Maybe I could use bone meal instead of (or with) the granulated fertilizer?

I'd skip the Miracle Gro, since the manure provides plenty of nitrogen fertilizer, and add a 24-pound bag of bone meal (for phosphorus and calcium) and 5 lb of greensand (for potassium and trace minerals) instead. Organic materials like these break down slowly over time, so they're inherently "timed release."

Hi nygardener,

Do you think the 150 lbs of cow manure will be enough for a bed of that size and depth? I hear you can overdo it with manure and in a raised bed I can see it being possible.

Thanks for the suggestions on the bone meal and greensand!

g'day bud,

all i can add presently is look at our raised bed's presentation one is a straw bale garden but what we used for starters may give you some ideas, we don't add any man made fertilisers and little manures.

might be better to start with a depth of say 8" to 10" and then build up over successive seasons to optimum height, which in a 1' high bed could around 14"s.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: lens straw bale garden

My wife and I just built a 4' x 10' (1 foot high) raised bed and need some tips for filling it. We are going to be using a black earth type product as the base for the bed. We then want to add five 30 lb bags of composted cow manure to the mix. After that I was thinking I would sprinkle some timed-release granulated all purpose fertilizer such as Miracle-Gro Organic Multi-Purpose Organic Plant Food into the mix. How does this sound? Do we need more manure? Less? Any thoughts or input would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

You never told us how much of what mix you will be adding to. Is the manure composted or dehydrated? John

Here is a link that might be useful: John's Journal

Hey Len,

That's quite an interesting project. It's amazing the results you are getting though! Love the BIG water collector. I look forward to updates...

Also, I hear that fish meal and/or seaweed meal is a great "complete" organic fertilizer with many of the elements needed already in it. Maybe I can toss some of that in the mix? Does anyone here use it?

You can use some native garden soil as well, if availabe within your property.
It will improve moisture retention when mixed with compost, topsoil and manure,
and it is free.

Hi John,

For the sake of convenience (and running out of time) the cow manure is a well composted, bagged variety (0.5-0.5-0.5) available at the hardware store. I will be buying five 30 lb bags to add to the mix. The balance of the mix will be (tentatively) black earth produced locally and of good quality, some bone meal and possibly seaweed meal as well. Seems like a good mix of N-P-K to me. And I'll nix the miracle-gro. What do you think?

A lot of good suggestions with the manure, bone meal, compost. Before adding the soil try to soak brown card board pieces and throw them in. Earthworms love cardboard and aerate the soil which helps in drainage and growth of roots.

Here is a link that might be useful: uj's vegetable garden

It looks good but I would hold the MG. I would wait and see how the plants grow and amend later if needed. Too little is better than too much, you can always add. John

Here is a link that might be useful: John's Journal

I agree with everyone especially nygardner and John on holding the MG. Since you already used manure, you can sprinkle MG Organic (7-?-?) if you need it later on.

Is that a snake having supper in John's journal? Wow!

I've found that too much manure in a raised bed makes for a soil that sticks together a little too much. I did 2x12' raised beds that look more like "rows" than "beds". I also skimped a little and made mine 6" high instead of a foot... I plowed 6" of earth below the raised bed and figured I'd get away with 12" of soil for the tubers to grow in. Dont understand the need for people to do raised beds that are like 2 feet high... talk about HUGE amount of soil you'll need.