Search
Latest topics
» How do I source Mels Mix for 190 cu ft????by Merrymouse Today at 11:52 am
» Johnson Su composting Bioreactor instructions for home, not the farm.
by has55 Today at 10:57 am
» homemade vermicomposting/Worm Casting Compost Sifters
by has55 Today at 10:45 am
» Soaking Seeds for Better Germination
by Simso Today at 9:34 am
» Famous Gardening Quotes
by OhioGardener Today at 8:29 am
» The SFG Journey-Johnson Su Bioreactor for composting, No turning
by has55 Today at 12:09 am
» N&C Midwest: January & February 2023
by Scorpio Rising Yesterday at 9:13 pm
» Microgreens Gardening
by Windsor.Parker Yesterday at 4:23 pm
» seed starting Mel's way
by plantoid Yesterday at 7:09 am
» Home Made Compost
by plantoid Yesterday at 6:18 am
» Kiwi's SFG Adventure
by KiwiSFGnewbie Yesterday at 2:46 am
» Back In The Saddle I Suppose
by Scorpio Rising 1/26/2023, 8:03 pm
» Garlic Chives in SFG?
by quincy47 1/25/2023, 9:29 am
» New but Old
by lovey 1/25/2023, 1:49 am
» Dani's Brand New SFG For 2023
by danieggert 1/24/2023, 6:24 pm
» Seed Exchange - January 2023
by sanderson 1/24/2023, 4:43 am
» Chicken Poop compost
by OhioGardener 1/22/2023, 5:28 pm
» Holy snow Batman!
by OhioGardener 1/22/2023, 10:27 am
» IRRIG8R NEW TO SFG
by Irrig8The916 1/21/2023, 10:51 pm
» Mel's mix for flower planters
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 7:05 pm
» Can I Use This Compost As One Of My Five Different Ones?
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 6:53 pm
» Clamps /clips for covering frames
by Soose 1/21/2023, 6:43 pm
» What DON'T I want in my 5 different composts
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 4:34 am
» New User from Chicago area - question about compost
by sanderson 1/21/2023, 4:15 am
» How to Make a Garden Tower From a Barrel?
by Soose 1/20/2023, 1:08 pm
» Spring Sales Starting Already?
by Soose 1/19/2023, 10:16 pm
» Happy Birthday!!
by yolos 1/18/2023, 8:16 pm
» National Seed Swap Day - January 30th
by sanderson 1/16/2023, 2:48 pm
» Storage of bean seeds
by sanderson 1/16/2023, 2:41 pm
» January: What to plant in Northern California and Central Valley areas
by Yardslave 1/16/2023, 11:17 am
Google
Existing dirt & Mel's Mix?
4 posters
Existing dirt & Mel's Mix?
The landscape design guy filled my bed with garden topsoil. I pulled my soil samples yesterday to dry so I can test. Can I incorporate Mel's mix into this? I've been growing in containers the past 3 years and for the first time used worm castings last year and had gorgeous plants. I have already planned to mix this in to the existing dirt in the bed. As I'm not going to have a traditional SFG space wise (but still use the principles) I can't pull the dirt out. It's too large of a space.
michelledy72- Posts : 5
Join date : 2014-03-08
Location : Lake Wylie, SC Piedmont Region SC/NC
Re: Existing dirt & Mel's Mix?
Well, strictly speaking Mel's mix has no dirt in it. If you want to proceed with what you have, you can boost the soil with adding a bit of sphagnum peat and a variety of composts. This is what I do with my inground flower beds and it works pretty well.
When making Mel's mix the recipe as described in the All New Square Foot Gardening book, mix together by volume 1/3 sphagnum peat, 1/3 vermiculite or perlite and 1/3 compost blend made from 5 different types of compost (chicken litter, cow, horse, rabbit,lobster, homemade with lots of organic matter, etc.). Do not buy anything that says soil on the bag label. Do not skimp on the variety of composts if you want good results in your garden. I often find sources of compost in the farm and garden section of Craigslist or Freecycle.
When making Mel's mix the recipe as described in the All New Square Foot Gardening book, mix together by volume 1/3 sphagnum peat, 1/3 vermiculite or perlite and 1/3 compost blend made from 5 different types of compost (chicken litter, cow, horse, rabbit,lobster, homemade with lots of organic matter, etc.). Do not buy anything that says soil on the bag label. Do not skimp on the variety of composts if you want good results in your garden. I often find sources of compost in the farm and garden section of Craigslist or Freecycle.
43 years a gardener and going strong with SFG.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t3574-the-end-of-july-7-weeks-until-frost
There are certain pursuits which, if not wholly poetic and true, do at least suggest a nobler and finer relation to nature than we know. The keeping of bees, for instance. ~ Henry David Thoreau
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t1306-other-gardening-books
Re: Existing dirt & Mel's Mix?
Maybe you have a good opportunity here to start out small with your SFG. Could you divide a smaller, say four foot section, out and take the top 6 inches of soil out and replace it with Mel's mix? I had a four by four box one year but didn't have enough Mel's next to fill it, so I stuck a piece of wood down the center and was able to fill half of it with Mel's mix and the other half I filled with compost. As time went by, little by slow, the whole box became Mel's mix.
CC
CC
CapeCoddess- Posts : 6824
Join date : 2012-05-20
Age : 66
Location : elbow of the Cape, MA, Zone 6b/7a
Mel's Mix Conversion
It is expensive to convert all your beds to Mel's Mix. Therefore, I have done this very slowly. I did two boxes on 4" x 4" leg posts last year for strawberries and they look marvelous. I still used my sandy loam bed for tomatoes, peppers, etc. Last fall, I added another strawberry box with Mel's Mix. This spring, I added (3) 4' x 4' boxes, 12 inches deep for potatoes. I am adding another sandy loam bed as I type - 4' x 9' for tomatoes and peppers, since I need to rotate these. I still have one more 4' X 4' box to fill with Mel's Mix that I am going to plant determinate tomatoes (small, bush type plants) into see how it goes. I wish all my boxes were filled with Mel's Mix, but I'm having to slowly make my way there.
I don't think there should be any problem with you taking some of the dirt out of your box and replacing it with Mel's Mix. I came up short on Mel's Mix for one of my 4' x 4' x 12" boxes for potatoes, so I filled the bottom with a green garbage bag full of leaves that I had collected from last fall. They were wet inside the bag, as I was trying to create leaf mold. These leaves filled about 4 inches of the 12 inch depth of the box. I filled the rest of the box with Mel's Mix - on top of the leaves. And what to you know - this particular box is FLOURISHING with 16 potato plants; while the other two boxes barely have a few potato plants sticking leaves through the top of the soil. I have enough leaves left to try this in the 4' x 4' box I'm going to plant my determinate tomatoes in. I think as long as you get anywhere near the Mel's Mix formula, you'll be okay. And eventually, your box will be full of Mel's Mix and compost as you add each year. I've decided that a big thing about the Mel's Mix is that it's pourous, which plants like. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with gumbo or hauling in more sandy loam.
The easiest way for me has been to add the 4' x 4' boxes one or two at a time, due to cost. I couldn't even begin to imagine filling my 9' x 20' sandy loam bed with Mel's Mix as it is just too cost prohibitive. I just add LOTS of compost and chicken manure to the sandy loam and hand till it in. It's all about your nutrients in the soil. I was very pleased to see I have LOTS of earthworms in the sandy loam bed when I hand tilled it. I want the worms to like it:-) I need their help with aeration.
I don't think there should be any problem with you taking some of the dirt out of your box and replacing it with Mel's Mix. I came up short on Mel's Mix for one of my 4' x 4' x 12" boxes for potatoes, so I filled the bottom with a green garbage bag full of leaves that I had collected from last fall. They were wet inside the bag, as I was trying to create leaf mold. These leaves filled about 4 inches of the 12 inch depth of the box. I filled the rest of the box with Mel's Mix - on top of the leaves. And what to you know - this particular box is FLOURISHING with 16 potato plants; while the other two boxes barely have a few potato plants sticking leaves through the top of the soil. I have enough leaves left to try this in the 4' x 4' box I'm going to plant my determinate tomatoes in. I think as long as you get anywhere near the Mel's Mix formula, you'll be okay. And eventually, your box will be full of Mel's Mix and compost as you add each year. I've decided that a big thing about the Mel's Mix is that it's pourous, which plants like. Otherwise, I'd be stuck with gumbo or hauling in more sandy loam.
The easiest way for me has been to add the 4' x 4' boxes one or two at a time, due to cost. I couldn't even begin to imagine filling my 9' x 20' sandy loam bed with Mel's Mix as it is just too cost prohibitive. I just add LOTS of compost and chicken manure to the sandy loam and hand till it in. It's all about your nutrients in the soil. I was very pleased to see I have LOTS of earthworms in the sandy loam bed when I hand tilled it. I want the worms to like it:-) I need their help with aeration.
Rahab222- Posts : 95
Join date : 2013-03-28
Location : Houston TX

» If 6" of mels mix is going on 6" of existing soil consisting of 1/3 compost (50%loam), 1/3 peat, and 1/3 pumice will this be ok or create problems?
» Newbie with existing raised bed
» Existing beds, renting
» Combining Mel's Mix with existing soil
» Creating SFG on existing soil?
» Newbie with existing raised bed
» Existing beds, renting
» Combining Mel's Mix with existing soil
» Creating SFG on existing soil?
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|