Big New Beds Need LOTS of Soil

11 years ago

Hi.

I'm picking up kits to create several raised beds. They will be 22" deep, so will need potting soil in bulk (and, boy, do I mean bulk! Like Lou Ferrigno bulk). I have just a small amount of compost ready to go, so will probably be buying some from Cedar Grove, but I can't plant just in compost, yes? Of bagged potting soils, I really like the Black Magic brand. I've heard good things about ProMix, too. Is the soil available from Pacific Top soils meant for raised beds or just to spread on the ground before planting lawn seed? What do all of you use? Is it available by the (literal) truckload -- and do they deliver?

Thanks so much!

Rain

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Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years ago
Potting soil is unnecessary for raised beds - more or less overkill :-) Because raised beds have an open, freely draining base, all you need is a good, loose, fertile soil.
Look for a quality 3- or 5-way planting mix, sometimes called garden planting mix (I believe PT refers to it as "special planting mix"). These all have a compost component and are ideal for most types of planting situations.

For this type of activity - filing raised beds - you always want to look at bulk soil services rather than purchasing bagged goods. Unless you are dealing with one tiny bed :-) For example, 1 cubic yard of PT's special mix retails for $26.75 picked up. The equivalent volume of a similar bagged product even at bargain rates would run around $100.00!!

And yes, they do deliver but the price per yard is higher and there are minimum loads. Often it is best to borrow a pick-up and drive out and get what you need yourself. They will load it for you.....you just get to unload it once home :-)
larry_gene
11 years ago
Good advice, above.

And yes, you can plant in just compost; there are folks here who dump a foot of dark compost on their lawn and plant vegetables every year, and then replenish the compost to the foot depth the next year. No boards or anything.

But the soil mixes will hold their volume better. No need to fill your kits more than 18" deep. That would be fine for fruiting shrubs. Vegetables take even less. Pack the soil every few inches while filling else plan on some settling.
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I can't tell you how large a planting area you need but a 1200sf garden should be able to grow a LOT of produce, especially if you do succession plantings of fast crops likes greens and peas. I grew up with a much smaller dedicated vegetable garden than that and my folks canned and froze a lot of what we grew. There were 6 of us in my family. You might want to look into 'square foot gardening' for intensive planting in a smaller area. How much soil/compost you will need will depend entirely on how large the garden area is you decide upon. You will have to determine that before you know how much to add. If doing raised beds, it's pretty easy to calculate the volume each will contain (multiply the length x width x depth). If open beds, you'll need at least 6" of soil, more if you want to grow any root crops. Remember to keep the units the same - 6" = .5'. If you were going with the 30'x40' garden area again to a depth of 6", you'd need 600 cubic feet of soil or about 22.5 cubic yards. That's assuming you have no existing soil at your disposal. Here is a link that might be useful: square foot gardening
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Hi Steve! Peonies are pretty forgiving as long as the soil isn't boggy. They can survive and do pretty well in anything from clay to sandy soils so it's kinda hard to mess up. Your idea of adding topsoil to get rid of the depression and create a slight slope sounds like a very good plan. I can tell you from experience though that it's hard to get peonies to the correct depth when planting in a newly topped off bed, they tend to sink and create their own depressions! Another member here, Kousa, advised someone last fall to plant their new peonies so the eyes were at ground level then to mound over them; that way when they sink they won't be too low. I read her advice and followed it on the last of my new peonies last year and will certainly do the same this year, it worked out perfectly. Most peony sellers don't advise adding anything other than compost when planting roots, say it's not necessary. I wouldn't add anything more than that at planting. And whether you mulch or not is personal preference, I do here just because it's so dry in the Denver area, helps conserve moisture.
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Given the shallow depth-to-rock you are facing, I would strongly consider raised beds. Do you compost? If not, start a compost heap and start scavenging composting material from neighbors etc--that'd be the cheapest way to go, though it will take some time. Use compost to fill the beds. You probably don't need them that deep--depending on what you are growing. Maybe 6 to 10 inches? Also, have you heard of Lasagna Gardening? Check it out if not...it might be something you like. You might look around for fill dirt for sale in your area--sometimes people moving earth will sell the fill dirt cheaper by the truckload than by the bag at the graden store. Just be sure you don't get any more of that orange-red clay!! ;) Growing up, my folks used RR ties as fenceposts and for use in landscaping/raised beds. I probably wouldn't use them for a veggie garden, or any treated lumber, but for flowers you would be okay--amazondoc hit the nail on the head about the rail salvage places (don't know of any here though). They may be a cheaper & faster route than rock. IMO, I like rock better for looks & toxicity issues. And depending on where you are, you may have other resources to draw upon (downed timber, construction materials, etc). Patience will definitely be your biggest asset...The soil texture will change with your persistence and over time in planting. Too bad we can't change where top-of-rock is in parts of Middle TN without heavy equip or dynamite :)
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tanya, Yeah, I have no idea how Agricultural Ext. services are offered in Canada. Your Government is usually more helpful than ours, so I'd really be surprised if you didn't have an office, with the testing services, available. I'd call or check in to a local school, college, or university, or local government and ask them. The teachers, or horticulture dept. directors should no doubt know, as well as your local government offices. I live in Tn. and our County Ext. offers the tests for $7. However, it does cost more in other States. I really can't, in good conscience, recommend those home tests. I would exhaust your efforts on professional labs before spending money on the home tests. Please let me know if your local or (is it?) Provincial Government has provisions for tests, as now I am curious. I'm ignorant to the local Government structures in Canada. Do you have Counties? That's how our Ag. services are delineated. Edit: Oh, and even though you had difficulties, and did use a lot of the fish compost, that should make for a VERY healthy bed in the long run. I surely wouldn't say using it was a mistake. I just think there's a learning curve on what it looks like finished, and how to use it properly. It's not available here, so I don't have the hands on knowledge to say what are good amounts. A web search should help, but sometimes it's tough to find good info.
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Embothrium
11 years ago
It is quite possible to go overboard with the organic matter and nutrients.Too much of either becomes limiting. You want your raised beds to be mostly soil, same as when planting in the ground, and not soil-less potting medium. Potting soils are developed to make up for the lack of air movement through container walls.
laurell
11 years ago
I've successfully grown in nothing but Cedar Grove compost with the addition of a small amount of sand and compost generated from my yard.
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
11 years ago
Compost is considered a soil amendment. It is not intended to be a sole planting medium although it can certainly be used to supplement any type of garden or potting soil. But not take the place of :-)

Compost is only partially (OK, mostly) decomposed organic matter. It contains none of the mineral components of a true soil so may very well be lacking in certain micronutrients. And because it is only partially decomposed, it will continue to break down over time, compressing and collapsing and becoming waterlogged and impeding good drainage.And because it continues to decompose, it shrinks. You can expect a 25-60% reduction in volume of compost over the course of a full growing season, depending on how "finished" it is to start with.

One can encounter all manner of anecodotal experiences about growing plants in less than ideal media - heck, hydroponics grows plants in nothing but water - but it is not always the most efficient or productive method. There is a solidly scientific reason why potting mixes and garden blends were created!
plantknitter
11 years ago
the trick is where to find a good non contaminated mineral soil that is not full of weeds or chemicals.

After all these years, I still find compacted construction debris hardpan a few inches down when I go to plant something in a new place.
Embothrium
11 years ago
Dump good soil on top, plant in that.

Big New Beds Need LOTS of Soil

Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

larry_gene

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