Is Mel’s Mix Really Marvelous?

Four lettuce plants per square foot

Making a batch of Mel’s mix for our raised bed involved a trip to the garden center and the labor of two people to mix the ingredients on a large tarp and then shovel the mix into the box. Done. No digging, rototilling, or fertiziling required. Ever. Compare this to the advice on soil preparation offered by garden writer Adrian Higgins in the Washington Post, this week: “Our native clay soil is a beast, but it can be tamed, initially with large quantities of compost, leaf mold, well-rotted manure, mineral soil conditioners and even sand.” And don't forget the Advil. 

So what about those grids? The whole point of square foot gardening is to make maximum use of minimal space. The grids provide an easy visual cue for planting: 4 lettuce plants per square foot, 2 peppers, or 1 tomato. No wasted space, and no need to plant hundreds of seeds, only to thin most of them to achieve the right spacing. I’m sold.