The right recipe has to start with the right ingredients.
Hello, again!
Years ago, we got the City of Wichita Parks Department “secret” soil recipe from Jim Grimes, the city's lead gardener. Jim shared with us the ingredients that helped make the flowerbeds in the parks perform so well. With park locations all over the city, the recipe had to work well in clay, sandy and loam soil types, and sun and shade as well. Since that time, we’ve adapted the recipe to work with what we feel would be Jim’s recommendations.
Johnson's Soil Recipe is great for incorporating into both existing and new planting areas. The recipe adds both valuable compost and beneficials to the soil, and contains both fast and slow release fertilizers. To use the recipe, incorporate the amendments into the soil before planting. The recipe covers 100 sq. ft. area (we sell a 500 sq. ft. recipe, as well).
Here’s our recipe:
Johnson's Soil Recipe Package
Three bags Cotton Burr Compost (2 cu. ft.)
One bag Hi-Yield Bone Meal (4 lbs.)
One bag ferti-lome Gardener's Special (4 lbs.)
One bag Natural Guard HuMic (4 lbs.)
Originally the recipe used peat moss, but we feel that Cotton Burr Compost is a much superior product. Cotton Burr Compost is truly nature's perfect soil conditioner. When properly composted, cotton burrs are an excellent food source for the beneficial soil organisms that help to make nutrients available to plants, aerate the soil, and help to keep harmful organisms and diseases in check. Cotton Burr Compost has excellent moisture-retention characteristics and is prized for its ability to break up tight clay soils.
On a weed free 100 sq. ft. area, spread the recipe's bagged products evenly on the soil, then cover with the Cotton Burr Compost and incorporate all products into the soil for the most perfect planting bed you’ll ever plant in.
If you’re looking for mulch to top that well prepared soil, a new product we’ve just introduced is from Midwest Hemp Technology in Augusta, Kansas. Hemp Mulch is a great product for flower, landscape and vegetable beds to retain moisture, reduce weed competition and best of all it’s local, not having to be transported hundreds of miles to market. They purchase hemp fiber and grain crops from farmers in Kansas and the midwestern United States. Processing the whole plant into sustainable solutions for humans and animals, MHT manufacturers hemp seed food, hurd and clean, short fiber mulch. Throughout the hemp supply chain, MHT contributes to healthy environments and sustainable agriculture.
Stop in and save when you purchase our (Jim’s) soil recipe for your garden. Johnson’s Soil Recipe for 100 sq. ft. is regularly $65.94, but it’s only $59.99 when picking it all up together. Click here for a look at the recipe in action.
Now that it’s May, it’s time to get your flower beds planted. Our stores are well stocked with not only supplies for your garden, but annuals, perennials and nursery plants for any project. We’ll see you soon!
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Center
