Steve Petrone
TVWBB Diamond Member
What soil do you rec. for a new raised bed?
Lowes, HD...? Perhaps a small load from a landscape supplier?
Lowes, HD...? Perhaps a small load from a landscape supplier?
Best soil for raised bed garden? *****
- Thread starter Steve Petrone
- Start date
Steve Cole
TVWBB Super Fan
I don't think you can go wrong with compost. Check your local landscapers to see if they have access to good compost. Some municipalities sell or wholesale compost to local landscapers. Here in Wayne County, the City of Goldsboro sells a compost product called "Gold Dust" and it's great stuff.
If it's still too hot, you can till any topsoil in it. That Charlotte red clay soil and good compost ought to grow anything.
If it's still too hot, you can till any topsoil in it. That Charlotte red clay soil and good compost ought to grow anything.
V. Roberts
TVWBB Member
I don't have a raised bed for flowers but I will have one this year for my wife and I'll use the soil I have here on the farm; it's got allot of llama manure in it. I use it in my vegetable garden and, ooh it's so good!
This will be good to see what others use.
Val
This will be good to see what others use.
Val
Steve, do yourself a favor and get a book by Patricia Lanza on Lasagna Gardening. You'll never buy soil again. Basically "Lasagna Gardening" is sheet composting and it really works well. You layer grass clippings, chopped leaves, peat moss, some soil amaedmants and non protien kitchen scraps. You can cook it to speed the process by covering it with plastic for a month or plant directly in it. I've been using this method for 3 years with great sucess. Two months of "cooking" will give you black crumbly soil. It beats buying & moving soil and you pay for just the soil amendmants, blood meal, bone meal etc.
Lasagna Gardening
Tom Killingsworth
New member
Steve,
I'm making some new raised bed vegetable gardens this summer. I bought the book Square Foot Gardening. You should check it out. A few key points from the book are....
1.don't make your beds more than 4 feet wide-that way you can reach in and never walk on the dirt
2.make your own dirt out of 1/3 compost 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 coarse vermiculite-this will be such a high quality soil that you only need 6-9 inches of it, so you don't have to dig down into the ground. in fact he recommends putting weed barrier at the bottom of your raised box.
Square Foot Gardening
I've also used the lasagna method, but I usually do that over the old beds around our yard/house. 50 years of beds and gardens make for a lot of weeds and the lasagna method helps choke them out and allows me to plant right over the top of the old junk. I'm not 50 years old, but my house is.
I'm making some new raised bed vegetable gardens this summer. I bought the book Square Foot Gardening. You should check it out. A few key points from the book are....
1.don't make your beds more than 4 feet wide-that way you can reach in and never walk on the dirt
2.make your own dirt out of 1/3 compost 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 coarse vermiculite-this will be such a high quality soil that you only need 6-9 inches of it, so you don't have to dig down into the ground. in fact he recommends putting weed barrier at the bottom of your raised box.
Square Foot Gardening
I've also used the lasagna method, but I usually do that over the old beds around our yard/house. 50 years of beds and gardens make for a lot of weeds and the lasagna method helps choke them out and allows me to plant right over the top of the old junk. I'm not 50 years old, but my house is.
Steve Petrone
TVWBB Diamond Member
Ok, manure, peatmoss, compost....I get the picture. So I'll need to build up a bed, probably using 2x10's. Making a 4'x8' bed.
What to plant?
Herbs...roma tomatoes...hot peppers...sweet peppers...
What to plant?
Herbs...roma tomatoes...hot peppers...sweet peppers...
Steve,
I would start with determining what you want to grow. Not all plants do well in the same soil. Some require different drainage and levels of acidity, etc. Once you've determined what you want to grow, check with a local reputable nursery and get their opinion on the local soil. Your soil may be fine, it may need amending (I'm guessing yours is acidic?) or it just may need a little compost. If you can spare it, 'borrow' some soil from another area of your property to get started. Most nurseries carry various mixes of soil and compost and they are experts as opposed to the good people at HD or Lowes.
I would start with determining what you want to grow. Not all plants do well in the same soil. Some require different drainage and levels of acidity, etc. Once you've determined what you want to grow, check with a local reputable nursery and get their opinion on the local soil. Your soil may be fine, it may need amending (I'm guessing yours is acidic?) or it just may need a little compost. If you can spare it, 'borrow' some soil from another area of your property to get started. Most nurseries carry various mixes of soil and compost and they are experts as opposed to the good people at HD or Lowes.
I would say that Paul K is right on the money but an additional factor is the actual placement of the bed. Will the bed be in direct or indirect sunlight? Morning or afternoon sun? This will effect what you can grow and the type of drainage and soil you will need. Another concern is you have to be careful about the nursery soil. I have been burned before where the soil that I received had weed seeds. I had a tough time figuring out what was a weed and what was a wanted plant.
Brian Lanius
TVWBB Fan
Remember to avoid treated wood.
