does anyone use simple grow worm castings?

advertisement states they are 100% pure and a 25 pound bag runs $30. My first year with SFG coming up and I have never used castings before. I have about 144 sq ft so from what I've read one bag should do the trick. Just wondering if this is a good brand or is there something else you would suggest.

Best... Steve

Steven, It  is recommended that worm castings be limited to 10% of the total blended composts.  All manure-based compost limited to 20% of the blended composts.  The other 70% of the blended composts should be from other sources such as leaf mold, composted cotton burr, mushroom compost, veggie-based composts, greens and/or forest products, lobster compost, etc.

Here is a good post on Mel's Mix and its ingredients.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t7451-mel-s-mix-how-strong-is-your-backbone

Thank you for the clarification that worm castings should account for 10% of the total blended composts. That help out a lot! Most worm castings that I have seen are sold by the pound. My next question is: How many cubic feet is a 30 pound bag of worm castings? Can anyone shed some light on how to determine how many pounds of worm castings one might need per cubic foot?

Thanks!

Converting pounds to cubic feet depends on the product. I'm estimating 1 to 1 1/2 cu ft. If you are going to set your beds on the ground, the earthworms will come! So, buying castings is just a option when you start.

For 144 sq ft of Mel's Mix, you will need 72 cu ft of ingredients. One-third or 24 cu ft each, will be a variety of composts, coarse vermiculite (6 bags of 4 cu ft), and fluffed up peat moss (5 or 6 bales of 3 cu ft bales of compressed peat moss).

Wow! Thanks so much for the super fast reply! I am getting really excited for spring and making my first SFG's even though the temps here are still single digits! Brrrrrrr....

I use whatever brand TSC carries.....love it.

Sorry if my original post was not quite clear. I did not thoroughly read the chapter that called for multiple types of compost and so I built the raised bed last year with 1/3 course vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 composted cow manure. I now want to add additional materials to kind of get me to where I should have been. I probably want to add about 1 - 2 inches of new compost so between 5 - 10 cu. yards of material. I will add lobster compost, the earthworm castings and mushroom compost. Based on that, am I correct in thinking that the 25 lb bag of worm castings is about right? Nothing has been planted yet so want to start off on the right track. I thinking that 12 bags (12 cu. ft.) of lobster compost and 12 bags of mushroom compost (12 cu. ft) should be fairly close. Is there something I'm missing?

Thanks... Steve

Thank you all for your help - looking forward to getting started. One (probably not) last question. At the beginning of the year or if I try my luck at succession planting, does the replenishing of the mulch also require 3 or 4 types? If each of my plots is 4x3, how much of the mix is required? 

Best....  Steve

stevenfstein wrote:Thank you all for your help - looking forward to getting started. One (probably not) last question. At the beginning of the year or if I try my luck at succession planting, does the replenishing of the mulch also require 3 or 4 types? If each of my plots is 4x3, how much of the mix is required? 

Best....  Steve

You probably meant compost instead of mulch??

Since your beds are 3'x4', it will be fairly easy to eyeball the drop in height of the Mel's Mix.  Each inch drop = around 1 cubic foot.

The SFG Foundation has long included mushroom compost as one source of compost.  Just this week, the topic of mushroom compost was discussed behind the curtain.  The result of conversation is that it will be continued to be recommended as one source.  Most mushroom compost is made specially for the mushroom industry using mainly straw and a farm manure.  After growing a few batches of mushrooms, it is pasteurized and bagged for sale as mushroom compost.  Therefore it lacks active microbes when you buy it.  By blending it with other composts, it gets re-innoculated.  Also, as OG mentioned, compost tea can also be used to increase microbial levels.  But, that's another topic.

The more different sources of compost, the more the bases are covered.  What one is low in, another will be high in.  Of course, home made compost is usually the best because of the different products tossed into the compost pile.

I like this article on mushroom compost. [Ignore the parts about making it at home.]

https://www.epicgardening.com/mushroom-compost/?fbclid=IwAR0NjWbgJF1ENjfJsp0IpocE80Oy72h5L60RNTYXrWir9n86meh00r6d5kw