# Square foot gardening & Mel's Mix?



## YourOwnHomeStore

I will be starting a garden this year. Never done it before and I'm both excited and nervous. I don't have a yard, just a 50'x60' or so patio, so I will be using the Square foot gardening method. I've heard mixed reviews from a few friends (3-4 people) on the Mel's Mix (1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite and 1/3 Compost). Wondering if any of you have experience with it and have any feedback or suggestions for me?


----------



## Ur5hittingMe

I have started my plants like he does, just in vermiculite and it works great. I would say just make sure you use a good compost and fertilizier. (epsom salts, fish emulsion, etc)


----------



## SageAdvicefarmgirl

My advice is to drive around your neighborhood, see who has a garden, stop in and visit with them about what they grow, what grows best, etc. 

Most gardeners love to talk about their gardens, and most love to help new gardeners learn how. You might offer to help them out once a week, esp if they are OLD FOLKS. :flower: The wisdom you learn from helping them in their garden will be valuable, and earning their friendship will be PRICELESS!

BTW, we lived in Mira Mesa in 1991, had fruit trees, veg, etc. You should have no problem growing most anything, even on your patio!


----------



## goatlady

Mels' mix is a good starter soil, but is totally dependent on outside sources for nutrients as it has none at all in the mix. He recommends adding yearly all kinds of different nutrients like bone meal, and green sand, etc. In a survival situation where the heck will you get those ingredients. As suggested, check in your neighborhood. Especially figure out how you can produce your own compost to use yearly to feed your beds and thereby feed your plants. No fertilizer = no food production.


----------



## YourOwnHomeStore

Wow, thanks for all the tips. I do plan to get a composter. Should I be adding fertilizer in addition to that? What about increasing the ratio of the compost?


----------



## AlabamaGal

I completely agree with Sage -- talking to the old timers in your area can save you years and many dollars in experimentation.

The basic problem with square foot gardening and the other plant-500-things-in-3-inches fads are that they require lots and lots of inputs in the form of nutrients and water. The plants still need the same building blocks to produce food but have less root space to do it in. The water input problem you can solve with rainwater collection and frequent watering, but the nutrients have to come from somewhere, and even if you compost all your own scraps you are still flushing a lot down the toilet. Plus, when you buying your growing media, you are going to spend more on that than you get out in food value. Happily, there are free sources of soil building materials, so even if you choose to start with a pre-made mix (and a lot of people do), I would start collecting materials to compost for the coming years, or at least start keeping your eyes open and making mental notes. 

A 50x60 foot space is more than adequate to produce a LOT of food, *if* you can build up your soil and keep it there. I'd also plan for a drip irrigation system if you are going to be in raised beds or containers where the plants' roots will be confined to a small space, especially if you have a full time job or otherwise busy schedule. But start smaller than you think you want to so you don't get overwhelmed and frustrated.

I recommend Jeavon's "How to Grow More Vegetables" -- even though it isn't in containers, it deals with optimizing plant growth in small root spaces. Most of the copy-cat books over-promise and leave out the big picture. Also for perspective from the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Steve Solomon's "Gardening When it Counts." Solomon also has a very good book on composting available online for free. I think it's a better book by far than GWIC, but it is fairly technical in the soil science department.


----------



## goatlady

Compost IS fertilizer, the very best prime fertilizer if made with animal waste such as barn or chicken coop bedding. I've been gardening in raised beds for 20+ years. I use Mel's planting guides but fill my beds totally with homemade compost and add at least 2" to 3" of compost every year. Never have a problem with fertility of the soil and I get good returns consistently year after year as long as the weather cooperates! All my beds have "seepy" hose laid in them, all beds connected together. I can turn on 1 faucet and water twelve 4x8 beds at the same time and since the hose is buried in the compost there is little evaporation. Depending on the heat index once a week for about 30-45 minutes does a good job for me in the area I am in. If it's hotter longer I water twice a week. Got a few 55-gal. rain barrels set up for a gravity system which works fine also instead of the well water if necessary. It takes time to get used to the method, takes much time setting it up to work correctly, but for my purposes, well with the initial time and $$ for the ease of future gardening.


----------



## YourOwnHomeStore

Thanks everyone! Wow. You are all so very helpful! I've got a few people in mind here that I'm going to go ask for some advice. But good to know about the extra need for nutrients and water. And I love the idea of the "seepy" hose. Oh, and I'm not starting with the whole 50x60 space....I think I'd be much too overwhelmed. That is just the space of my entire patio. I've only planned one 4x8 bed and another 4x6. I will look into the books you recommended as well. Fabulous tips. So glad I asked. Thank you!


----------



## trkarl

I started using raised beds when first beginning my garden. The past year I decided to build my beds up on top of the soil with concrete blocks and mix a version of Mel's Mix. I use more compost than he does and amend heavily with Azomite, Green sand, Bone Meal and other organic fertilizers. 
As far as the Azomite and Green sand go they are extremely slow release so even if you couldn't get them for years they would still be breaking down in your soil. I stocked up a few years worth of Fish Emulsion, Azomite, Green sand, and other organic fertilizers.

The results from the beds with the Mel's Mix I made are definitely better than when I just mixed compost with my sand. Sand is all we have in SW Florida.

I got the concrete block idea from http://gardeningrevolution.com/index.html

Check out my blog for updated pics of my backyard garden. www.greenerground.blogspot.com


----------

