Compost is ph neutral, and has significant buffer properties. The peat moss is used in some cases to help acid loving plants, its not so acid as to hurt the others; Your mix looks good.

In the future try to rotate or mix compost sources if you can, to increase variety and thus trace nutrients. Even then do what's most convenient. Mixing wources is a desireable extra not a necessity. You might not ever notice a difference one way or the other.

I start my beds with almost pure compost from whatever I have on hand, with some sand mixed in as a hazard of life around here (sand hill). At first, I was using mostly mushroom compost (which is a strange blend of stuff). Now that I have rabbits and poultry, I'm topping beds off with compost of my own manufacture and a little mushroom compost as needed. No other fertilizer is necessary.

When I made my first bed, I used the same ingredients you list, except my compost component was half composted cow manure and half composed leaves/grass. I was happy with the results!

-Riff.

I'm in North Alabama!!! I did it last year but didn't do that great... I'm going to try again. Working much harder on my soil and actually read the book :-)I did have tomatoes, jalapeno's, some cucumbers... my herbs did fine... the rest kinda petered out...

Riff - Thanks for the info! Looking forward to gardening
in nice soil instead of red clay.. :-)

playsndirt - First year with a SFG. Have been gardening for
quite a while. Hope to have a nice garden with enough to preserve a little. BTW, I am in Madison AL, right outside of Huntsville.

I am still trying to decide how to water everything. If things go well I will be planting starting Monday.

Enjoy the spring!
Jeff

I've tried the Black Cow Composted Manure (from Home Depot) but actually didn't like it as well as the EarthGro brand which costs much less. Buy a bag of each and do a comparison to see which one you like best before buying enough to fill your beds.

I am in Kimberly, AL. This is my 4th year doing this mix. My first year I used the box frame from my son's old twin bed which was 3x6. I mixed Black Kow with Spagham and fine Vermiculite and planted it with beets, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, spinach and cayenne pepper, kohlrabi, and collards. I did not plant until I moved into my new home which was July. I did not get any lettuce, spinach and beets. But I had so many cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, collards, and by february had the best tasting carrots that I had to try again. My kohlrabi overgrew and was awful, but it did grow.

I had to reframe the box the next year because it rotted completely and was no longer holding my soil up. I used a bag of black kow from the previous year to put my scoops of compost with each planting. This time I did 2 squares of tomatoes, 1 square of cucumber, 2 squares of bell pepper, 4 squares of broccoli, 2 squares of carrots, 2 squares of irish potatoes, 1 square of cayenne pepper, 2 squares of bok choi, and 2 squares of beans. I had the best broccoli. I took a head to work with me, and my coworker and I ate it without any sauce, and without cooking it. I have never tasted fresh broccoli prior, but it was amazing. Everything did so great that last year I expanded one 2x4, 4x4 and 3x3 square. I tried corn last year and did not get a single ear, but had some beautiful stalks for composting. I don't know what I did wrong. I used two squares for a single pumpkin plant, and two squares for a single watermelon, but did not water them enough due to longer hours at work, and I still had fruit on the vines.

I have been told by other square footers that a cheaper compost works just as well. I have not started planting yet, because I had to move my entire garden due to tree growth, but I am expanding by a 2x3 and a 2x4 so plan to use nursery mix to fill them this time in accordance with "Cash For Square Foot Gardening book" so that I don't have to mix myself. Let you know how it goes.

Howdy, Chrislyn!

Sounds like you are getting some good experience.

Since you are in Zone 7, you will have to pay attention to the difference between cool-weather plants and warm-weather plants.

Peas, cabbage family and most root veggies like it cool. (That could explain why some plants fail in warm weather.)

Corn is a funny pollinator, so you have to grow it in blocks--at least 4 rows, in other words. You might check Mel's Organic Gardening article for details. (I think the data is in the FAQ.)

Since Mel explained that the book has not been updated with the modern, simple info in Mel's Web site, I would always go by the Web site for simple soil formula and planting.

In Zone 7, I would expect to get at least 3 crops per year from most squares. (I would certainly cover the beds with plastic on hoop frames for the winter, so I could keep winter greens going. Also, spring rains would not soak the planting soil--I could get an early start with the cool-weather crops.)