Here is the dirt on the dirt! I basically tried to follow Mel’s famous mix. Although it was pretty hard to track down, I think I managed to make it work. He calls for 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 compost (from 5 different sources). He states that if you use this mix that there is no need for weeding and fertilizing! Well that sounds exciting and easy right! I hope so…………….
Since my bed is not a perfect 4 x 4, it’s 8 x 3 (more like 2 3/4) and 12 inches tall, we had a hard time figuring out exactly how much soil to buy or how much we would need. It doesn’t help that each bag of ingredients is measured in a completely different way. I found that after I did my initial estimation that I had to keep running back for more. Let’s just say that math is not my forte………but even then I managed to make it work.
Although I lost my very detailed note of exactly what I used, here is what stands out in my memory.
- Vermiculite–2 bags of 18 dry qt
- Spaghmum Peat Moss–1 Bag–3 cubic feet
- Organic Garden Soil–4 Bags–1.5 cubic feet each
- Compost–
- Long Island Compost–Compost Manure–1 Bag–1 cubic feet
- Long Island Premium Compost–(Grass, Leaves, Veggie, Fruit)–2 Bags–1 cubic feet each
- Dehydrated Cow Manure–1 Bag–1 cubic feet
- Scott’s Humus & Manure–4 Bags–1 cubic feet each
I know the mix didn’t call for Garden Soil but that’s where my paranoia kicked in and I thought….just to be safe….I would add some garden soil in to make sure all my bases were covered. Hopefully it will work!
I was also doing all of the mixing and preparation myself. I was using up my “lunch break” (when the kiddies are napping) to get my garden prepped. I wanted the soil to sit for at least 2 weeks before my initial planting. There was no way I was going to be able to mix all of the soil at once, it would have been way to heavy. Since I wasn’t sure if I had enough of each I decided to mix in batches so that I knew I was still getting a 1/3 of each item. Mel’s brilliant idea is to mix on some sort of tarp and once completely mixed transfer to the bed! It worked great!
After about 16 times I finally got enough to fill the bed! It was only after that I realized that because my bed was so tall I really didn’t need to add that much mix to the whole bed. According to Mel, you really only need 6 ” of good soil. After the sand and topsoil, I would say that I have about 10 inches of good soil! I could have saved a ton of money. Live and learn.
Check out My New 30’s Post on Dirt…..very resourceful!
Next time……..what to plant and where!