Urban Gardening Soil Mix

[oni_anne]

So I’m trying to make a garden in our back yard. I decided to create a raised bed because the soil here is rather dense and clay like. Also, I don’t want to grow veggies from ground that’s been soaked in runoff from my street.

Ingredients
After reading a few articles, I found this soil mix. This Mix creates a 24 cubic foot and the ingredients are as follows:

• Two 4-cubic foot bags of coarse vermiculite.
• One 3.9 cubic foot bale of peat moss (this bale is compressed and will expand to nearly 8 cubic feet when opened).
• 4-5 bags of a variety of compost (aka use different types and brands) to equal 8 cubic feet.

What is this stuff?

• Vermiculite is a natural mineral that expands with the application of heat. The expansion process is called exfoliation and it is routinely accomplished in purpose-designed commercial furnaces. Vermiculite is formed by hydration of certain basaltic minerals.
• Peat Moss is the partially decomposed remains of various mosses. This is a good, water retentive addition to the soil, but tends to add the acidity of the soil pH.
• Compost is the end result of controlled aerobic decomposition of organic matter known as composting.

Preparations:

• Wear a mask. Vermiculite is very dusty and can get into your lungs
• Mix out doors on a large tarp on a day that is not windy. Vermiculite is light and can be easily blown around.

To Mix the soil:

1. Open and mix the various bags of compost together
2. Add the compressed peat moss and break up any lumps. This is easiest to do by hand.
3. Add the vermiculite and you can then carefully mix the 3 ingredients with a rake or hoe being careful not to cut the plastic or tarp underneath. Turn the rake over to its flat side if you want to be extra careful.
4. 2 People Mix Method - 1 on each corner of the tarp - pulling the ends of the tarp towards the pile. The ingredients will turn and roll as you do so. Then move to the other two sides and pull the tarp the other way.
5. You keep working your way around the pile and if the tarp is big enough to start with, the pile should mix very quickly.

Why the Mix?

• The vermiculite holds moisture and because of its size, creates air pockets which keep the plant roots supplied with water and oxygen.
• The peat moss also holds moisture and helps keep the mix loose and friable.
• The rich blend of compost supplies a variety of nutrients for healthy plant growth.
• Compost that is made up of several different ingredients so the needed nutrients are present.