Bed filled with just OK soil?
nancyjane_gardener
4 years ago
Featured Answer
Comments (25)
JXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agorifis (zone 6b-7a NJ)
4 years agoRelated Discussions
soil for new raised beds, is all compost OK?
Comments (11)I guess I'm the lazy gardener. We have thick sod at our place. Last weekend I started two new beds using the lasagna method. This is how I've started all my beds. First, a thick layer of newspapers and then layers of grass clippings, kitchen scraps, dead plant material (i.e. old bean plants but not tomato plants that may be diseased), chopped leaves from the lawnmower bag, and a heavy sprinkle of wood ashes, and some aged manure. You're supposed to alternate greens and browns. This pile will sink a lot by spring. In the spring, a layer of aged and composted horse manure (mixed with bedding, kitchen scraps, etc) is added to all the beds. Right now, the two beds are about 24 inches tall. Sometimes the used soil/dead plants from pots gets added. I built my first bed in 2007, planted it in 2008. I've been very happy with this system since we have plenty of the ingredients. I get the composted horse manure from a Craigslist find. Perhaps I add enough soil, wood ashes and manure to get a good mix. (We heat with wood.) I started the first bed with old grass clippings from a neighbor and kept adding different material as it became available....See Moreis top soil ok in raised veggie bed?
Comments (19)Just my 2 cents: I recently removed the soil from my garden beds because of topsoil. Gardner placed "topsoil" into the bed and it started to burn my plants. (it was a mix with other things but mainly topsoil) I called up the soil company to find out about their product. Their "topsoil" is enriched and only for lawn (raising, setting up etc..) not for medium planting. As you someone said it is a good idea to make sure the topsoil you are using is good for planting and doesn't require you to wait 6-8 months in the garden beds before you plant....See MoreJust filled my raised beds, now what???
Comments (1)Leave the beds alone. It's probably a good idea to have a bit of time between filling and planting. You wouldn't want to plant and then have it compact. It will settle but otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. As to when to add amendments, that rather depends on what they are....See MoreOK to fill bottom of raised beds with dug-up sod?
Comments (14)I’m currently wrestling with what to do with my excavated sod. My husband scraped up the grass in a 40’ x 20’ area using his tractor bucket. It’s too much and too heavy to discard with my yard waste pickup; and I don’t need it elsewhere. I thought about composting it, but after putting my pile in a marsh area at the back of my property, pesky beavers took those slabs of sod, and used it to block the storm water drainage in that area. Ugh! So, I’ve decided to flip the sod over (roots up), and use it as my raised bed base. I’ll be putting 12” of topsoil and compost on top of it. The area is quite large, so enough cardboard/newspaper is not accessible to barrier future grass and weeds. Will I regret not taking this step? More concerned about grass growth than weeds. Help!...See Moreglib2
4 years agotoxcrusadr
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agoJXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
4 years agofloral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
4 years agorobert567
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agolgteacher
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agoJXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
4 years agojeanwedding. zone 6
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agoglib2
4 years agotoxcrusadr
4 years agoJXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years agoJXBrown (Sunset 24, N San Diego County)
4 years agonancyjane_gardener
4 years ago
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