Vermiculite in Greater Seattle Area

SeattleAreaSQFT 3/29/2010, 10:25 am

Try McLendons Hardware (Sumner, Renton, Kent, Puyallup, White Center, Woodinville). I picked up 3.5 cu ft bag size for $27.00. Also, some feed stores can get it for you.

Lavender Debs 3/29/2010, 10:30 am

Thanks Seattle! How fun to see another rainy side gardener! Have you been doing this a while?

Deborah ....who thinks urban Seattle gardens are amazing

SeattleAreaSQFT 3/29/2010, 10:49 am

Hi Lavender Debs,
No, I got the book last fall and thought I would try it as didn't enjoy tilling, planting and caring for a big area garden. I built my boxes yesterday morning before the rain hit, then was scurrying around to find components for my mix. After reading the forum, it seemed like vermiculite would be an issue. I was happy to find it so readily available. I have no idea if the price is "right." I am struggling more with five different type/brands of compost. Some of the blends at the stores contain additives of dolomite and lime, and I'm not sure if I am supposed to use those? Any idea?

The wind came up yesterday while I was trying to lay down my weed block so I simply stapled my weed block to the frame of my box.

How long have you been doing SFG?

BTW, I live in S. King County.

boffer 3/29/2010, 10:55 am

Hi sasfg,
Welcome to the forum. It's raining cats and dogs here in Thurston county, might be coming your way!

I'm going to move this thread to the PNW regional forum, since there's only the three of us who know what we're talking about!

boffer 3/29/2010, 11:00 am

I've had good luck finding compost at McL Steer manure, chicken manure, mushroom compost, and something called 'compost'! I love their stores!

SeattleAreaSQFT 3/29/2010, 11:09 am

hey boffer, thx for pointing out the PNW forum. I'm new to this and didn't even realize there was a regional forum ~ that's great!

yup, I did check out the compost @ McL and will go back and get some, but I wondered about their blend that has dolomite lime added to it. Is that ok to use in Mel's mix? Or should I just stay away from that particular compost?

Lavender Debs 3/29/2010, 11:20 am

This is my first year too, but I've dabbled in gardens before so it isn't a whole new world. I love learning, so I am having a great time with this.

For my first box, which I started in late February, I was lucky enough to have an abundant supply of home-grown compost. I did not garden last year (new puppy) but kept adding to my compost bins. That worked out for me. Now for my 2nd box which I JUST got supplies for I don't have a lot of ripe compost so I went on the hunt. I am trying to live in Everett instead of just sleeping here. My son took me to Lowe's and I scored a bag of steer poo for 98 cents a bag. I also got a bag of their organic brand of compost for under $4.00 and 4 cubic feet of peat for $8.00. We went to Marysville for vermiculite ($26.00) and ended our trip at Sunnyside Nursery (between Marysville and Lake Stevens) where I paid “struggling in this economy” nursery prices for a compost that included bat guano, alfalfa meal, kelp meal and rock phosphate along with a few other goodies for @$8.00 and a bag of worm castings ($7.00?). I am going to mix those with a few shovel full’s of my green compost and see what happens.

I still need to get my box put together.

Deborah ....rooting for you!

Lavender Debs 3/29/2010, 11:25 am

SeattleAreaSQFT wrote:snip ...yup, I did check out the compost @ McL and will go back and get some, but I wondered about their blend that has dolomite lime added to it. Is that ok to use in Mel's mix? Or should I just stay away from that particular compost?

D Lime is added to balance PH. It should be fine for your veggies.

SeattleAreaSQFT 3/29/2010, 11:37 am

Well it will be fun to compare notes to see how we do in our first yr of SFG. I am getting a late start so will be struggling with peas/radishes :-( However, I may still put them in if I get my boxes filled this week. Well, i am out the door. Have a good day & thanks for the support!

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Vermiculite in Greater Seattle Area

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	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.