Search
Latest topics
» N&C Midwest September 2023by OhioGardener Yesterday at 7:06 pm
» Closing beds for winter
by OhioGardener Yesterday at 7:03 pm
» Famous Gardening Quotes
by OhioGardener Yesterday at 12:51 pm
» Foodbank’s composting program creates food from food
by OhioGardener 9/22/2023, 8:29 am
» What Have You Picked From Your Garden Today
by OhioGardener 9/21/2023, 1:15 pm
» Turning existing garden beds into SFG
by jemm 9/20/2023, 7:35 am
» updating my mix - what should I add
by sanderson 9/18/2023, 5:04 am
» Senseless Banter...
by sanderson 9/16/2023, 11:37 pm
» Walking stick kale
by sanderson 9/16/2023, 12:27 am
» Lumber and measuring for SFG boxes
by sanderson 9/16/2023, 12:21 am
» Avatar issues
by Guinevere 9/14/2023, 7:53 pm
» Ohio Gardener's Greenhouse
by OhioGardener 9/14/2023, 5:27 pm
» Happy Birthday!!
by sanderson 9/11/2023, 4:40 pm
» When to harvest? / Watermelon seedlings
by sanderson 9/9/2023, 6:07 pm
» Hornets Nest
by sanderson 9/8/2023, 8:15 pm
» Tropical Storm Hilary
by jennyjo37 9/5/2023, 5:31 pm
» A square foot garden in a round bed.
by alicej 9/4/2023, 3:39 am
» Determinate Cherry Tomato for Greenhouse
by OhioGardener 9/2/2023, 6:52 pm
» N&C Midwest August 2023
by Scorpio Rising 8/31/2023, 9:01 am
» Hurricane
by Scorpio Rising 8/30/2023, 7:25 am
» No-Fail Zucchini Bread
by OhioGardener 8/28/2023, 11:11 am
» buying compost small town SW Pennsylvania
by sanderson 8/27/2023, 6:41 pm
» Phosphate
by sanderson 8/27/2023, 3:43 pm
» Topping brand new SFG box with more gorgeous compost???
by sanderson 8/27/2023, 3:36 pm
» 8 Great Vegetables for Fall Planting
by sanderson 8/27/2023, 2:58 pm
» What are you eating from your garden today?
by OhioGardener 8/26/2023, 7:19 pm
» Flowers to attract hummingbirds
by OhioGardener 8/26/2023, 6:59 pm
» Hoss Tools Seeds 50% off
by OhioGardener 8/26/2023, 6:25 pm
» Fall is For Garlic Planting
by OhioGardener 8/24/2023, 6:27 pm
» shop lights vs grow lights
by OhioGardener 8/24/2023, 10:16 am
Google
New User from Chicago area - question about compost
3 posters
Page 1 of 1
New User from Chicago area - question about compost
Hi there everyone, so excited to be here.
After the last three years of my garden being horrible, I found SFG. Bought the book and here I go.
Please help a 71 year old newbie with advice. 5 years ago, I built two 4 x 8, 12" deep raised garden beds. By raised, I mean there are 4 legs (each about 3' tall) on each of the 8' side to support the weight of the dirt so that I can garden and weed standing and not get on my knees.
The book says I need 32 CF each to fill those babies. That's a lot of dollars. I have good dirt in the beds from a landscape company. Can I just remove 6" of dirt and add 6" of Mel's Mix to the top to bring up to my 12" depth of the beds? Bottom 6" dirt, top 6" MM. Would that work? It would save me a lot of money.
Also, compost. I have read that I need a variety. I know that Black cow is good, but what other kind should I look for? Or not buy?
I already have 12 CF of coarse vermiculite and 9 CF of 'compressed' peat. I am told that the peat will 'fluff' out to the 12 CF I need.
I am in Zone 5 and it is in the 30's for the next few months so I cannot do anything now but get my things ready
Thank you so much in advance.
Dani from near Chicago
After the last three years of my garden being horrible, I found SFG. Bought the book and here I go.
Please help a 71 year old newbie with advice. 5 years ago, I built two 4 x 8, 12" deep raised garden beds. By raised, I mean there are 4 legs (each about 3' tall) on each of the 8' side to support the weight of the dirt so that I can garden and weed standing and not get on my knees.
The book says I need 32 CF each to fill those babies. That's a lot of dollars. I have good dirt in the beds from a landscape company. Can I just remove 6" of dirt and add 6" of Mel's Mix to the top to bring up to my 12" depth of the beds? Bottom 6" dirt, top 6" MM. Would that work? It would save me a lot of money.
Also, compost. I have read that I need a variety. I know that Black cow is good, but what other kind should I look for? Or not buy?
I already have 12 CF of coarse vermiculite and 9 CF of 'compressed' peat. I am told that the peat will 'fluff' out to the 12 CF I need.
I am in Zone 5 and it is in the 30's for the next few months so I cannot do anything now but get my things ready
Thank you so much in advance.
Dani from near Chicago
danieggert-
Posts : 54
Join date : 2023-01-19
Age : 72
Location : burr ridge illinois zone 5
sanderson likes this post
Re: New User from Chicago area - question about compost
danieggert wrote:The book says I need 32 CF each to fill those babies. That's a lot of dollars. I have good dirt in the beds from a landscape company. Can I just remove 6" of dirt and add 6" of Mel's Mix to the top to bring up to my 12" depth of the beds? Bottom 6" dirt, top 6" MM. Would that work? It would save me a lot of money.
Yes, you can remove the top 6" of soil and replace it with 6" of MM. All of my beds are 18" high, and I have the first 12" filled with various things, including top soil, and topped with 6" of MM. They are all thriving.
danieggert wrote:Also, compost. I have read that I need a variety. I know that Black cow is good, but what other kind should I look for? Or not buy?
I already have 12 CF of coarse vermiculite and 9 CF of 'compressed' peat. I am told that the peat will 'fluff' out to the 12 CF I need.
The one thing you must watch in bagged compost is how much of the content is peat or wood chips. You want as little of those things as possible, but if the compost has a lot of peat in it that amount must be subtracted from the other peat that you add. Some composts, such as mushroom compost, is largely made up of straw, sawdust, etc.
Composted manure is good, but limit the amount of it that is used, and if you use worm castings limit those to 10% of the total. Get as many different types of compost as you can reasonably afford from local sources.
"In short, the soil food web feeds everything you eat and helps keep your favorite planet from getting too hot. Be nice to it." ~ Diane Miessler, "Grow Your Soil"
sanderson likes this post
Re: New User from Chicago area - question about compost
danieggert wrote:The book says I need 32 CF each to fill those babies. That's a lot of dollars. I have good dirt in the beds from a landscape company. Can I just remove 6" of dirt and add 6" of Mel's Mix to the top to bring up to my 12" depth of the beds? Bottom 6" dirt, top 6" MM. Would that work? It would save me a lot of money.
Yes, you can remove some of the dirt and put the Mel's Mix on top. I would take the dirt down to 4" if possible. That would allow 6-7" of Mel's Mix plus head room for mulch.
If each bed is 4'x8', that is 32 sq ft. But you are only going to use a half cubic foot in each square, so that is 16 cu. ft. That is 5.3 cu ft each of vermiculite, fluffed peat moss and blended composts.
Welcome to the Forum from California!

Windsor.Parker likes this post

» Compost & Vermiculite for Chicago area
» Free compost near Chicago area?
» compost sources for central illinois
» New guy in Tampa area with newbie tomato question
» Philadelphia area compost
» Free compost near Chicago area?
» compost sources for central illinois
» New guy in Tampa area with newbie tomato question
» Philadelphia area compost
Page 1 of 1
Permissions in this forum:
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
|
|