They also have something called Rich Mix that is exactly the same except the sand is increased from 25% to 30% and the manure is decreased from 25% to 20%. It is $38.50 per ton instead of $45 for the garden ready. Odd that they call that 'rich mix' when it has less manure and more sand.

Which do you think would be better? If there is no appreciable difference I will go with the cheaper stuff I guess.

We used the Miinick garden ready soil to fill our two raised beds last year. We added a bunch of organic matter to it (compost, black kow, and some old shredded leaves). I used tomato or veggie tone throughout the season, as well as some fish emulstion. Unfortunately, I was just behind last year and so I didn't get around to getting a soil test on it until AFTER the summer garden was done. The actual report is on my desk at work, but pH was right at 7, K and Phos were actually high, and nitrogen was low (again, this was at the end of the garden season, so I wasn't surprised about the Nitrogen). The only difference in the soil test between the Minick garden ready and my native soil is that the K and Phos of my native soil were lower.
The tomatoes and peppers I had in the raised did a little better than my amended regular garden soil. Okra did great. Greens didn't grow either in the Minick soil, or in my native soil, or in any of the containers filled with potting soil. Watermelons in the Minick soil all rotted at the end....I had no watermelons in native soil to compare that to. Basil thrived everywhere, as did sweet potatoes and tomatillos.
Based on my experience, I will buy more of the garden ready for the 2 new raised beds I am building this year. I would think that it would be worth the extra money just based on the higher manure content, but I'm hardly an expert...I just wanted to give you my experiences!

I had to go back into the GW archive to find out what I had done before - my brain doesn't remember but it is convenient to look back in a "searchable" garden journal of sorts here online!

I have used both Minick Garden Ready and Total Environment Rich Mix. Back in 2011 when I wrote about it, I liked the Garden Ready much more - I will say these mixes were from two different companies, so I don't know that it was apples-to-apples comparison - you may be able to find the formulations online to see how they differ. I do know that when I moved to the new house and put in my new garden in 2012, I went back to the tried-and-true Minick Garden Ready if that tells you anything! I still like to amend it, not the first year necessarily, but during the lifetime of the soil to keep the soil healthy I will add some Black Kow and/or cotton burr compost and mulch with cardboard covered with eucalyptus mulch. I don't do soil tests or anything, I just grow stuff and if it grows am happy.

I do recall getting the Rich Mix from TE and being disappointed (the landscaper I hired to help me expand the garden when DH threw his back out talked me into it) with how "blah" it seemed in comparison to my previous Minick GR. I did end up adding tons of Black Kow and cotton burr compost to the Rich Mix and it was a PITA and seemed to negate the help I'd hired to get the bed in the first place! I just looked at the soil and it looked anemic, sorta pale and not as good as what I'd hoped. There is nothing scientific to that explanation, just my gut. :)

If I was buying for the first time, I'd drive over to Minick and look at their dirt piles, and put my hand in the Rich Mix and in the Garden Ready and feel it and make a decision based on that. That's how I roll, though! If it is going to be $50 more but save me a ton of aggravation, I will splurge on it.

Good luck!

I purchased Rich Mix a couple of years ago - same thing. I was so disappointed at how sandy it was (I'd purchased it from seeing it online, reading the description...and having help to wheelbarrow and spread it around, so I kind of made a last-minute decision). I do wish I'd seen it and some of the other mixes in person first because I did want a "rich" mix for new raised beds and for a little to spread over a weak lawn - and that wasn't it. I really do like their business and their mixes - just needed to have researched a little more before I bought.

Sharon

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. This helps a lot. I'm going with the garden ready stuff and I'll mix in some compost and peat moss to fluff it up a bit more.