I am a newbie, where do you buy all these stuffs to make Mel's mix???

Hi,

I just started to read Mel's gardening book. I am a total newbie on gardening. Saw one  of the review on Mel's book recommending what to buy.


VERMICULITE 37.98
PEAT MOSS 19.95

COMPOST MADE UP OF THE FOLLOWING:

Organic Vegetable and Fruit Compost 11.98
Black Kow Composted Cow Manure: 9.94
Organic Mushroom Compost 11.98
Earthworm Castings (worm poop) 24.98
Organic Composted Chicken Manure 13.98


I found Vermiculite and Peat Moss at a local Home Depot store. However, they don't sell compost at all. Can anyone tell me where I can buy the 5 compost with a web address / brand / pictures? 

Or does Mel sell the ready-to-go ones that I can buy somewhere?


Thanks

Hi Mui, Welcome to the Forum from Fresno, California! Mel's Mix is not available as a pre-mixed product except in a couple of states, and CA is not one of them.

The composts for making Mel's Mix varies depending where one lives. Just do the best you can starting out and keep looking for other varieties. You will be adding more blended compost every time you plant. This year, I found Nature's Care Really Good Compost at Home Depot along with Gardener's composted chicken manure. I found Ecoscraps Compost and Ecoscraps Garden Soil (really a compost but has less veggies in it than than the Ecoscraps Compost) at Lowes. Mushroom compost is another compost available at various big box stores and local nurseries. Call around. Worm castings are expensive but you can limit them to 5-10% of the blended compost you will make.

Remember that compressed peat moss will almost double in volume when you fluff it up, so fluff before you measure it. Hopefully, you can find coarse vermiculite. Lowes and HD only carry the medium grade. I buy coarse vermiculite at an independent nursery. $40 / 3.5 cubic feet.

If you have any questions about buying a product you find, just ask us. We are here to help you get started.

This is a good thread about Mel's Mix. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t7451-mel-s-mix-how-strong-is-your-backbone.

Mui Mui -- welcome from Redding, CA. I found pre-mixed MM here at Home Depot 2 years ago, but then they stopped carrying it, so now I just use whatever I can find around the property (small farm -- all organic). That means I'm no help, but I can give you one tip in another area:

When seed packets say "6 hours of direct sunlight" they are NOT talking about California. Be sure you put your garden where it will get some relief from our brutal summers. One of my raised beds is in a redwood grove and the other is in a cluster of oak trees. I still need shade cloth.

Thread on store bought compost -

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t21089-recommended-store-bought-compost-photos-of-composts?highlight=compost