In a world wide meeting of botanists in Iran in the 1970's a decision was made that harvesting and using Peat Moss was an unsustainable practice, and as a result of that the Royal Horticultural Society has requested its members not use, or havest, Peat Moss. The article about Peat Moss I referenced above is in an issue about 2 back, that I have not found, yet. There are numerous other sources of information that tell you that harvesting of Peat Moss is an unsustainable practice not just one, many. If you want to believe those with a vested interest in continuing to harvest Peat Moss, those that make a living selling it, you can but you really cannot deny that there are better, less expensive materials available to most of us so we do not need to use what is a non renewable resource. Here is a link that might be useful: RHS on Peat Moss

why do you need to raise the bed... what is you normal soil ... it appears... that you have little or no idea what you want to do .. BUT THAT WONT STOP YOU.. lol ... dont get me wrong.. all the power to ya ... but it MIGHT appear that you are starting at a college level course.. with first grade basics ... i suggest.. you take a 10 by 10 foot bed.. in mother earth .. and grow some things... a nursery bed.. and start gaining some knowledge that way ... and then spend the summer defining what you want.. and need for this raised bed that can cost you a lot of money .... then tell us how big next years bed will be... native soil sunlight hours .. how you plan on raising it ... RRoad timbers... retaining wall ... berm .. etc ... drainage of native soil .. etc.. etc.. etc ... it only took me about 15 years to realize.. you plant this year.. in the bed you made last year .... its a lot less stressful than trying to build a proper bed in a week so you can play in it this year ... all that said... go the the topsoil guy ... have him walk the yard with you ... and get a good mix of topsoil.. it should be blackish .. with some native peat ... screened... and of a fine texture.. when wet... and you try to make a snowball.. it should hold together for a moment or two.. before releasing itself... and it should smell pleasant like a greenhouse ... have him dump a couple yards.. flatten it out.. and plant away... it can be as hard.. or as easy as you want to make it ... ken PS: how do you water on a berm??? it all runs off before it soaks in...

folks just a tip,i use for my tomatoes, i have all raised beds,i take a 5 lb,coffee can drill holes into bottom one qtr about 8 then put in rabbit manurecouple hands full,then some leaves cut over with lawn mower twice then wet it, then put some straw on top wet it, screw on lid, put into soil about 4 inches,leave for spring i usally check 2 or 3 times before if some room i add coffee grounds, under straw, now by spring lotsssssss of worm poop now i dig hole with post hole digger add about half can to each hole, put in 2 tea spoons of epsom salt wowwww the toms i get close to record here in ga on one plant had 81 lbs, oh when can empty redo this set can filled back in a new hole when worms u dumped ready they will come right back this way no getting worms out of poop,lol lol im a little lazy lol tu happy gardening

I am in Kimberly, AL. This is my 4th year doing this mix. My first year I used the box frame from my son's old twin bed which was 3x6. I mixed Black Kow with Spagham and fine Vermiculite and planted it with beets, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, spinach and cayenne pepper, kohlrabi, and collards. I did not plant until I moved into my new home which was July. I did not get any lettuce, spinach and beets. But I had so many cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers, collards, and by february had the best tasting carrots that I had to try again. My kohlrabi overgrew and was awful, but it did grow. I had to reframe the box the next year because it rotted completely and was no longer holding my soil up. I used a bag of black kow from the previous year to put my scoops of compost with each planting. This time I did 2 squares of tomatoes, 1 square of cucumber, 2 squares of bell pepper, 4 squares of broccoli, 2 squares of carrots, 2 squares of irish potatoes, 1 square of cayenne pepper, 2 squares of bok choi, and 2 squares of beans. I had the best broccoli. I took a head to work with me, and my coworker and I ate it without any sauce, and without cooking it. I have never tasted fresh broccoli prior, but it was amazing. Everything did so great that last year I expanded one 2x4, 4x4 and 3x3 square. I tried corn last year and did not get a single ear, but had some beautiful stalks for composting. I don't know what I did wrong. I used two squares for a single pumpkin plant, and two squares for a single watermelon, but did not water them enough due to longer hours at work, and I still had fruit on the vines. I have been told by other square footers that a cheaper compost works just as well. I have not started planting yet, because I had to move my entire garden due to tree growth, but I am expanding by a 2x3 and a 2x4 so plan to use nursery mix to fill them this time in accordance with "Cash For Square Foot Gardening book" so that I don't have to mix myself. Let you know how it goes.