Watch My Food Grow ~ A South Florida Raised Vegetable Garden

Florida Backyard Raised Vegetable Garden

Where to Find Vermiculite in South Florida

February 2nd, 2010 by Matthew Steinhoff

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel BartholomewA few months back, I wrote about Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. In order to be successful in his method of gardening, a key element is vermiculite. Unfortunately, vermiculite is hard to fine.

Vermiculite Found at Atlantic-FEC in Miami

Lawrence, a Watch My Food Grow reader, mentioned Atlantic-FEC as a potential vermiculite supplier in a comment. I emailed them yesterday and got a quick response back from Frances Corona. Here is what she has to say:

Good morning ….. We do have vermiculite our price is $8.30 [for a four cubic foot bag] we gladly sell to the general public. Rather it be walk-in or delivery.. you can buy as many as you need …… for more information that you need please feel free to email me back anytime…… we also have a product book so again feel free at anytime….. have a wonderful day.

While I haven’t done any business with Atlantic-FEC (yet), I’m impressed at how quickly they responded to my email. Based on their web site, it looks like you can get just about anything fertilizer-related you need from them. Miami is a bit of a drive from Palm Beach Gardens where my garden is located but it might be worth stopping by the next time I’m down there for other reasons.

How to Find Vermiculite and Atlantic-FEC

Atlantic-FEC Fertilizer & Chemical
305-247-8800 Phone
18375 SW 260th Street
Homestead, FL 33031

Tell Me About Your Florida Vegetable Garden

It is prime planting season. The freeze is past and we’re ready to grow. Let me know about your garden. Also, if you do purchase from Atlantic-FEC, please let me know. I’d hate to recommend them and not have my readers have positive results.

— Farmer Matt

Tags: 15 Comments

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15 responses so far ↓

  • I have not done business with them yet but will be soon. Thank you for a great blog.

  • Hi,

    Sorry to trouble you. I came across your blog and love reading it. I hope you do not mind, I added your link to my page. Here is a link to my page so you can see. http://thevegetablehatt.blogspot.com If you do not want your link on my page, please let me know and I will remove it. Thank you for your time.

    Thanks
    Laura

  • I enjoy reading your blog. I live in Jupiter and I also have a vegetable garden. I like to read about others that are trying to grow in this climate.

    Most blogs just don’t cover the way we have to garden.

    How have the bugs been for you this season?
    I am having a small problem with Aphids on my cabbages right now and a few whiteflies on the pepper plants.

    I am just spraying them off with the hose and it seems to be working so far.

    My garden details are: all raised beds
    1- 4’x8′
    1-4’x10′
    1-4’x12′
    and a bunch of 2 ft wide beds all around the interior and exterior of the garden.

    I have 8ft tall trellis’ the length of every bed
    down the middle.

    I presently have in the ground:
    tomato
    kentucky wonder beans
    broccoli
    cabbage
    carrots
    onions
    celery
    radish
    brussle sprouts
    bibb lettuce
    romaine lettuce
    black seeded simpson lettuce
    mesculun lettuce
    green peeper
    habanero pepper
    jalapeno pepper
    anehiem pepper
    poblano peeper
    cucumber
    crooked neck squash
    cilantro
    basil
    rosemary
    thyme
    sage
    marigolds and various flowers

    • Hi Matt!
      We have 4 raised beds 4′ x 4′. Raising most of the things you are as well! I added catnip for my cat and Portulaca for sentimental reasons! Just lost 1 pepper plant, have no idea why, just pulled it and tossed it, didn’t want to lose others. Good luck!

  • Charlie, it sounds as though you have an amazing garden. What variety!

    No bug problems yet this year. The only pest problem I have is birds. They keep pecking my sun sugar tomatoes. They also ate my strawberries last year.

    My biggest problem this year is that I didn’t bake my soil in the off-season. So, I’ve got a bunch of annoying weeds that I have to keep plucking. Next year, I’ll herbicide and bake so that my dirt is fresh for the growing season.

    — Farmer Matt

  • I have found a source in Boynton Beach,

    Prosource One
    8245 State Road 7
    Boynton Beach FL 33472
    561-737-1200

    Very nice folks, I bought 3 3cu ft bags for ~$40.

  • Thanks for the vermiculite report, Eric!

    — Farmer Matt

  • Hi,
    I am new to Fla. (Fort Myers area) and I am looking for suppliers of blended compost and vermiculite. I have moved from central Texas and was very sucessful in my first year of SFG in 2009. I am starting from scratch again, coming from an arrid area to a very humid and wet area (I love it). But very puzzling change..
    All organic! Need help in find ing suplier for the above products and recommendation for the best book for florida organic gardening. I appreciate any help! Lis

  • Hey, this is a curious entry… I live in India and vermiculite is cheaply available where I am… but isn’t it really just compost? Couldn’t you make it on your own, with a few worms added in to make it ‘vermy’? 😛
    Great blog btw!

  • Hi Lis,
    Just found your request. I am also in the same area as you (26 years) and have not found it already blended. I’ve been mixing my own. A lot of help can be obtained from IFAS. They have many free publications on south Florida gardening including what and when to plant!

  • HI! I WAS CALLING AROUND BASED ON EVERYONE’S BLOGS AND AS OF TODAY’S DATE, ATLANTIC FERTILIZER & CHEMICAL (305-241-8800 – ATLANTICFEC.COM) SELLS THEM FOR $10.35 FOR A 4 CU. FT. BAG. IF THEY SHIP UPS THEY ONLY CHARGE YOU THE COST FROM UPS.

    UNIVERSAL ENTERPRISE – 954-979-0600 – 2155 BLOUNT ROAD, POMPANO BEACH, FL (OFF COPANS RD. WEST TO FIRST TRAFFIC LIGHT) WAS REFERRED TO ME BY ATLANTIC WHO SUPPLIES THE VERMICULITE TO THEM. THEIR COST IS $9.75 FOR A 4 CU. FT. BAG.

    SOMEONE RECOMMENED PROCOUSEONE IN BOYNTON BEACH. THEY ARE MOST EXPENSIVE AT $18.00 PER BAG.

    IT APPEARS IF YOU LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA, ITS WORTH THE DRIVE TO POMPANO EVEN IF YOU JUST NEED 2 BAGS LIKE MYSELF. PROSOURCE WOULD COST ME $36 AND THEY ARE ABOUT 10 MILES FROM ME BUT UNIVERSAL IS $19.50. ITS ABOUT 15 MILES TO COPANS ROAD. IT WILL TAKE ME A GALLON OF GAS SO A TOTAL OF APPROX $23

    LOVE THE BLOGS!!!

  • The Bushel Stop has many locations down here. They can sell you whatever you want. I was originally looking for vermiculite only but they also sell soil blends with vermiculite in them. They are a sister company to Atlas Peat and Soil and deliver too! I paid $25/sq yard with a $50 delivery fee. I needed 4 yards of soil/peat/vermiculite mix and I feel it was well worth it for delivery and having it already mixed! A little info here on the soils: http://www.atlaspeatandsoil.com/

  • Wife andf i just started SFG last month and bought our vermiculite from Atlantic FEC in Homestead,,,pleasant people, paid for my purchase at the office and drove over to the warehouse bay where they loaded up 4 dags for me….esy as pie….AND the garden is fantastic

  • This is an old article, but I purchased vermiculite and peat at Atlantic FEC yesterday (5/16/2018). Good prices, good service. I don’t have the receipt in front of me, but vermiculite was around $10/4 cu ft bag, and peat was $18 for 3.8 cu ft bag.