Results of pre-bagged Mel's Mix

southern gardener 10/26/2011, 11:13 pm

Was wondering how people are doing with the pre-bagged Mel's Mix? We did 11 beds using the "old" SFG recipe with sand; and did not use 5 TYPES of compost, and have fought it for years Mad

. We have re-done 1/2 of the beds with the pre-bagged mix. Expensive affraid

, but was tired of small plants that didn't produce much. So far, with the new mix, everything has sprouted, even the celery! cheers

Now, hoping they continue to grow and produce!! How have others done??

middlemamma 10/27/2011, 4:58 am

Well definitely keep us posted, inquiring minds will want to know. Smile

The pre-bagged MM hasn't been available too widely so there are not a lot of people who have tried it. Also the sources on the bagged mix have varied over the last few seasons, so long term info is not available. Let us know how it does!

ksbmom 10/27/2011, 12:19 pm

Hi Southern Gardener! Just read your post and I, too, am regretting not doing the MM right! We used 2 kinds of compost in ours and thought it would be OK, but although the seeds came up in record time and looked great the first two weeks, they have not grown at all since then, and now are turning yellow! Embarassed

On the advice of someone on these forums, I gave the garden a shot of liquid fertilizer as an emergency fix, and am headed to Home Depot today to buy some proper compost so I can mix it in when I replant. I'm going to replant some of the things that are not doing well and mix in some good stuff and see what happens. I'm in Central FL so our growing season is just getting underway for cool crops. Trying to be too frugal didn't pay off this time, for sure.

UnderTheBlackWalnut 10/27/2011, 12:57 pm

ksbmom -

Be SURE when you buy compost that you read the bag to see if it has added peat or is a %peat! You'd be surprised how much bagged "compost" contains a percentage of peat. You may want to read this thread if you have not yet, it tells everything about MM.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t7452-mel-s-mix-how-strong-is-your-backbone

Many have regretted not investigating bagged compost because much of it has peat already in it. It's best to try and obtain compost that does not have peat added. If you can't avoid it, you will have to try to adjust the added peat in your mix. My understanding is that peat is a necessary component, but does not offer up any nutrients to the plant, so too much peat in the mix won't nurture your plants as well. Smile

AZDYJ2K 10/27/2011, 2:51 pm

This is my 2nd year using the SFG method. I purchased the pre-mixed MM by Garden Time. I was not completely satisfied with my results but I think most of it was due to inexperience, hot weather and poor placement of the boxes (too much shade).

I am in the middle of an experiment using various types of Mel's Mix and will create a new post on this in the near future.

ksbmom 10/27/2011, 4:50 pm

Well, I managed to find compost that was all compost - no added peat or anything, but I went to two different big box stores and they only had the mushroom and cow manure, and one also had part cow manure part forestry compost, so I ended up with that. We initially only used horse manure and composted yard waste from the landfill - big mistake. I replanted what I could this afternoon, digging in the good compost - hopefully it will help. Next SFG will be strictly by the book! Rolling Eyes

By the way AZDYJ2K - I grew up in Scottsdale! I miss it terribly!

southern gardener 10/27/2011, 5:24 pm

ksbmom, am looking forward to seeing if your idea works! I have a feeling it's going to help you quite a bit. We had sand in our mixture, so we decided to start from scratch. Hope it works, because it get expensive doing this twice! Keep us posted!!

ksbmom 10/27/2011, 5:49 pm

I'll let you know what happens. We live in Florida, which is all sand, so we can't grow anything in the ground here. Doesn't matter how much stuff you add to it!

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Results of pre-bagged Mel's Mix

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