On Monday, June 3, 2013 2:19:25 PM UTC-7, HeyBub wrote:
Just got a new book: "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew.

http://www.amazon.com/Square-Foot-Gardening-Second-Edition/dp/1591865484/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370223385&sr=8-1&keywords=square+foot+gardening



He dismisses conventional row gardening and promotes a different model. His

garden consists of, for example, a 4x6 foot 6" tall framed area with a

special mix of soil. Into this arrangement, he plants stuff within each

square foot (16 radishes or 1 lettuce). His garden is easier to tend, free

of weeds, and produces more vegetables than the standard model.



His "Mel's Mix" of soil consists of equal parts of three ingredients:

1/3 Vermiculite

1/3 Peat Moss

1/3 Manure/compost



He urges that the manure be made up of at least five different sources. That

way you get cow manure, mushroom compost, compost made from fast-food

scraps, etc., rather than just one source.



His book also give you recommended planting density (in parens below) by

categorizing plants based on their size.

Extra Large- (1) - Broccoli, cabbage, Pepper

Large (4) - Leaf lettuce, chard, Marigold

Medium (9) - Bush bean, Spinach, beet

Small - (16) - Carrot, radish, onion



That is, you can plant 16 radishes in one square foot.



By the way, he does not support this "throw in a lot of seeds, then thin"

business. For him, it's one seed = one plant.



Anyway, I got my 3x6 foot bed built and filled with Mel Mix soil. Tomorrow

I'll plant.



Watch this space for future updates.

I agree with him as to one seed one plant (if possible); I never liked the sow promicuously and thin.

Mel's Mix - does it include any just plain dirt? Not clear if Mel's Mix consists of modifiers added to soil -- or is that it?

HB