SFG - Jacksonville, FL

Hi all, I had a good growing season in 2011 but due to work and other things my gardens have become overgrown and just not in good health. I'm choosing to restart from scratch with new beds and soil. Are there any SFG groups in the Jacksonville, FL area?? Is there a place to get premixed soil?? I felt that some of my failures came from choosing wrong ingredients for my soil... I'd really like to try this again, I had fun doing it...

Any help would be great

I am not from Florida but want to say hello anyway! The year before last my garden went by the wayside also. I think your best bet is to get your own compost going now. You can probably grow nearly all year so it is even more important that you have great compost since your plants will be using up the nutrients. Go to the left where it says latest topics. Go to the bottom and type in compost. You will learn more than you think you will ever need to know but at least become familiar with making your own compost. My suggestion would be to make twice as much as you think you will need.

The important thing to remember when mixing your Mel's mix is to get the ratios as close to exact as possible. 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 course vermiculite. Make sure the compost has at least five different ingredients. When you purchase the peat moss it is compressed. Loosen it up and make sure it is fluffy before measuring it. You may want to wear a mask at this point, especially if it is windy. The peat moss needs to be completely moistened before adding it to the other two ingredients because it has a hard time absorbing the moisture with the first use and you will have dry spots.

I will be remaking most of my beds in the Spring so I am in the process of trying to get my many piles of compost going.

My first thoughts are it may be time to re-read the All New Square Foot Garden book and please don't cut corners with your mix, be committed to finding and using at least 5 different types of compost.

camprn wrote:My first thoughts are it may be time to re-read the All New Square Foot Garden book and please don't cut corners with your mix, be committed to finding and using at least 5 different types of compost.

That's a great idea Camprn! I know with me I had the original sfg book and built my beds accordingly. I didn't know about the ansfg book before I made my beds. I recently pre-ordered the second edition which will be released in February. That will give me time to read. I think the biggest difference between the book I have and the ansfg book was how you make the Mel's Mix to put in your beds. I am sure there are other differences also, but making the Mel's mix correctly is so important because you use it for a lot of years.

Hi Peter,

If you haven't found any SFG'ers in the Jacksonville area, yet, contact Victoria Freeman vsfteach@bellsouth.net (as listed on the Teachers page at http://www.squarefootgardening.org/teachers-by-location)

There was a campaign to get Mel's Mix in Lowe's & Home Depot last year, but we don't have it in stock at either place here in Citrus County. Hope you have better luck!

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1212-mel-s-mix-at-lowes
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t13394-want-mel-s-mix-at-your-local-home-depot-the-foundation-needs-your-help-asap

HTH!

Hi! I'm here in the Jacksonville area! I haven't come across any pre-mixed bags, but if you need any suggestions on where to find the various ingredients, just let me know. ACE Hardware on Blanding near 103rd has the vermiculite, peat, and several different types of compost. They're a little bit pricy, but I also found better pricing at Standard Feed on Kings Street in downtown Jax. I hope this helps you some, but drop me a line if I can help more!

You can order 1.5 cu ft bags of Square Foot Garden Potting Soil Mix (model #NW 11760) online at Home Depot. There is free shipping with orders over $45.00.

Finding the right mix of compost is the big gray area for SFG. Cow, worm, and Mushroom and variations there of is all I could find. Some Cotten processing, but no fish of any kind. Is there anything else? I am from Jacksonville, Florida and would love to have discussions with fellow locals. This is my first year at it and have had pretty good success, but not all.

Veggie-based compost at Whole Foods on San Jose? Do either Home Depot or Lowe's carry Ecoscraps Compost?

Craig's List. I see what you mean about lots of manures and mushroom compost being available! Try "specialty" gardening stores such as: Indoor Growers Hydroponic Store.

Hopefully some Floridians will be able to help.