wanting to connect with Cincinnati gardeners

Welcome!

The peat moss at Menards is a smaller compressed bale (2.8 or something like that). I would go across the street to Home Depot and buy that. Menards does have cow manure in the gardening center for 1.38? per bag when I was there last week getting more lumbar.

I also purchased mushroom compost at HD for $4 a bag.

What other ingredients are you looking for?

madnicmom wrote:Welcome!

The peat moss at Menards is a smaller compressed bale (2.8 or something like that). I would go across the street to Home Depot and buy that. Menards does have cow manure in the gardening center for 1.38? per bag when I was there last week getting more lumbar.

I also purchased mushroom compost at HD for $4 a bag.

What other ingredients are you looking for?

Oh, that makes sense, thanks. I have a Lowes right down the street from me, I'll just grab the peat moss there. At this point I'm just looking for cheap compost! I

I think the zoo doo may actually be the cheapest compost b/c you buy it in bulk. I haven't bought the zoo doo, but I did buy a cubic yard of compost from there before, and it was only $30. On the facebook page we were talking about splitting some loads. I know some people said they count it as only 1 or 2 sources, but it is a blend of so many things, I don't know why it would count as more, just like home made compost does.

I just joined this forum and want to thank all of you here in the Cincinnati area for your helpful resources on the best places to get items for Mel' Mix. Although I have lived in Cincy before, (with a 2-year stay in Arizona & enjoying the SFG produce there), this will be the first time that I get to have a SFG in Cincinnati. Would any of you be willing to share your experience with the different types of wood that you chose for your garden boxes? I know that the best wood is "free", yet I am willing to put an investment if the wood will last longer. Has anyone had experience with PVC Boards? Thanks again! - Amber

Hello Amber and welcome to the forum.

I , personally, use pine but cedar wood will last the longest.

Hi Amber!

There are a few threads where members have discussed "Trex" material for beds (in response to the PVC part of your question). I'm in Illinois and I just used plain old pine as well. Some members use cedar, locust, etc. But if you type Trex into the search box in the upper left of the forum, you should get a few results where that material was discussed.

Hi Amber,

My boxes are one year old. They are made from the least expensive wood I could get from the big box stores (pine?). So far, they are holding up well.

Where in Mason are you? I am off of Dimmick (Irwin-Simpson) between Rt. 42 and Cincinnati-Dayton Rd. This means I am only a few miles from the Mason border. I think we have another Masonite on this forum. We have quite a few folks from in, and around, Cincinnati. Welcome!

Thank you everyone! I really look forward to learning from your experience in gardening in this area. I will check out these suggestions for wood/Trex (The guy at HD suggested Trex however, the pieces weren't deep enough for 6" so I need to find another place that sells Trex) and start planning the layout of my garden. Would anyone please let me know if the FB group has started? I am interested in going in on some Zoo Doo.

mijejo - I am near Socialville Foster and Mason-Montgomery, but I have a friend that lives pretty close to you.

Hello again everyone! I'm from Greenfield. I am smack dab right between Cincy and Columbus! I am chomping at the bit to get things in my SFG. I still need to switch my soil to Mel's Mix which I am planning on doing this year. I do have a question though...Is the Insulation Vermiculite at Menards by Sungro safe to use in my beds? I haven't found any vermiculite anywhere else reasonably close to me. I am willing to travel to Cincy for a great deal on it though! Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Amber,

I recommend just going with the standard lumber at your local Lowes/HD. This is my first year with this, but I'm of the mindset that I'd rather spend my up front costs on quality heirloom seeds, potting soil, Mels Mix components, etc. than lumber for the beds.

Eight foot lengths of 2x10 run around $7, so you can have a 4x4 for well under $20, not factoring in conduit, rebar, pvc, & plastic (though even with that, it should be not much more than $20-25 per box). I'm using 2x10 because they are actually 1.5x9.5 and I want eight inches of Mels Mix. I'm going with eight inches because it makes the math for calculating Mels Mix really easy (4sf of each component for a 4x4, 2x8, etc.) and I've heard people have had great success with my primary crop (tomatoes) in 8" as opposed to 6".

Once my beds are established and boxes start needing replacement, I will likely look into PVC, Trex, or Cedar/Redwood. This way, my Mels Mix is already established, I have my composting systems in place and only need to deal with the cost of the actual box and can more readily absorb the far more expensive materials.

ErinAdkins wrote:Hello again everyone! I'm from Greenfield. I am smack dab right between Cincy and Columbus! I am chomping at the bit to get things in my SFG. I still need to switch my soil to Mel's Mix which I am planning on doing this year. I do have a question though...Is the Insulation Vermiculite at Menards by Sungro safe to use in my beds? I haven't found any vermiculite anywhere else reasonably close to me. I am willing to travel to Cincy for a great deal on it though! Any help will be greatly appreciated.

The vermiculite from Menards is perfectly safe for your garden. This was discussed here recently and a manufacturer rep even stepped in and explained it. The only "issue" (if you want to call it that) is that the insulation is not graded by size. If you want true coarse vermiculite, you can pick it up for $25 for a 4sf bag at Dayton Hydroponics. They have a Dayton and a Cincinnati location, with the Dayton being around ten minutes closer for you. They also have 1.5sf bags of worm castings and sell all kinds of other neat stuff (bat guano, organic potting soil, netting for your lattice, etc.)

Thank you!

That's so weird how many WC gardeners are on here! I'm also in WC off Rt42 near Dimmick.

I *just* read the new SFG. I'm going to attempt my first one this year. My yard is perfect and terrible at the same time for this. My brother is building me a raised bed soI'll have one flat space to do this and thenI just have to get my act together to get this thing rolling. I started some seeds last week b/c I just built a grow light so I'm anxiously awaiting their little arrivals:D . Now I need to go hunt down Mel's Mix components. I've read a few threads about where to go. Looks like I'll be knocking on Marvin's doors like the rest of you too.

I'm happy to have found these forums and thrilled to see all the people from the 'nati area on here too.

I was telling my mom how many people on this forum were from around our area, thinking it was a fluke. Her theory is that most of the people in Cincinnati are people whose families moved up from Kentucky and have been gardening their whole lives (she grew up in a tiny town in Kentucky and lived off the land). Wondering, does her theory hold true to all of you on here?

lisaphoto wrote:I was telling my mom how many people on this forum were from around our area, thinking it was a fluke. Her theory is that most of the people in Cincinnati are people whose families moved up from Kentucky and have been gardening their whole lives (she grew up in a tiny town in Kentucky and lived off the land). Wondering, does her theory hold true to all of you on here?

Not at all here. Born in Florida, raised in New Hampshire, and bounced around a bit in the army for the first part of my adult life. I'm here because of a woman.

BTW - I picked up a load of Marvin's Compost on Sunday. (Boy, that Marvin is a real talker!) Now I have a big pile of compost in my backyard covered by a tarp. If the weather holds up, I'll be building my boxes this week! I just need to pickup the Peat, and I'll have all the ingredients for my MM.

Just wanted to say hi to all the new Cincinnati (or there abouts) gardeners. I live in Madeira and am starting my second year of SFG. I am learning from my mistakes and starting a new box this year with 5 different sources of compost. Last year I only had enough to get decent compost from a single source and my gardens suffered for it. I need to amend the older garden this year with some better compost and hope for the best

Red-Legs - Looks like were are going to have some excellent weather over the next few days so you should beable to get your gardens up and going

again, to all the new Cincinnati gardeners

LOL! Marvin and his son are both talkers!

Wow, really cool to see how many people so close to me are into this. I live just off of West Chester Rd at the bottom of the hill just West of Rt. 42 - I have now seen at least 5 people within 2 miles of me.

This is my first year of SFG - and it is nice to see a community.

I used to run a small landscaping company and because of this I own a trailer and some other equipment. I would be willing to facilitate a group purchase and even delivery of Mel's mix ingredients - I saw the deal on cubic yards of compost from Marvins - and I thought to myself - "self, you are making three 4x4 beds - what in the heck are you going to do with three cubic yards of Mel's mix?"

Seems to me that we could all save some cheese by going in together on a batch.

I do not mean to be the new guy jumping in and stirring things up, but this seemed like a neat idea.

to the forums mrk. There are what seem to be a lot of us from the Cincinnati and surrounding areas.

If there is interest in a shared purchase of zoo doo I would be interested in a small portion for my self. If you need anything let any of us know. Also if you are on face book there is a private group. I think that nancy can invite you to the group if your interested.

Can't wait to hear about your plans for the year and how it works out for you.

~John

I just bought the compost from Marvin's and was disappointed. It isn't just zoo doo. They have a 20 year old compost pile that they bury every thing in. The compost I got was dry, with clumps as hard as rocks, plus some actual rocks. It didn't seem very fertile.

Thanks for the warm welcome. I built my boxes and grids a few days back. Still finalizing what and how much of each I want to plant. Mels mix is my next step.

Started late last year with some bag gardens and some herbs in pots - excited to move to this next step.

So are we considering marvins stuff as one source or a couple?

Oops justc read lisaphotos post above. Maybe they are not such a good choice?

I was going to count Marvin's as all my sources b/c it is a blended compost. It has vegetation, multiple animal waste, food waste, Christmas trees, you name it. I'm sure it will probably be fine after it gets wet, I think I should have wet it before trying to blend it. They have a giant compost pile, then they sift it, and put it under a shelter so it no longer get any moisture. So I am hoping anything clumped together will soften up now that it has been rained on. I added a few bags of mushroom compost to be safe, and the garden is not totally filled yet, so I may add another source, maybe composted cow manure.

Thanks all for sharing your compost sources in SW Ohio. Brand new to gardening and the SF concept is too interesting not to try. My box is empty and I'm on the compost hunt. I've not seen anyone mention it but I found Re-Vita Compost (poultry/kelp/humate) for sale in Beavercreek at Deals Landscaping.

That plus my cow & mushroom I still need 2 more. Sounds like the Zoo Doo from Marvins will round me out.

Lisa - thanks for sharing your experience with it.

I know this thread is a year old. Not sure how I saw it but was pleased to see my friend Kathy started it. Hi Kathy lol.... I'm also from the area (Monroe) and went to Couch's in New Miami yesterday. I think we got really good prices on the vermiculite (course) and I was able to find 2 different kinds of compost. I'm just now starting SFG and will be filling my beds next week.

I was wondering if that FB page ever got started?