Hoping someone before me has solved this issue. In the past, I always filled my raised beds with Mel's Square Foot Garden mix of 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite. However, nobody around here sells the big 3 cubic foot bags of vermiculite anymore. The big box stores used to carry the stuff and it was not too expensive, about $18 per 3 cubic feet. I am not going to buy a small bag of the stuff for $$$ because it would just cost way too much for a raised bed, about $96 for 3 cubic foot equivalent. I know perlite can be substituted for vermiculite, they are similar, but not the same, and I know the difference. Unfortunately, perlite is no longer available in the big bags either. So what to do?
I called a local nursery and talked to the owner. He suggested, given the fact that we no longer can get bulk vermiculite or perlite, I should just use 1/2 compost, and 1/2 topsoil, and call it good.
I'm just a struggling gardener, and I don't know much about anything. Would anyone please advise me on what mix they use for raised beds today given that vermiculite and perlite are no longer available in bulk bags? Thanks is advance for any help.
I called a local nursery and talked to the owner. He suggested, given the fact that we no longer can get bulk vermiculite or perlite, I should just use 1/2 compost, and 1/2 topsoil, and call it good.
I'm just a struggling gardener, and I don't know much about anything. Would anyone please advise me on what mix they use for raised beds today given that vermiculite and perlite are no longer available in bulk bags? Thanks is advance for any help.