No help on where to buy, sorry. Well, if you do want it premixed, the SFG foundation has it for sale for like $10 per 2 c ft bags. You be the judge if it's worth it. No clue if they ship.

I looked at my local nurseries for their mixes when I built my beds. They didn't have what I was looking for. Maybe you'll have better luck.

Thank you for the information. Anxious to get started. Found the vermiculite $20.85 for 4 cu ft bag. I started searching this site for "mel's mix", "vermiculite", etc and it seems people are getting it from $9 - $40! Than it looks as if not all vermiculites are created equal???

Would be wonderful to have a "source list by location" Sigh........ back to the phones :)

I keep a source list, but I don't have anything in MO, sorry. If you post where you eventually buy it, lol, then I will! I wanted to mention that I saved a bundle by purchasing from a hydroponics store, so that may be another phone call for your research. Good luck and remember that if it seems impossible, you really can skip it. I actually prefere the original mel's mix, but you can get along without it if need be.

I too am new to SFG and I was searching for Vermiculate in St Louis. I came across this website and a 4 cubic foot bag of medium grade, coarse grade, or extra coarse grade vermiculite is $14. The site says you can pick it up from their shop in Earth City. They also have a bunch of other stuff for a relatively decent price. Am I missing something? They have promix for $30 for a 7 cubic foot bag. Is this comparable to the Mel's mix? Thoughts?

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.hummert.com/catalog.asp?P=15995

I am on the IL side of St. Louis and started SFG last year. I found it at a local nursery for $40 a bag. I can't remember the size of it though. The place out in Earth City is probably your best bet.

I went to Hummerts today and its probably one of the best garden stores I have ever been to. They have TONS of stuff. I actually bought four bales of PROMIX (two of them I got a ripped bag discount on). I bought some cotton burr compost also. Is this stuff any good?

Thank you to all who chimed in. Carolyn when I finish this I'll post my "where to finds" :)

Chalkrock - I stumbled across Hummerts Thursday and just now got back to my post...I bought my course grade vermiculite at the same great price!! Now looking again comparing the peat moss and have come across some other mixes too - just found a vermiculite and peat moss mix but couldn't tell if it was 1/2 and 1/2, but that's alright still excited about the great price. Which peat moss did you get? Was talking to someone yesterday about the cotton burr compost - sounded good....trying to find the "5 sources of compost" right now. Did you get a mix of the promix and the cotton for your compost? I'm looking for "promix" on the website and "promix" doesn't come up in the search??

Thanks!!

Glad to help. Promix is a combination of vermiculite, peat, and perlite (and some anti fungal stuff). I used that and the cotton burr compost in one of my beds. If you go on Hummerts website, its under soil conditioners and then growing ammendments. THen click on the Premier promix. I bought the BX.

ORMI
13060 County Park Road
Florissant, MO 63034

Here is a link that might be useful: Products / soils avaiable

Yay, another SFG-er in STL! I decided LAST summer to make my first SFG this year. I have 2 4x4 beds, and I'm about to make another one because I don't have enough squares for everything I want to plant. (I'm south city, but I garden in the metro east. don't ask :) )

I see that you've already found what you needed, but I'll chime in in case anyone else is looking. I found the big vermiculite bags at Market Basket in Edwardsville for ~$19. I THINK I saw vermiculite at Bayers on Hampton too, but I already had mine at that point. Actually, Bayers has a lot of good stuff (like row cover and trellis netting) at a reasonable price and had great friendly help.

chalkrock: I hope this isnt too late, but one of my "5 kinds of compost" was the cotton burr stuff and I really regret using it. It was not fully "broken down" and has lots of sticks and actual cotton burrs in it. It was a big disappointment in comparison to the rest of the compost I added to my mel's mix, and I can't wait until it breaks down and my beds feel like they did before I added that stuff. Sorry for the bad news.

Christine

carolyn,

What was Mel's original mix?

My square foot garden was low on soil and I didn't have the time to mix my own Mels Mix so I filled it with Raised Bed soil from Lowes. My plants are growing great in it and it was a lot easier than mixing my own. The cost was similar or maybe a little cheaper than making Mels Mix.

lovetocook9 are you on Facebook? There's a STL gardening group.