SFG materials in Davis County Utah.

I'm wondering if it is ok to start a thread about where we have found SFG supplies and how much they cost, etc. I think most of us are pretty busy. If we could find out where to get the best prices without having to go or even call every single store it could be a help.

Maybe even opinions about local nurseries, etc?

Anyone interested?

Thanks,

great idea.
I'm new to this whole process, so I'm starting from scratch.
I bought 2x8 inch boards that were 16ft long at Home Depot (West Jordan) to start my boxes out. The Douglas Fir planks were about $10 each, so in doing about 6 4x4 boxes, it added up quickly. I'll run out of my second box of deck screws today as well, and they were about $7 a box (priced by the pound NOT the amount) at Home Depot as well.

Looking to buy the Mel's Mix ingredients soon if anyone knows a good nursery to buy it all from- I don't want to give Home Depot EXCLUSIVE credit for this project.

OH! I also browsed through the local All-A-Dollar and right now they have a BUNCH of seed packets (veg and flower), 4 for a dollar. (is that bad to buy your seeds from the dollar store?) They also have those little gardening trowel/shovel things for a dollar each... and gardening gloves, if I'm not mistaken...

Good idea, JB, thanks. That is the intent of the regional forums, for locals to share info about local stuff like vendors, dealing with unusual weather, pests, etc.

Of particular interest would be sources of vermiculite. If you find any, please post so that everybody can benefit. Where to buy it is one of the most frequently asked questions. It would be worthy of it's own thread with a title like:

Vermiculite available in city, state

Thanks again

Compost
The Central Davis Sewer District sells compost for $10.00 per pickup load. That is $10 for around 30 cubic feet of compost. Most compost that I have found that is from multiple sources runs about $10 for 2 cubic feet. The sewer compost is made from treated sludge from the plant and chipped wood pallets and Christmas trees, etc. The sludge and the compost are monitored and tested very strictly. I used it in two 4' x 8' boxes last year and I had 5' tall tomato plants and pole beans that grew to over 7', among other things. The issue that I have with it is that it has a little too many large wood chips. Not much, but a little.

You can also get a good blended compost called 'Bumper Crop' at J & L Garden Center in Bountiful for $9.90 or so per 2 cf bag.

For around $1.25 per 1 cf bag you can get composted steer manure and turkey manure at Lowes and Walmart.

I'm thinking that I will mix some from several sources, Sewer Dist., Bumper Crop, steer manure and whatever else I can find. I may try to make a sifter for the Sewer District stuff.

Vermiculite
Last year I found course vermiculite at Lowes in Layton, J&J Garden Center in Layton and Stokers Nursery in Syracuse for $24.99 per 4 cf bag. J & L in Bountiful has it for $30 per 4 cf bag.

I'm not sure about Lowes for this year, but J & J still has it for the same price. Stokers still has it too, but they have been closed every time I have gone by this spring. Not sure if that is because I'm too early in the season, or due to the sad fact that the owner is fighting cancer right now. Try out Stokers. They are a small family run place, and nice people.

Peat Moss

The cheapest Peat Moss I have found is at Lowes in Bountiful. They have 2 cf bales for $7.90 and the 4 cf bales are around $15. Slightly cheaper than Walmart in Centerville and Syracuse which sell it for a little more than $8 per 2cf and about $17 per 4 cf bale.


Square Foot Gardening Foundation
Their offices are in Ogden near the municipal airport. They are in a warehouse near the bottling plant, Coke, I think. They are on the west side of the road, back off of the road in the rear of the building. You might miss it. I drove up and down the road about 4 times last spring, trying to find their open house.

Anyway, they have Mel's Mix all ready to use in 2 cf bags. I'm sure it's good. They are $17.99 per bag. If you buy multiple bags you can get various discounts. You have to pick it up. If you are doing several of boxes it might be worth it to get some from them. 40 bags or more are sold at 15% off. That works out to be $7.65 per cubic foot of the final mix. If I mix my own, depending on where I buy stuff, I figure I can make it for from $5 per cf to $5.50 cf. I have to go through the trouble of finding ingredients and mixing it up. May be worth the effort and time to just buy it from them.

Anyhow, sorry for the overly long post! I hope this has been useful!
Happy gardening! Please let me know what you have found.

The other night I tried driving around to a few nurseries in Salt Lake to see how much the supplies were, but they were all closed (closing times ranging from 4pm to 6pm). So instead I went online to google maps to find the nurseries in my area, then I went to their websites to get e-mail addresses. I found three nurseries near me with e-mails and I sent them all an e-mail explaining that I was building some square foot gardens and I needed pricing on compost, vermiculite and peat moss. Two of the three sent me replies with prices. It was actually some of the easiest price shopping I've ever done.

Great Idea jbarrus!! I've just been trying to get stuff together for my boxes and learning a lot through the forums here in the process. Thanks for posting what prices you've found for Mel's mix ingredients. This will be helpful. I'll keep ya posted if I find anything else note worthy during my shopping trips.

I just started building and filling boxes last summer and ended up getting the peat moss from Lowes in Bountiful, vermiculite at IFA in Salt Lake and Bumper Crop from J & L in Bountiful. The prices are up a little this year. Lowes still seems good for peat moss $12.50/3.8 cu ft). I think IFA is still the best I've found for vermiculite ($25.00/4cu ft). I'll probably get any additional Bumper Crop from IFA this year ($9.00/2 cu ft). J & L upped their price from $8.05/bag (if you buy 5 bags) to $9.00/bag (if you buy 5 bags).

Cal-Ranch in West Jordan had 3.8 cu ft peat moss for $9.99 yesterday. I haven't checked if the Cal-Ranch up near the fair grounds in Southern Weber County has it for the same price or not, might be worth checking...?

Just checked... the 3.8 cu ft peat moss for $9.99 is an advertisement special that ends TODAY... Go get your peat moss!!!

First of all you should know that I work at the Home Depot in Centerville.
We have vermiculite but it is medium - not coarse - 2 cu ft bags for 19.97 and a few 3.5 cu ft on clearance for $13. We also have compressed peat moss bales - 3 cu ft for 11.27. We have NurtiMulch (turkey compost), soil pep, and a steer manure blend compost. I would avoid the EKO brand products which are made from biosolids and anything from a sewer district. Not just because it is composted human waste but also because people flush all kinds of things and I don't want that in my garden.

New to Layton and to SFG. Hope to have my boxes done next week. Bought vermiculite at J&Js in Layton. Working on the compost mix and would appreciate any comments on how to get a good mix. Looking at the following:

J&J Compost (mushroom they said on the phone)
EKO (Chicken manure, wood by-products, peat moss, pumice)
Turkey manure from Home Depot
?
?

Any ideas on what else to get or not get?

When do you plant your spring crop seeds? I was going to try planing lettuce, snap peas, and some other cool crops the first week of April.

Check the label on the EKO compost. As far as I know all their products contain biosolids - in other words, from a water treatment plant. I would not use that in my garden.

NutriMulch (turkey mulch) is a good one. I like to get some animal manure based and some plant based composts. Dr. Earth planting mix is one I have not tried but plant to get. Ingredients:
Planting Mix contains:
screened forest humus, Fir bark fines, Canadian spagnum peat moss, worm
castings, Chicken manure, bat guano, kelp meal and seaweed extract. The
pH is adjusted to 6.5, ideal for most garden soils. highly versatile
product that may be used effectively as a planting mix, amendment, or
mulch. Ideal for direct garden planting, Garden soil amendment. Well suited for larger outdoor projects such as raised beds. This Planting Mix contains the same combination of selected strains of beneficial microbes with endo and ecto micorrhizae proven so effective in Dr. Earth Organic Fertilizers.

You should be able to plant your cool season crops sooner than that. When I lived in Kaysville I considered May 5 to be the last average frost date. A couple websites I find helpful http://www.almanac.com/gardening/planting-dates/UT/Layton
http://extension.usu.edu/davis/htm/horticulture/vegetable-planting-times/

This is my second year gardening, first year doing SFG. I just bought all my stuff this last Friday and Saturday. I spent quite a bit of time calling around places in Davis County, and even some places in Salt Lake City. Here's what I ended up getting and where. Most cases this was the cheapest place I found it, but in some cases, it was the most convenient. Usually not more than a dollar or so difference, though. The quantities I give is a PER BAG quantity. Not the total amount I purchased. :-) I purchased a bunch because I needed 12 cu. ft. of each kind, 36 total.

Vermiculite:
4 cu. ft., $24.98 at J&J in Layton

Peat Moss:
3.8 cu. ft. compressed bale, $13.98 at J&J in Layton
2.2 cu. ft. compressed bale, $9.98 at J&J in Layton

Compost:
1 cu. ft. Steer Manure, $1.27 at Home Depot in Layton
2 cu. ft. Nutramulch, $5.49 at J&J in Layton
.9 cu. ft. Oakdell Organic Compost, $13.98 at J&J in Layton
2 cu. ft. Bumper Crop Garden Compost, $9.98 at J&L in Bountiful
.5 cu. ft. (16 quarts) Black Gold Earthworm Castings, $7.98 at J&L in Bountiful.

In addition, for my box material, I priced it out, and it seemed like 2x6 untreated redwood from Home Depot in Layton was about the best priced material. You can get 8' lengths for $8.29. This was about a dollar more (if I recall correctly) than the 1x6 pine boards. For the beefier width and the better longevity of redwood, I think it's a no-brainer.

I bought 4' lath from Home Depot in Layton to use for my square foot markings. They are $.55 each, or a bundle of 50 for $12.97. The math works out such that if you need more than 23, buy the bundle.

1/2" Electrical PVC (the gray stuff, it's supposed to be better in sunlight than the white stuff) is cheaper at Lowes than Home Depot, in Layton anyway. 10' of the stuff is only $.80. I bought 4 to make a cover for my 4x6 bed.

Anyway, that's the main stuff. I was lucky and the facilities maintenance guy at my office gave me some 1" steel electrical conduit for my tomato trellis. He even bent the ends for me. All I had to buy was the netting, which I found locally at J&L in Bountiful. They have two sizes, 5'x15' for $7.98 and (if I remember correctly) 5'x30' for around $12-$13.

It's turning out to be quite an expensive endeavor, but I'm looking at it like an investment. I can't wait to plant some stuff this week under my cover. I have to finish building everything first, though!

Steve in Layton

We have compost available to us for REALLY cheap. It is all the lawn and leaf bags from the side of the road that are taken and composted. In spite of the wood chips that you had in it, would you do it that way again? Did you add the peat moss and vermiculite too?
Thanks! Anxious to read your reply!
Elizabeth in Romeo, Michigan

jbarrus wrote:Compost
The Central Davis Sewer District sells compost for $10.00 per pickup load. That is $10 for around 30 cubic feet of compost. Most compost that I have found that is from multiple sources runs about $10 for 2 cubic feet. The sewer compost is made from treated sludge from the plant and chipped wood pallets and Christmas trees, etc. The sludge and the compost are monitored and tested very strictly. I used it in two 4' x 8' boxes last year and I had 5' tall tomato plants and pole beans that grew to over 7', among other things. The issue that I have with it is that it has a little too many large wood chips. Not much, but a little.

You can also get a good blended compost called 'Bumper Crop' at J & L Garden Center in Bountiful for $9.90 or so per 2 cf bag.

For around $1.25 per 1 cf bag you can get composted steer manure and turkey manure at Lowes and Walmart.

I'm thinking that I will mix some from several sources, Sewer Dist., Bumper Crop, steer manure and whatever else I can find. I may try to make a sifter for the Sewer District stuff.

Vermiculite
Last year I found course vermiculite at Lowes in Layton, J&J Garden Center in Layton and Stokers Nursery in Syracuse for $24.99 per 4 cf bag. J & L in Bountiful has it for $30 per 4 cf bag.

I'm not sure about Lowes for this year, but J & J still has it for the same price. Stokers still has it too, but they have been closed every time I have gone by this spring. Not sure if that is because I'm too early in the season, or due to the sad fact that the owner is fighting cancer right now. Try out Stokers. They are a small family run place, and nice people.

Peat Moss

The cheapest Peat Moss I have found is at Lowes in Bountiful. They have 2 cf bales for $7.90 and the 4 cf bales are around $15. Slightly cheaper than Walmart in Centerville and Syracuse which sell it for a little more than $8 per 2cf and about $17 per 4 cf bale.


Square Foot Gardening Foundation
Their offices are in Ogden near the municipal airport. They are in a warehouse near the bottling plant, Coke, I think. They are on the west side of the road, back off of the road in the rear of the building. You might miss it. I drove up and down the road about 4 times last spring, trying to find their open house.

Anyway, they have Mel's Mix all ready to use in 2 cf bags. I'm sure it's good. They are $17.99 per bag. If you buy multiple bags you can get various discounts. You have to pick it up. If you are doing several of boxes it might be worth it to get some from them. 40 bags or more are sold at 15% off. That works out to be $7.65 per cubic foot of the final mix. If I mix my own, depending on where I buy stuff, I figure I can make it for from $5 per cf to $5.50 cf. I have to go through the trouble of finding ingredients and mixing it up. May be worth the effort and time to just buy it from them.

Anyhow, sorry for the overly long post! I hope this has been useful!
Happy gardening! Please let me know what you have found.

I was satisfied with my gardens last year, except for tomatoes and peppers. I had some small problems with blossom end rot. This is due to a lack of calcium in the soil. Because of this I am going to make the mix in my new boxes with several different kinds of compost. I will still use the sewer district compost as part, but I will add in some composted steer manure, etc. I am also going to mix in some granulated limestone, (I think) that is used to increase calcium in the soil, just to make sure I don't get the blossom end rot again. I did use peat moss and vermiculite, and I will again. It lightens the soil, making it easier for the seeds to sprout and the roots to grow freely, and it helps your soil hold on to moisture for longer.

emmiller71 wrote:We have compost available to us for REALLY cheap. It is all the lawn and leaf bags from the side of the road that are taken and composted. In spite of the wood chips that you had in it, would you do it that way again? Did you add the peat moss and vermiculite too?
Thanks! Anxious to read your reply!
Elizabeth in Romeo, Michigan

I think that your leaf and grass compost will be good, but may not well blended like Mel suggests. You may want to add in some composted steer manure, turkey manure, etc. Mel suggests 5 different sources. Unless they add in something else when they compost it, it may be lacking. It would definitely be high in nitrogen from the grass. The leaves have tons of nutrients though, so it may do very well. If you decide to use it without any other compost, let me know how it turns out. I would be interested to know. It's so dry out here that we don't have anywhere near the leaves to dispose of as you do back in Michigan.

Good luck!

Thanks to everyone for all of the replies!

p.s. I found a link that might be interesting about composting leaves and grass. Composting Leaves and Grass

Using several different types of compost is important. So is regular watering for controlling blossom end rot.
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/horticulture/blossom-rot.html

I was watching Studio 5 on KSL this morning, ENGH Gardens had a big spill all about square gardening. I love the idea of buying the orgainic Square foot gardening soil all made and ready. That was the biggest part of putting my square food garden together last spring. They said the price was about $10 a bag and took 2 to 3 bags to do 1 box. What a great way to go!!

bahn wrote:I was watching Studio 5 on KSL this morning, ENGH Gardens had a big spill all about square gardening. I love the idea of buying the orgainic Square foot gardening soil all made and ready. That was the biggest part of putting my square food garden together last spring. They said the price was about $10 a bag and took 2 to 3 bags to do 1 box. What a great way to go!!

That's interesting. I was at ENGH gardens a couple of weeks ago asking about vermiculite, but they only had small bags of it. So I'm surprised that they have an SFG mix.

I've been going to Glover nursery in West Jordan for a lot of supplies. They've been really helpful with customer service, but I don't remember their prices.