Mel's Mix vs. compost
Gertrude1
10 years ago
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lucillle
10 years agoVivVarble
10 years agoRelated Discussions
pre-bagged soil mix comparable to Mel's Mix for patio veg garden?
Comments (17)Anyone who follows the Container Gardening board here knows that much of the discussion about pine bark fines is regarding where to find the damn stuff. Obviously it is not easy to find for most people, and it is not available in most big box stores. The pine bark mulch sold in most big box stores is not fines. Most the discussion on the Container gardening forum stems from the fact that most people don't even know what they are looking for, even know what bark fines are despite all the info available about them on the web. And yes I know that the bags of pine mulch sold in the big box stores is not the same thing. Pine bark fines are not sold outside in the mulches section. They are sold inside the section devoted to starting seeds and growing plants. In the Lowe's here, just there yesterday, they are inside on the shelves next to the exotic plants section where the big containers, container plants, cactus mix, the violet mix, the perlite, vermiculite, decorative container gravel etc. is located. At Home Depot, in both of them here, they are just outside the door into the gardening section (not with the bags of mulches), the section on the shelves next to the super sized containers and the similar exotic soils and mixes. Dave Here is a link that might be useful: Pine bark fines pics compared to pine bark mulch...See MoreMel's Mix vs. 5:1:1
Comments (2)Mel's Mix is suggested for bottomless raised beds, like those used for square foot gardening. This is a much different growing situation than container gardening, which is a completely enclosed (except for drainage holes) environment. It does not provide the durability and aeration that the 5:1:1 mix does and that growing in containers requires. Personally, I don't think the Mel's Mix is even a very good soil for a raised bed but that's a whole different discussion :-))...See MoreHow much of each compost, and how to mix a LOT of Mel's Mix?
Comments (3)As suggested in Mel's second book, My wife and I used a large cheap plastic tarp (about 25x15) to mix the ingrediants. On a calm day (wind will blow the tarp around) we started with mixing the composts first by pouring a line of each compost down the middle of the tarp from 5 gallon buckets (6 buckets equal 4 cubic feet) then pulled the ends of the tarp back and forth a bunch of times until it was mixed. Then we added the 4 cubic feet of vermiculite and the 2 cubic feet of compressed peat moss (which we loosened up in buckets to get the 4 cubic feet uncompressed) and poured these onto the tarp and then pulled the ends of the tarp back and forth again until everthing was mixed. We dragged the tarp closer to the garden and then used the 5 gallon buckets as shovels and scooped it into the (empty) raised garden bed. Every inch or two we put down, we wetted it thoroughly. When the tarp was almost empty, We just lifted it up and slid the rest of the mix into the garden....See MoreMel's Mix: My Compost Variety, is it ok?
Comments (5)This is my first year with an SFG also. I have 4 boxes, 3 with the 5 compost mix and one with a 2 compost mix. I'm thinking that the plants will decide. Most grow pretty well in plain old dirt, so anything better than that is an improvement. I have strawberries in the 2 compost mix box, and while it is early they are doing just fine. I plan on adding corn in that box as soon as it is warm enough (western Colorado). I'm interested to see if there is a difference in how my plants grow in the boxes and compare how the compost mixes do. I don't think you have to worry. Sunshine and water are just as important as the soil mix....See MoreJoppaRich
10 years agolucillle
10 years agoyolos - 8a Ga. Brooks
10 years agonorthwest37
10 years agoLoneCowboy
10 years ago
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