Mel's Magic Mix

 

 Here's the mix I use for all of my veggies and ornamentals.

I got the recipe from Mel Bartholomew of the Square Foot

Gardening series. (There's a link on the main page of this blog.) The ingredients are vermiculite (I get it at the feed store), Black Cow manure, and peat moss. I mix them on a large sheet on the grass. Equal parts of each component make a good soil that holds moisture, yet drains well. 

(Figure that one out!)

 

This is how it looks before it's thoroughly mixed. You can see all the elements inside the pile. The vermiculite really adds aeration, so I don't recommend doing this on a windy day, as it will be visiting your neighbors' yards. Just mix by hand and lift the corners of the sheet to keep it all together. I shovel most of it into my container and then take up the sheet on the corners and dump it into the bin.

  

Voila! Here's the final mixture. 

I keep it in a rubber trash can

on my patio. That way, I have it whenever I get the itch to plant.

(When don't I get the itch?)

Rather than amending the entire bed, I just add some of this mix

whenever I plant anything. I figure, over time, it will end up

throughout all the beds as I fill them in with plant material or

seeds. I'm wondering if this bin will even last through the week.

I feel an itch comin' on!