Peat Moss and Compost

Concerning figuring amounts of peat moss ...

I can buy a 4 cubic foot bale of peat for about $18.00. This expands to about 7.25 cubic foot I am told.
SO ... in figuring making my own Mel's Mix, do I use the 7.25 calculation? (I need 6 yards of Mel's Mix so I want to do this correctly).

Additionally, is Purple Cow Organic Activated Compost a good product to begin with for the compost? I would like to be certified Organic when I get this going and in my understanding, Mel's Mix is NOT certified organic.

Thank you.

That's a good price for the sphagnum peat. I don't know about the purple cow product, have you looked on the company website?

What I do is guestimate what my ingredient needs will be and just use a painters bucket to measure everything, instead of wasting my time doing all the math.

It takes 3 years of chemical free and lots of hopping through hoops to get a farm "Certified" organic. Are you working with a certifying body?

I am not yet working with an organic governing body, but am weighing my options. The one recommended to me here in central Wis. is MOSA. I am told if the soil is certified organic and, of course, the seed, then I can sell certified organic year 1.

However, since I am new to SQ Gardening, I think I'll test the waters with our big garden this year and then take it from there.

In trying to get costs down ($20/bag for Mel's mix when needing 6 cubic yards is cost prohibitive), I have found the Peat Moss for $17.93/bale of 4 cubic foot compressed, Course Vermiculte (Sungrow brand) for $18.66/bag of 4 cubic feet, and a local gardener who makes compost every year for the past 29 years for $29.95/cubic yard (he loads it in your truck). His compost is a blend of leaves, grass, garden waste, and alfalfa hay. I will most likely add some composted cow manure to this ... I would think it should be a great blend to begin with...

As to Peat ... I just found this...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203463756?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=peat+moss&storeId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=203463756#specifications

This says it's 6.12 cubic feat dry volume (yet a rather small footprint as compressed so a bit confused on this?) for $14.95 and ships free if over a $45.00 order. Will Coco Peat work just as well as Peat Moss?

And this at Lowes: http://www.lowes.com/pd_322730-10799-1310503_4294707958__?productId=3319744&Ns=p_product_avg_rating|1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_avg_rating%7C1&facetInfo=

$9.97 for 3 cubic foot dry volume Peat Moss.

I'm confused now

Jhrusky,

Your price in WI for vermiculite is probably very good. Got mine here in GA for 18.99 4 cu ft. Other source for vermiculite over here was 29.99 4 cu ft, but saved as you see by shopping around a bit.

Hope that makes you feel better about cost!

Happy gardening!

WOW! Where did you find vermiculite for that inexpensive a price? What a deal!

jhrusky wrote:Will Coco Peat work just as well as Peat Moss?

No, but it a satisfactory alternative.

jazzycat wrote:WOW! Where did you find vermiculite for that inexpensive a price? What a deal!

A bit far from you jazzycat:

Swint's Feed and Garden Supply, Inc.
252 North Main Street
Jonesboro, GA 30236
770-478-7034

When I bought vermiculite from them it was 18.99 for 4 cu ft.
Found out about them through either yolos or bnoles. I can never remember which

Alas.

jazzycat - What you need is an old time feed and seed store to get a cheaper price around Ga. I went to Swints to buy transplants and just happened to mention to the old guy running the store that I was using a soil-less mix and it contained vermiculite. He said he carried that but I had not seen it in the store anywhere. It was in his storeroom. So call around see if you can't find an old country feed and seed store.

ah. Well there is a feed and seed store here, so I will call them and see what they have. I love the hydroponics people, but I have a feeling their prices are top dollar. I could be wrong though. I believe he said a large bag (4 cubic feet?) was around $35. He suggested I use perlite instead, because it's about half the price or something. It's also all the way on the other side of town. I would love to find something closer (and cheaper) for some of this stuff.

I went to Swint's today for the first time. I'm in love! Cheap vermiculite... cheap seeds... cotton compost... Thank you yolos and windmere. Fresh eggs too! I've actually never had fresh eggs. I guess I'm hijacking here, but I wanted to say thanks! This post helped me too!

Am so glad Swint's was able to help you! We all need to stick together and watch each other's back. Happy gardening.

PS... I was not looking for cotton compost or fresh eggs when I went... cool that they have those things! I need to make another trip to closely look at what all they have.

Just one word of caution: Since cotton is a non-food crop, it is commonly drenched with pesticide. Try to make sure that your cotton compost is organic to avoid pesticide contamination in your garden. I hope that doesn't ruin your world to find out, but better to know now than after you blend your soil mix.

Farmers Organic is the brand name .. from Newton, GA. Here is the description:

Farmers Organic High Cotton Compost consits of 100% Cotton residuals, every part of the cotton plant, the lent, stalks, bowles, leaves and seed meal. It has composted a minimum of 3 years to ensure it is chemical free and consistent.

Does that work?

Oh the price on the vermiculite was $24.99 now, but that was still cheaper than the $32.99 Pike's was charging.

Thanks!

The cotton compost sounds ok, I just wonder why they would even say that the composting period ensures it is chemical free. Was it not chemical free before the composting process began?

I'm hoping someone with more composting experience chimes in. I am new to all this too and I'm just relying on what I've read from various sources (including from this forum).

Glad you got a better deal at Swint's. Law of supply and demand must be factoring in because Pike's went up too.

Geesh. I ended up having to pay almost $40 for 4 cft of course vermiculite. NOWHERE else in town had it. I called the feed/seed store and several nurseries. I could've gotten two smaller bags at HD or Lowes but it would have been the same price. I ended up getting one vermiculite and one perlite (4cft each) to save money because the perlite was half the price for the same amount. I've already spent well over $250, just on the soil mix, and I don't have everything yet. The hydroponics store is the only place that has a lot of this stuff.

I sympathize with you Jazzy , that's why we suggest to all newcommers that they get cracking making their own balanced compost right from day one .

Better a year spent making your compost heap and getting it right than bankrupting yourself in a hurry .

Though in the book refeered to in my strap lines Mel does suggest using 100% of your balanced home made compost if the other ingredients are so difficult to source