"The very best thing you can spend money on is a bag of azomite. " "That's very expensive stuff per volume, and it would be last on my list." While it is true It is good to not add something unless it is needed, it could be needed if your soil really is lacking minerals. There are many that use this "azomite". I never heard of it, but I just read it is used for soils that have been demineralized. It says there is 70 trace elements in it. I am not sure if those same elements can be found in just crop residue and horse manure and composted leaves which is about all I use for organic matter the rest of the nutritional needs are filled with synthetic fertilizer for my garden. These minerals are said to be needed elements. If they are lacking then it needs to be added one way or another. This is great info here- "Justus von Liebig, the German chemist who became known as the âÂÂFather of Fertilizerâ (1803 - 1873) made major contributions to agricultural and biological chemistry by developing the Law of the Minimum. AzomiteâÂÂs primary nutritional function can be explained through LiebegâÂÂs Law. The Law states that plant growth is determined by the scarcest âÂÂlimitingâ nutrient. If one of the many essential trace elements is deficient in the soil, the yield and immune function of its plant life will be affected; therefore supplementation with the totality of the required nutrients supports optimum growth." Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azomite

This is what I meant, sooby: People make raised beds and lasagna beds and start by putting cardboard or newspaper on the bottom. Then they pile 12 inches, or more, of fertile, weed-friendly soil, or fertile, weed-inviting organic matter, on top of the newspaper. Most weeds are not going to make it through the 12 inches of stuff that is put on top of the newspaper, so what's the point of the newspaper? Weeds will grow in the soil that the raised bed is filled with, so why not put your weed barrier on the top where it actually accomplishes something---keeping the weed or sod from reaching light. If you really want a weed-free garden, put your mulches on the top of your soil, not under it. Or am I missing something? I only find cardboard fit for paths or perrennial beds, I dislike it in vegetable or annual beds. It slips around, and it's much more difficult to apply than newspaper if you're putting it around small plants. I'm a newspaper girl, but, of course, I always cover it with something for pretty and for weight. I feel like this is difficult to read. I'm sorry, I can't seem to do any better.

I've got a little over 1200 sq ft in raised beds right now. I use cardboard covered by wood chips in my pathways. The wood chips hold moisture where the plants can access it - even in hot, dry weather the area under the chips is cool and damp; and I don't have to water near as much. The chips also provide a 4 season path to walk on/work from. I add more chips each year; and if weeds are a problem - ie: if I let lambsquarter go to seed - I lay down a sheet of cardboard over the weedy area before putting down the new layer of chips. The chips break down over a period of about 3 years, at which time I rake back the top, intact chips, then dig out the composted material. I'm a little OCD, so I sift the big chunks out (and use them to mulch around fruit trees), then use the sifted material to mulch the plants in the garden. I don't incorporate it - I let the worms take care of that. Since I rarely turn the soil in my raised beds, preferring to use a bulb auger to dig the holes for my plants; it doesn't get incorporated in a large way, so no nitrogen stealing. [IMG]http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/Polly916/100_0053.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/Polly916/100_0126.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f262/Polly916/100_0122.jpg[/IMG] The cardboard seems to draw worms to the garden, so that is a mark in it's favor. The paths in the front section of my garden are 3' wide, and that's too narrow to suit me. The paths are about 4 1/2 feet wide in the back section of garden, with 6' wide paths between the sections; and a full 6' wide in the newest section, which allows me to bring a lawn tractor and trailer in to haul manure/compost/mulch/bedding plants/water/etc... The 6' width also allowed room for my Pop's golf cart to pass through. I plan to add another 4, 4x8 raised beds to the garden this year; and if finances allow, I will redo the front section of garden, and widen the paths in that area. I have plenty of ground, so the wide paths work better for me. YMMV.

One reason for using those liners is that they keep the soil away from the wood frames of the raised beds and therefore help keep the wood from rotting. However, those liners also help keep the wood wet which is the primary reason for rotting, so nothing is really accomplished. Some will tell you to use the liners, especially if treated wood is used because the liners are supposed to keep the contaminants from that PT wood out of the garden. Even with CCA PT wood the contaminants did not pose that much of a problem because any contaminants leached out did not travel far and did not get taken up by the plants. The major way any contaminants might pose a problem o you is by your making contact with the wood and then not properly washing. As a general rule of thumb those liners are an unneeded material. kimmq is kimmsr