Question
I  want to do square foot gardening.  What kind of soil mixture do you advocate.  Per the author of Square Foot Gardening, I tried to use equal portions of peat, organic manure and vermiculite.  As vermiculite was so expensive, I used sand.  However, my plants seemed to turn brown as if too much fertilizer.  Had the soil analyzed and was told to use 15-15-15, but after that my vegies turned white spotted and died.    What do you recommend I do?

Answer
Dear Betty,
I am no expert in square foot gardening, but I will share what I can offer.  My thought would be to mix top soil with some sand and some chicken litter or manure.  Now this is just a guess on ratio, but I would suggest 60% soil, 30% manure or litter, and 10% sand.  The other suggestion I would have, would be to change only one thing at a time until you arrive at the consistency of choice.  I would also, suggest to maintain the moisture, rather than peat, use straw or mulch above the soil.
I hope some part of this is helpful for you.  Gardening is so rewarding and it's just amazing how little ground is needed for a delightfully delicious harvest.
Kind Regards,
Kindred
www.eingedi.us