Anyone else do Square Foot Gardening?

[Agilityscots]

We're getting ready to build beds for our first vegetable/herb/flower garden, and I plan on using the mix the author of the SFG book recommends for soil (1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost). Anyone else ever used this? Success/no success? I can't use our soil as it's very heavy clay and would be beastly to dig up and then amend. Any other suggestions for bed material so I can plant in a month and a half?

Amy

 

[mirandamommy]

I have had great success with filling our raised beds with Miracle-Grow organic garden soil and worm castings. My DH built wooden frames with treated wood that are holding up well. I've had abundant yields for the past two years! Good luck!

 

[Agilityscots]

Quote:
Hi MM! Quick question: do you buy this soil at any nursery center? And does "organic" mean "no chemicals" or organic in the sense that it's all natural and comes from nature?

Amy

 

[PurpleChicken]

I just used the Miracle Grow organic mix to start a bunch of seeds. It's
working good. Not sure about the chemical composition. I bought it at
Home Depot.

 

[countryboy]

i used miracle grow and hay, manure compost, and in the late sumer i till in old hay again.
after the compost was mixed in after a few years, i didn't have to use miracle grow, just had to watch for burning.

 

[Meesh]

I tried it a couple years ago and had good luck. This year, I am building a greenhouse frame in the old garden - which is where the chickens will be - and covering the frame with bird netting to keep them out of the veggies. I am going SQ FT garden in it.

Clay is not necessarily the most evil soil, depending on your climate. We don't have lot of rain over the summer - it's very dry here in summer - so clay's water holding ability is a big plus for me. I amend heavily by tilling in, and usually build raised beds from the amended soil.

It will be interesting to see what the cost of Canadian peat is this year. I think gas prices are going to make it sooooo expensive. I only use it as part of the mix for plants that I keep in pots on the patio.

Cheers,
Michelle

 

[Agilityscots]

Thanks everyone! I just browsed the garden section at both Home Depot and Lowe's this morning after posting, and I think the Miracle Gro organic mix (which apparently really is organic) is going to be the way to go. I won't have to worry about mixing the SFG author's mix, which will be a pain. I think it's going to be expensive--2 cubic feet is $8--but once I get the beds in, it will be a good investment that should last a long time.

My seed order came today, so we're going to start seeds and do winter sowing today...spring has almost sprung!

Amy

 

[poppycat]

How may boxes are you going to fill?

I know you can get a truck full of "blended garden soil" dumped in your driveway if you are building anything sizeable.

It's WAY less expensive than all those bags. But if you're only doing one little box the bagged stuff would be the best.

 

[Agilityscots]

Quote:
Hi Poppy! I'm only doing 32 square feet total (either two 4x4 beds or one 4x8). I didn't know I could get this done...if it's cheaper than a bazillion bags of MG, I'll definitely do it. I'll give my garden center a call...

Amy

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Quote:
Hi Poppy! I'm only doing 32 square feet total (either two 4x4 beds or one 4x8). I didn't know I could get this done...if it's cheaper than a bazillion bags of MG, I'll definitely do it. I'll give my garden center a call...

Amy

That's what I do. It's wonderful! I was so tired of amending and amending every year. I was tilling and amending w/ the garden soil, but it wasn't enough. We'd till and it would look great, but the first rain it would be hard clay. We finally decided to raise all of our garden beds a few yrs ago b/c we wanted to make it level. Our garden is on a a slight slop. So we ordered a tandum of the garden soil and filled the raised beds w/ it. It's nice and rich! I love it! We have such a large area that this was the way to go. I've been doing the same thing every year w/ mulch, b/c it would take buying to many bags to cover anything at my house. It's less expensive for me and way more convient, but I also get a landscaping contractors discount....not much, but I'd do if even if I didn't.