What Kind of Soil?

I wonder if Mel will approve... Mel has a great method for starting Square Foot gardens. I absolutely love his book All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! And I would love to follow his advice to the letter, but...

Today, another homeschooling mom and I were working in the garden. I rented a tiller to break up the soil, then we weeded.

I know that Mel says not to deal with the existing soil but instead to build up with boxes. But my landscaping is so nice! I don't want to see boxes sitting on top of the retaining wall. I just want to see the retaining wall and my vegetables! And because I live in a neighborhood with a covenant, I really don't have any other place in my yard for a vegetable garden.

The previous owner had a vegetable garden in the spot that we weeded today, and the soil is pretty good--well, at least it is not Georgia clay!

Here are pictures of the garden before we weeded today.

I had considered digging out all the dirt to a depth of 6 inches (I could feel my muscles ache before I even started!) and replacing it with Mel's Mix, but I'm finding that choice to be cost-prohibitive and improbable to accomplish.

Mel's Mix is Mel's suggested soil composition of 1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 blended compost. The peat moss and vermiculate make the soil airy, able to drain well, yet able to hold water. The compost provides the nutrients. 

I found peat moss pretty easily. I found at least two kinds of organic compost, and I'm working on making my own. But vermiculite has been difficult to locate. I did finally find some at Lowe's, and bought all they had. Their vermiculite comes in small 8 oz bags for just under $4 per bag.

Frankly, I don't think I have the money or even enough vermiculite to make enough Mel's Mix for the whole garden. So, I decided to weed and then add in Mel's Mix and another organic soil that contains Mel's ingredients.

The down side? I will likely have more weeding to do! And my soil may not be as good as it would be if I started fresh with just Mel's Mix.

Hmm... I guess all I can do is try gardening this way this year and see what happens. As my girlfriend in Minnesota says, "You are thinking too much --- you geek. You should just try it. That's half the fun."