Comments on: Square Foot Gardening Soil–How to Create Mel’s Mix

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 15:48:42 +0000

Jackie–As long as there’s a bit of a slope, I don’t think the newspaper will be a problem. However, if the garden is in the lowest spot in the yard, you may have poor drainage.

By: Emily

Emily — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 14:42:03 +0000

Jacrav,

Compost is decomposed organic material. In the US, most compost is made of one main ingredient. So chicken compost is mainly composed of chicken manure mixed with tree bark. Because the bulk of the compost comes from one source, it provides limited nutrients to the plants. So I suggest combining as many types of compost as possible. They also sell good mixes that contain ingredients from several sources. These are ideal, but I still try to use a variety. I think of it as eating vegetables–broccoli is good for you, but if all you eat is broccoli you will not get the vitamins and minerals you need. A variety of vegetables is required.

By: JACRAV

JACRAV — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:38:53 +0000

Hello Emily
I intend to start a square foot garden but i am a little bit confused about the different composts necessary.
Here in France we call compost the stuff that comes from composting plants and TERREAU the different mixtures one finds in bags at special shops in which one finds compost and a lot of other different materials like see weeds horse manure worm manure etc! Now when different sorts of compost are recommended are the compost made out of different materials or do they correspond to what we call TERREAU or MIX for you,
I will appreciate your view of my problem in understanding of what I should do.
Thank you for your help
Jacrav

By: Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 16:36:37 +0000

Starting my first SFG in an area with a lot ot grass & weeds. I thought I might lay down some pages of newspaper before I put down the weed block fabric to deter the weeds. My husband thinks this may affect the water drainage. Is this a good idea or not? Thanks for your help.

By: Emily

Emily — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 20:23:26 +0000

Yes, but it’s not the biggest bang for your buck. Pumpkins take up to 8 squares for one plant–compare that to growing 2 large tomato plants, or 8 squares of green beans, etc. I like having a nice area where my pumpkins can sprawl, and use my SFG beds for more compact veggies.

By: Tess

Tess — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 23:08:03 +0000

Can I grow pumpkins in SFG?

By: Brooks

Brooks — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:57:04 +0000

Emily, thank you so much for all of this information! I’m starting my first SFG and was beginning to panic bc I had no idea what to do about the soil…I am headed out now to by the mixing ingredients and can’t wait! I am building just a 4x4x12″ bed, and have actually raised it up and set it on a wooden bottom, (as a renter and a digging-dog owner, I felt this was the best way to start,) but I wanted to ask how you felt about this type of bed…should I drill the bottom for drainage?

Thanks again!
Brooks
mynext25years.blogspot.com

By: Emily

Emily — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 20:11:47 +0000

Doug–Each plant has different watering needs, and Mel’s Mix doesn’t guarantee you’ll meet that need, but can’t drown a plant like you can with regular soil.

By: doug hicken

doug hicken — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 03:27:32 +0000

do you still believe you can’t overwater with mel’s mix?

By: Square Foot Garden! | Omnomnivore

Square Foot Garden! | Omnomnivore — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:22:00 +0000

[...] tri-mix soil from a landscaping company where a friend of mine works. I wasn’t able to follow Mel’s Mix exactly. I was completely unable to locate any vermiculite locally, and since it was already mid [...]