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Square Foot Gardening

what to fill lower half of deep bed with?

10 years ago

My dear sweet husband surprised me with several beds he made for me to start SF gardening. Since he hasnt read the book (I have) he wasnt aware that I only needed the beds to contain 6 inches of mels mix. He built them 12 inches deep. Any suggestions for what I can lay in the first 6 inches then toping it with 6 inches of mels mix. I thought I read in the book to use sand but couldn't find it when I searched. Sand is quite pricey, although maybe not as pricey as mels mix. Any suggestions? TIA

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Comments (3)

donnyl
10 years ago
Why not just fill it only 6 inches? I built my first beds last year out of 2x6 scrap boards and it was 2 boards high. I only filled it to the top of the first board. the extra height helped keep out debris as I mowed around them.
missingtheobvious
10 years ago
You can always add a bit more mix (or compost or whatever) each year.
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dapper
10 years ago
I would fill with compost.When I did my first square foot garden (first garden ever for me) I used mushroom compost only. Mel's mix for around 16 beds was very expensive. My garden did awesome. I have never used Mel's mix.

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