardening/

Donnainzone5, I live in the upper peninsula of Michigan, the closet Whole Foods is 7 hours away one way so that's not an option.So for my new boxes should i just use the Kellogg garden soil and sift it out along with peat moss /vermiculite then add some more compost products to it.With the older boxes just put compost in to raise the level back up.

which compost are most important for vegetable garden thanks for everyone's help this forum answer a lot of question and is very helpful.

FYI: at my big box stores, the Chicken Poo is considered a fertilizer and not a compost so it is kept in a different section. Also, screening is a good idea for all the compost (IMO)

So for my new 4x4x10 inch deep boxes i'm looking at peat moss,vermiculite and then either Kellogg garden soil(which my other boxes have) or Gardner & Bloome (a Kellogg's division) Harvest Supreme.I was wondering should i add anything else to these boxes.


My older boxes to bring level back up, mushroom compost,EcoScraps , chicken compost, worm castings or bat guano.are these good ideas or bad any suggestion is greatly appreciated . thank you very much for all your help.

Why not use the same ingredients you plan to use in your old boxes in the new ones?  Harvest Supreme could be added to that list.  There's no reason to exclude bat guano, unless it's personal preference.

I'm not excluding any compost just want to make i'm not over doing it with the compost. I plan to sift the Kellogg garden soil or harvest supreme for some of the mixture along with peat moss and vermiculite then use other compost.I'm sure the harvest supreme and Kellogg garden soil ingredients have minimal amount of each ingredient that's way i'm looking to add more compost to it.

I am no expert on compost not gardening, but I don't think you can "overdo it" on the compost, so long as it is a BLENDED compost. My understanding is that Mel suggested a blended compost from at least 5 sources so you had a variety of minerals, nutrients, etc. that different plants could use. Also, unlike fertilizer, I don't believe compost can "burn" plants.

This may have been covered earlier in this thread, but one thing to watch for with the store bought composts is how much peat moss they contain. If peat is the top ingredient, you may want to cut back a little on the peat you put in

Hello everyone, i have my new boxes made have the vermiculite and peat moss not having much luck with the rest of my stuff.I need compost ideas and where to buy ,the main store in my area are Home Depot and Walmart, and what they are telling me is this is what they are carrying for the year. i have found black kow from home depot and ecoscraps from Walmart i believe its the right one not sure.If anyone one has ideas let me know pictures of each product it would be very helpful especially the ecoscrap one.

thank you in advance for help.

Did you try contacting Morgan Composting aka Dairy doo? Link

For Ecoscraps, the bag should read Ecoscraps Compost, NOT Ecoscraps Soil.

I'm having to supplement with some store bought compost this spring.  I'm trying Nature's Care Really Good Compost and so far it looks pretty good. Manure composts vary by region.

I would stay away from Kellogg's products.