- Slug and snail electric fence
- MM-Hero: super durable and 100% safe
- Why did we make a garden box from bamboo?
- Nutrients for your Makkelijke Moestuin
- Protecting your vegetables with a crop cover
- Recycled plastic garden boxes and microplastics
- Plastic in the garden: good or bad?
- Soil mix made for garden boxes
- Tips: MM-Mix
Almost all information about plants has been included with the plants in our free app. So, you don't need to remember it.
View the MM app
- Slug and snail electric fence
- MM-Hero: super durable and 100% safe
- Why did we make a garden box from bamboo?
- Nutrients for your Makkelijke Moestuin
- Protecting your vegetables with a crop cover
- Recycled plastic garden boxes and microplastics
- Plastic in the garden: good or bad?
- Soil mix made for garden boxes
- Tips: MM-Mix
Tips for using the MM-Mix
Tips and tricks for using the MM-Mix. When filling up your garden box, watering, giving a nutrient boost, and more.
Our MM-Mix comes in bags of 40 liters. This soil mix is light and airy, so you can't compare it 1:1 to a liter of liquid. If you stand on top of it, you push the air out and press the fibers together. Then its volume decreases.
Think of it like chocolate sprinkles in a jar: you fill the jar to the brim, but if you crush the same amount of sprinkles into a powder, the crushed sprinkles are more compact and won't reach the top of the jar anymore.
When the bags of soil mix are stacked together on pallets, the weight presses the mix together. You can see how it's been compacted by the lumps in the soil mix when you add it to your garden box.
Think of it like chocolate sprinkles in a jar: you fill the jar to the brim, but if you crush the same amount of sprinkles into a powder, the crushed sprinkles are more compact and won't reach the top of the jar anymore.
When the bags of soil mix are stacked together on pallets, the weight presses the mix together. You can see how it's been compacted by the lumps in the soil mix when you add it to your garden box.
Make the mix loose and airy again
To make the mix airy again, you need to shake it up and loosen the lumps when filling your boxes.
Give the bag a good shake as you pour the mix. If you see lumps, crumble them in your hands or use a garden claw to break them up.
Never press on the mix and definitely don't step on it. The airier the mix, the better your plants will grow.
Give the bag a good shake as you pour the mix. If you see lumps, crumble them in your hands or use a garden claw to break them up.
Never press on the mix and definitely don't step on it. The airier the mix, the better your plants will grow.
Moisten the soil mix
Before you can sow, you need to add water to the soil mix.
When filling a new garden box
I do it this way: I pour 1 or 2 bags of soil mix into the box, loosen it up, and spray the layer with the garden hose until the mix is moist. Don't get it soaking wet, though. That will cause the mix to compress.
I dump the next bag(s) on top, loosen it up, and spray again. Repeat until the garden box is filled up.
When filling a new garden box
I do it this way: I pour 1 or 2 bags of soil mix into the box, loosen it up, and spray the layer with the garden hose until the mix is moist. Don't get it soaking wet, though. That will cause the mix to compress.
I dump the next bag(s) on top, loosen it up, and spray again. Repeat until the garden box is filled up.
For a box already filled with soil mix
If your box is already full but the mix has dried out, you can add water to it in stages. Add some water, wait until the mix has absorbed it, then add more. In between, check that the mix is moist everywhere, not just on the top layer.
During sowing:
When sowing or planting, add a little extra water to each hole. Do this carefully using a deli container or cup to pour. Otherwise, your seeds will wash away.
The water stays right where it's needed: around the seed or at the roots of the plant.
If your box is already full but the mix has dried out, you can add water to it in stages. Add some water, wait until the mix has absorbed it, then add more. In between, check that the mix is moist everywhere, not just on the top layer.
During sowing:
When sowing or planting, add a little extra water to each hole. Do this carefully using a deli container or cup to pour. Otherwise, your seeds will wash away.
The water stays right where it's needed: around the seed or at the roots of the plant.
During the season:
Keep the mix moist: your plants do better if they always have enough water. They don't like it when it's really dry and then wet again, that just stresses them out 😉
By the way, sun and wind can dry out the top layer of soil mix pretty quickly. It's no big deal, as long as the rest of the mix stays moist. So give it a poke every now and then with your finger to check.
Keep the mix moist: your plants do better if they always have enough water. They don't like it when it's really dry and then wet again, that just stresses them out 😉
By the way, sun and wind can dry out the top layer of soil mix pretty quickly. It's no big deal, as long as the rest of the mix stays moist. So give it a poke every now and then with your finger to check.
Plants from the garden center
Plants from the garden center are grown in potting soil or regular dirt. You can place them in your garden box with the soil they were grown in.
First, place the pots and all - in a bucket of water. This will ensure that the root balls get completely wet. Then carefully remove the plants from the pots.
(If the plant doesn't come in a pot, then place them in a shallow tray with 1-2 cm of water.)
With older plants, you should cut away the bottom centimeter of the root ball: this way the plant will produce new roots faster.
First, place the pots and all - in a bucket of water. This will ensure that the root balls get completely wet. Then carefully remove the plants from the pots.
(If the plant doesn't come in a pot, then place them in a shallow tray with 1-2 cm of water.)
With older plants, you should cut away the bottom centimeter of the root ball: this way the plant will produce new roots faster.
Pick a patch in your garden box and make a hole in the soil mix. Transplant the plant and fill up the rest of the hole. Don't press the mix down too hard. The looser the mix, the better your plants will take root.
Give your soil mix a boost
You can leave the MM-Mix in your garden box forever and never have to replace it.
But that's why you should add some nutrients - MM-Plantfood - regularly. Once in a while, if it looks like the soil mix is getting low or compacted, you can top it off with a lawyer of fresh MM-Mix.
But that's why you should add some nutrients - MM-Plantfood - regularly. Once in a while, if it looks like the soil mix is getting low or compacted, you can top it off with a lawyer of fresh MM-Mix.
During the season
Once you've harvested a vegetable patch completely, remove the roots from the plants. Knock as much soil mix off the roots as possible.
Then, get your MM-Plantfood. There's a cardboard scoop in the box with markings in ml. Fill it up to the 50 ml mark (that's about 30 g or 2 tbsp), sprinkle it over the empty patch, and scoop the soil mix thoroughly from top to bottom.
Once you've harvested a vegetable patch completely, remove the roots from the plants. Knock as much soil mix off the roots as possible.
Then, get your MM-Plantfood. There's a cardboard scoop in the box with markings in ml. Fill it up to the 50 ml mark (that's about 30 g or 2 tbsp), sprinkle it over the empty patch, and scoop the soil mix thoroughly from top to bottom.
Extra nutrients for the hungry plants: 30 ml per square patch (or 1 tbsp)
Summer vegetables like tomatoes and zucchinis use more nutrients than other vegetables. They also stay in the same patch for longer.
So, add 30 ml (or 1 tbsp) of extra nutrients into when you plant them and give them another dose 2 months later. If you use the app, it will remind you at the right time.
Summer vegetables like tomatoes and zucchinis use more nutrients than other vegetables. They also stay in the same patch for longer.
So, add 30 ml (or 1 tbsp) of extra nutrients into when you plant them and give them another dose 2 months later. If you use the app, it will remind you at the right time.
At the start of a new season
If the soil mix in your box is leftover from last year and looks like it's compacted, top off your box with fresh MM-Mix until it is completely full again. Add a scoop of MM-Plantfood too: 60 ml (45 grams or 3 tbsp) per square patch.
If the soil mix in your box is leftover from last year and looks like it's compacted, top off your box with fresh MM-Mix until it is completely full again. Add a scoop of MM-Plantfood too: 60 ml (45 grams or 3 tbsp) per square patch.
Then, mix it all together really well. Scoop the soil mix from the front of the garden box to the back, from the left to the right, and vice versa.
Your soil mix is ready for the next season and you can start sowing.
Your soil mix is ready for the next season and you can start sowing.
With perennials - such as strawberries and perennial herbs - simply sprinkle the nutrition on top of the mix.
That's it
Now you know all there is to know about keeping the MM-Mix in your boxes in tip-top shape.
Believe me: giving it that little bit of extra attention won't just ensure that you'll get the most bang for your buck. Your plants will thank you for it too.
Have fun!
Believe me: giving it that little bit of extra attention won't just ensure that you'll get the most bang for your buck. Your plants will thank you for it too.
Have fun!
PS: How can you get your hands on the soil mix and nutrients?
You can order them directly from the shop and have it delivered to your home:
Products and materials
- Slug and snail electric fence
- MM-Hero: super durable and 100% safe
- Why did we make a garden box from bamboo?
- Nutrients for your Makkelijke Moestuin
- Protecting your vegetables with a crop cover
- Recycled plastic garden boxes and microplastics
- Plastic in the garden: good or bad?
- Soil mix made for garden boxes
- Tips: MM-Mix