katiesommer
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Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:39 am

Did I mess up? Soil mix questions

Hello! New raised bed that is about 4 feet by 6 feet. I used the following for my soil mix:

400 pounds organic topsoil
200 pounds of compost/manure
3.8 cubic feet of compressed peat moss
1.5 cups of a general plant food mix

I'm worried I added too much peat moss. :( I already planted snow pea seeds (I have a voracious 4-year-old gardener who was BEGGING to plant yesterday) so I can't really redo it. Any help? I'm worried. Thanks so much.

Katie

cshell1958
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Joined: Tue Jun 14, 2011 10:23 am
Location: N Tx

Hi Katie

I can relate. I feared mine was a mess(for different reasons) it turns out not so much. I'm a 2nd year gardener and offer my 2 cents. It may be a bit more than most recipes generally say but it will probably be fine. Be a little more careful to not have it to wet so the seeds don't rot. They should be up in a few days 5-7) then you'll know. I started seeds indoors with coconut coir instead of peat but appox proportions but added worm castings. Peas and bean sprouted in 3-4 days.

Hope this helps, you might want to hear from someone with more experience

katiesommer
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Joined: Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:39 am

Thanks so much for the reply. I have gardened for several years but always in-ground. We moved last summer and so this is my first time making my own soil mix in a raised bed. You spend so much time and money figuring this stuff out that you want it to work, KWIM? I didn't realize one of those big compressed bags of peat moss yielded so much or I wouldn't have used it.

Has anyone tried taking seeds out of the ground? that sounds pretty much like a nightmare, but we were pretty good at spacing, etc., so it might work. I do have room to extend it if I get another 200 lbs or so of compost/soil.... Or maybe I should just leave it be.

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stella1751
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Location: Wyoming

Yesterday, I prepped an 8' x 4' bed. I used roughly 1 cubic foot of compressed peat moss on it. I wanted to use more, but I need to save the rest of the bag for a bed that seriously cracked between waterings last year.

I think you will be fine, though. Decompressed, that probably equalled only 5 or 6 inches of peat moss. If you mixed it in well, then it will degrade throughout the season and also supply some nutrition to the plants while it is at it.

Given my particular soil, too little peat moss is worse than too much. The bed that cracked between waterings gave me fits last year. I kicked myself all season long for having skimped on the peat moss. (I was in a hurry.) It didn't matter how well I mulched it; there was just too much clay for the bed to provide a comfortable environment for the plants. Additionally, many container gardeners will use as much as 1/3 peat moss in their mixes. I do. It keeps the soil light, retains moisture, provides some nutrition, and gives it that lovely satiny feel.

I would not dig up the seeds.



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