Bagged soil or bulk order soil for raised beds?
bunti
6 years ago
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trianglejohn
6 years agobunti
6 years agoRelated Discussions
new raised bed, where to get organic soil?
Comments (8)I would say McFarlands as well. Yes it is composted matter from who knows where, anything people bring to drop. But I have seen the HUGE piles this stuff composts in and I think that alot of the bad is lost in the composting process, but no guarantees. I too would prefer 100% chemical free, but when I built several large beds the cost was not possible. What I ended up doing was filling the bds about half way and then adding organic soil and compost. The stuff at McFarlands comes in several mixes, which is nice, since you can mix it to amend your current soil. I usually get the 3 way mix (Compost, Soil and Sand), but they also have heavier mixes that would work as a mulch. I try to only use it for beds that I am not planning on using to grow produce, due to the possible chemicals, but at like $15 for half a yard (about 2/3 a pickup bed full) the price can't be beat when you have a lot of ground to cover. Added bonus, I usually take a load of debris with me, drop the debris, pick up the new dirt, one stop shopping. Just don't breath deep, that place can really put on a stink if the wind and weather is right. Yikes....See MoreWhere to get soil to fill a raised vegetable bed
Comments (23)A followup on my garden - I've been having lots of problems with the new garden beds I built with the manure amended soil I purchased earlier this year (see post in January). I was seeing weird growth, like a virus, but it was affecting only plants in beds with the new soil. After doing some research and speaking to the Extension office - it seems that my nice soil which had been amended with cow manure apparently is contaminated with Grazon - an herbicide used on animal hay because it kills pigweed and other broad-leaved weeds. It doesn't hurt the cows, passes right through them into the manure. The manure takes anywhere from a year to several to lose the toxicity of the herbicide... So, instead of terrific beans, cowpeas, potatoes, etc. I have twisted and deformed plants... I'm hoping to let others know about this phenomena - it's apparently well-known in the industry. Too bad I didn't know... Cindy Here is a link that might be useful: Warning about herbicides in manures......See Morebulk soil resources for raised veg planters? - Southern CA
Comments (3)Look for "soil amendments" in the Yellow Pages, online or hardcopy/phone book....See MoreCreating Raised Bed Soil Mix - w/o Heavy Metals?
Comments (31)I have mostly silt loam, The heaviest corners are silty clay loam. As I said above somewhere, In 50 foot in one garden and 75 foot in the 2nd garden [the 3rd is flat ], I have 3 soil types. They have a very nice slope of about 1%. At the top end the original soil before amending was a lighter color and worked up lumpy...with fall plowing. The middle was loamier and darker brown. The lowest corner was nearly black and worked up like sugar if fall plowed...but a bear if spring plowed. I don't moldboard plow anymore. The very upper end was a bit of Glywood soil. The middle is Blount. The heavier corners Pewamo. About 4 miles from me there is a change in the soil types...mostly Brookston nd Crosby. Brookston and Pewamo are very rich soils, but tend to be low lying and damper in spring. Here is a site that can be moved around after you figure that out. https://www.acrevalue.com/soil/IN/Madison/...See Moreerasmus_gw
5 years agotrianglejohn
5 years agogardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
5 years ago
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