I used Mel's mix for one of my beds and it is surely luxurious soil. I also transplanted a few mature bulb flowers into it and it was amazing to see how much they liked it - they were already mature and grown but WHOA! They were just really happy.
However, I won't do any more of Mel's mix because I do not wish to use peat moss or vermiculite, they are nonrenewable and mined (mining is a destructive process).
My second garden bed, which I made this year, I did about half compost and half soil. Honestly, the soil quality was awful - the $1 bags from WalMart which are basically clay. I just asked DH to pick up some garden soil and wasn't specific, and he figured - hey, $1 a bag, good deal. I opened one up and I was like "oh no, this is awful." I used it anyway, figuring a half compost mix would even it out - and it did! So even with the awful clay soil, the garden is thriving. (Note: the compost was homemade, which is much better quality than purchased compost).
How much weeding do I do? I kid you not, I have not pulled one weed this year. Next year I am sure I'll have to weed a bit in the spring. But since everything is intensively planted, there's no place for weeds.
For my first bed I follwed Mel's directions and made it out of wood. I didn't finish it. It's deteriorated some over the years (obviously) but still holding up.
For my second bed, I bought these interlocking bricks from WalMart. One end of the brick is rounded, and the other is concave, to fit the rounded end of the next brick. They are red and pretty. They were 6 inches high (and 12 inches long) so I stacked them 2 bricks high. No mortar or anything. I don't recall the exact price but I think they were about $1.50 each - which can add up. For a 4x4 garden you'd need 32 bricks, which is $48 - but it's easy, no building, no rotting, very pretty. I had my whole garden set up in an hour (I mean just laying the ground cloth, assembling the bricks, and mixing the soil/compost mix and pouring it in).
A really huge tip, which Mel mentions, but worth mentioning again: put the garden in a place where you ARE. Don't put it way out in the corner of your property (not unless that's the ONLY place with sun or something). I didnt take that advice for my first garden bed and now I have only plants I don't need to tend. The second garden is right outside my back door, and I visit it at least every day, often more. Heck, we often eat dinner around it. We knew exactly when a pest started munching on the broccoli and the garden has never known thirst. I think just plain paying attention to the plants help them grow - just the attention alone, not the actions.
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and thanks! I also recommend Ruth Stout's no work gardening book.
