What is Makkelijke Moestuin Mix?
In a Makkelijke Moestuin, you don't use ordinary soil. You use a special soil mix that helps all your plants grow well.
It's an essential part of what makes the Makkelijke Moestuin method work so well. It's completely different from garden soil or regular potting compost.
We currently sell two types:
We currently sell two types:
- Makkelijke Moestuin Soil: made mostly from cocopeat, with added plant food and worm castings. It was specially developed for our garden boxes with water reservoirs.
- The classic Makkelijke Moestuin Mix: made from compost, fibres such as brown peat, cocopeat and wood fibre, plus extra nutrients. It works well in all boxes and pots, but is slightly less suitable for water reservoirs.
This page is about the second type:
Makkelijke Moestuin Mix in a nutshell
The classic Makkelijke Moestuin Mix is a blend of nutritious compost, fibres such as brown peat, cocopeat and wood fibre, plus extra nutrients.
This 'soil' is easy to work with, gives your plants everything they need and holds water well without ever getting too wet.
You can leave the mix in your garden boxes for years. Unlike potting compost, you never need to replace it.
Why does our soil mix work so well?
Because Makkelijke Moestuin Mix gives your vegetables exactly what they need to grow strong and healthy: moisture, nutrients, water and air.
Thanks to its special composition, plants don't need to grow huge root systems. Everything they need is close at hand.
Even large plants such as tomatoes and sunflowers have enough room in a 30 × 30 cm square with just 15 to 20 cm of mix.
And because everything they need is in there, you can harvest a lot from such a small space.
And because everything they need is in there, you can harvest a lot from such a small space.
The mix also lets you start sowing earlier, harvest sooner and use less water.
Does Makkelijke Moestuin Mix last a long time?
Absolutely. You can leave Makkelijke Moestuin Mix in your boxes year after year and never need to replace it.
Keep the nutrient level up during the season by adding some MM plant food after every harvest. Do the same at the start of a new season, when you also top up your box with some fresh MM mix*.
(*You can also use Makkelijke Moestuin Soil.)
Keep the nutrient level up during the season by adding some MM plant food after every harvest. Do the same at the start of a new season, when you also top up your box with some fresh MM mix*.
(*You can also use Makkelijke Moestuin Soil.)
Nothing but natural ingredients:
Fibres – including brown peat, cocopeat and wood fibre
Fibres – including brown peat, cocopeat and wood fibre
Fibres absorb a lot of water while their pores stay filled with air. That's why they're often used in potting compost too.
Our brown peat comes from the top layer of raised bogs. This layer consists mainly of partly decomposed sphagnum moss. It's light to medium brown and lasts a long time.
The fibres have a low pH, which makes the soil slightly acidic.
Compost and plant food
Compost is the dark material left after plants break down. Its average pH is high, which makes it alkaline: the opposite of acidic.
Good compost is packed with nutrients and minerals that vegetables love. It's loose and crumbly and holds a fair amount of moisture too.
Our extra plant food is specially made for us from more than 15 natural ingredients, many of them plant-based.
The mix
The fibres hold moisture very well and keep the mix light and airy. The compost and added ingredients provide the nutrients.
Each ingredient is useful on its own, but together they're even better. They create a soil mix with a pH that suits almost every vegetable.
That's why my blueberries do just as well as my lettuces and green beans.
Okay, I'll admit it: a professional grower may get bigger pumpkins than I do, but I still grow some pretty good ones 😀 And I never have to worry about whether my soil suits the vegetables I plant in it.
No. The mix isn't certified, so it can't be sold as organic.
That said, the individual ingredients in the MM mix are RHP-certified and approved for organic growing. Most of the extra plant food even carries an ECO label.
That said, the individual ingredients in the MM mix are RHP-certified and approved for organic growing. Most of the extra plant food even carries an ECO label.
So we could certainly apply to have the complete mix certified.
But that process takes a long time, costs a ridiculous amount of money and comes with a hefty annual fee just to keep the label on the bag. That would make the mix much more expensive.
We'd rather spend that money on top-quality ingredients.
But that process takes a long time, costs a ridiculous amount of money and comes with a hefty annual fee just to keep the label on the bag. That would make the mix much more expensive.
We'd rather spend that money on top-quality ingredients.
Each bag is filled with 40 litres of mix. But a litre of mix isn't the same as a litre of water. The mix contains lots of air, and the bags get compressed when they're stacked on pallets.
So when you fill your garden boxes, loosen the mix well to make it light and airy again. Never press it down, and definitely don't stand on it. The airier the mix, the better your plants will grow.
Before sowing
Before sowing
Moisten the mix thoroughly before sowing. You'll need plenty of water because the mix absorbs a lot.
Give the spot where you sow the seeds a little extra water before and/or after sowing. The mix holds the water right where it's needed: around the seed or the plant's young roots.
After harvesting
Once you've emptied a square, remove the old roots and shake off any mix clinging to them. Mix 3 tablespoons, or 30 grams, of MM plant food through the square before sowing it again.
At the start of a new season
In later years, remove the grid from your garden box in spring and clear away all the old plants.
Top up the box with fresh mix* and extra plant food. Mix everything thoroughly from front to back and from side to side. This makes the mix light and airy again.
Finally, put the grid back on top. You're ready for the new season 😀
(*You can also use Makkelijke Moestuin Soil.)
(*You can also use Makkelijke Moestuin Soil.)
