Living Earth - Vendor

Just an FYI... Living Earth is listed in the Vermiculite database, but I just stopped at the Plano location and they do not carry vermiculite.

The have some good deals on other stuff however.... Sold by the cubic yard.

• Organic Compost - $33.90 cu/yd ($1.26 cu/ft)
  
• Mixed soil w/ compost (sandy loam & 45% compost) - $33.90 cu/yd ($1.26 cu/ft)
  
• Prof. Bedding Soil (compost, pine bark & fine sand) - $33.90 cu/yd ($1.26 cu/ft)
  
• Expanded Shale - $64 cu/yd ($2.37 cu/ft)
  

and lots more

Just FYI, I used what Living Earth recommended for a raised veggie bed - their "Rose Mix" which is 70% compost and 30% sand. I also mixed in green sand, lava sand and organic fertilizer per their recommendations and the plants in this bed are doing rather poorly. The mix now seems overly woody and wants to shed water somewhat. It has compacted much more than I expected and is quite hard and crusty. I found the woodiness and crustiness in just a couple weeks (before I added plants) and started adding more fertilizer, worm castings, my own compost as well as a really good bagged compost that I've used before, and composted cow manure (I didn't have any fresh manure available).

Even with all these additions before I put the plants in, it still isn't making me happy. I'm sure it will be great next year, but it's not going to be this year. Their compost appears to have too much shredded wood in it and not enough time breaking down.

I specifically told them that these were exactly the problems I had with the first 2 beds I put in and they told me this mix would do much better than that. Now I'm faced with the same problems. I wish I'd found the new book and the website sooner and used proper Mel's Mix. That great price should have been my clue.

You might try putting a mulch on top of the bed and see if that doesn't loosen things up. An inch or two of straw, chopped leaves, or -- my favorite -- newspaper with straw or chopped leaves on top can work wonders for crusty garden soil.

I usually have compost as mulch on everything. There will still be a "crusty" layer in there and the whole bed firms up much quicker than it should, even after multiple turnings with compost(s), worm castings, fertilizers, etc, and it's been filled for over 6 months, now. I was/am disappointed with what I got in bulk. There bagged stuff seems much better. Go figure.