Justaguy, Tom Mobley has a had unbelievable success with just 14 14 14 in his pot n pot method. I am totally new at this business, my dad who just past away this year at 99 always had a large veggie garden in NC, but I was never interested until now at 72 ! I have put some MG in the water once they started blooming, but this first big beef is unbelievable (seems to be my favorite word this morning :>)). Our weather here is very subtropical, I have two very large mango trees that people said would not survive this far north and west (away from the Atlantic and gulf stream), but put them on the South side of my 12 cbs wall of the hangar and they have done extremely well. People keep tomatoes producing here from fall until June when it apparently is so humid that they fail to set new fruit. Typical day high here summer is 92 and 90% humidity and 70 low at night. Lots of rain in summer, we've had zip where we're located here west of port st lucie this winter and spring. Sorry about how dark the pictures turned out and with my palmetto background it is really hard to see how large the first bigbeef is in the bucket. Will try again to make a picture. bernie

There's no need to use vermiculite. Idaho gardener mentioned sulfur and coffee grounds to combat the high pH that is fairly common in the intermountain west. since you're planting in a lasagna garden, the pH of the soil won't be a factor. Although coffee is acidic, the acid is water soluble, so the acidity ends up in the cup and the grounds are pretty close to neutral. You should also test the soil before doing anything about pH. Although most of the intermountain west has high pH soil, My understanding is that there are some places in and around Denver that have acidic soil (I think I read that it has to do with something in the granite).

CCA treated wood has been off the market since 2004, so that is no longer an issue. And there has been no significant scientific documentation to support the notion that CCA-infused lumber leaches excessive amounts of arsenic into the soil anyway - modest levels of arsenic tend to be present in most soils. Raised beds do not have to be created from lumber - inexpensive concrete blocks work just as well and can be assembled into raised beds and disassembled at will. Or use recycled concrete chunks, often available for free. And using these or any recycled wood products like Trex eliminates any rotting issues as well as any insects that may be attracted to wood. Slugs are slugs and in the PNW they will be present regardless of planting situation - in ground, in raised beds, even in container plantings. Baiting will control the worst of the slug damage in any case. Any mounded or raised planting area will require at bit more frequent watering than inground or nonmounded/bermed areas - that is just the physics of drainage and water movement. There is nothing specific about constructed raised beds that would make them any more higher maintenance than mounded or inground row plantings other than the use of materials and even untreated cedar or redwood will last 5-10 years before needing to be replaced, longer if they are lined with plastic to limit contact with damp soil. And problems with cultivation is a non-issue. Once they are filled with soil, additional cultivation in the way of tilling is seldom necessary and generally not recommended anyway. Additions of compost or other OM can be made easily in the offseason or before planting. There is no need to disassemble a raised planter to renew or refresh the soil. We all have our preference on what we like best, but there is nothing innately inherent regarding constructed raised planters that makes them less desireable than inground plantings other than personal choice.

I agree with the above poster. I make my raised beds out of treated 1 x 6 inch boards. When placed directly on a soil area, this allows the plants to continue downward. If you put some kind of weed repellent down, this prevents the plants from getting further down. I'd just put your boards right over the top of the sandy area and fill it in with your mix. Then plant! Here is a link that might be useful: BsnTech Gardening Blog