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Square Foot Gardening

square foot gardening soil

12 years ago

I have a square foot garden, and I use Mel's mix of 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite. It settles or decomposes every year, so it is about 1/3 the amt I start with, by the time Aug. rolls around. I have to add so much every year, that it is getting costly, besides I don't know how to add to strawberries that are perennial. I almost have to dig them up in the spring, fill the box and replant.

Has anyone tried soil with compost added?

Cindy

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Comments (5)

sandshifter
12 years ago
Hi Nurseinob 5,
I asked a similiar question very recently"seasonal addition of compost".I received many helpful suggestions. I think I may add 'Soil Building Compost' by Miracle Gro. Supposedly it is supposed to be made up of 5 different composts. I may or may not also add some additional Mels Mix.
As to the strawberries: I have a raised bed of store bought compost only. (forget what brand). I found that it got very hard after the first couple of rains and I had to mix in a small amount of finer conpost with my fingers around the plants.. The original compost had an awful lot of forest products with a lot of twiggy material. Each spring I add some composted steer manure around the plants. (maybe about an inch). It seems to work quite well.
I think the rains cause it to procuce a compost tea kind of thing.
Other than the addition of the composted steer manure, I don't worry about adding anything to fill the shrinkage. Usually a strawberry bed is good for only 3 or 4 years then a person has to replant. So I just wait until then to bring the bed level up to manimum. You may be able to get more years out of your strawberry bed by removing the old plants and nutureing the off shoot plants. I am no way near an expert, but that seems to work for me. Ater a year or two you may be the expert to inform the rest of us. (So don't forget us) :-)
lgteacher
12 years ago
You don't really need to buy additional peat or vermiculite. Just supplement with compost. My strawberries have been growing undisturbed for 3 years, and they have spread.

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden blog
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Kendra, Here is a pic of when we started. Until we expand our larger bed to encompass the whole side yard area, for now I just bordered it with rubber landscape edging held in place by spikes. Setup is: everything has weed barrier under it. Native tree mulch outside of sf beds. Ladybug brand sf garden soil in raised beds, and since pic was taken, added hay/straw to help keep if from drying out. We also have a black soaker hose running under the straw that we turn on as the plants start drooping/looking a little sad. Here is a pic of our watermelon we just picked on the 4th of July. I took up growing right under a lemon basil plant, which smells incredible when you touch it. It shows the setup we ended up with for right now with the mulch and hay combo. This year is our first year to do a sf garden bed. We lost a squash, zuchini, and two corn plants, but I think the sf garden bed kits we bought are not tall/deep enough for those plants. Anyways, if any more questions, ask away. This is my first year doing sf gardening, so I'm all trial and error right now, so please share your pics/questions/suggestions/ect... I have some more pics of the garden to upload from the camera so I'll try and get them on here soon.
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snibb
12 years ago
Well, keep in mind that compost will continue to de"compose" over time. Thats why you end up a few inches short by the end of the season. If your making your own compost, there is really no need to go out and buy peat moss or vermiculite anymore. Its worked for me now for 11 or 12 years....just keep filling up those squares and you will be a happy gardener...
User
12 years ago
Regarding the strawberries, simply add compost at the end of the season over the plants. Trust me, they will find their way back to the surface... and they will be much stronger for it!
jolj
12 years ago
nurseinob, Mel like many garden writer format their books like for beginners & seasoned gardener alike.
Once you have good soil, compost each year & soil test once every 4-5 years will be fine.
I planted leaf collards in the Fall 2010 & picked off them year around. I then made a new raised bed & turned in compost for more collards. The old collards are still producing, better then the new & had nothing but water for the last 12 months. If they are still doing good when the apples bloom, I will add compost.
But As the compost break down, it lifts up the soil making it richer. I skipped the compost because of time, but the old collards did not notice or complain( yellow leaves, slow to put on new leaves when I picked them to the bud).
I have picked collards on the 3rd of July, in 100 degree sun, for cooking on 4th of July.

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