I'm doing Square Foot Gardening for the first time this year. I have found the Vermiculite that Mel Bartholomew recommends is way cost prohibitive. What else is a good mixture? I was shopping around and found that Miracle-Grow has a moisture retaining mixture now. I'm wondering if that mixed with varied compost will be effective. I have three boxes to fill and thinking about a 4th. Three will be 24 cubic feet of fill with 8 cf of that being Vermiculite. Way, way too expensive for me. Any suggestions on a mixture that won't break the bank.
You can buy perlite and vermiculite at Wal Mart. If you can't find small mason jars in Wal Mart, try a craft store like Michaels. The small jars are often used for crafts.
