You didn't state your zone location. In my area of western WA with dry summers & wet mild winters drainage is utmost because things rot in our cold wet soils if I don't amend soil for fall/winter crops. We need to add lime yearly due to the heavy rain leaching the soil. You could consult the county extension gardening resources or consult a local independent nursery for more information about the soils in your area. Mixing it up now sounds like a good idea. Mulch plants after planting. Add compost after harvest. Keep putting organic matter back in on top of the soil & the worms will work it in the rest of the way. You won't have to dig through & mix it all up again. The beauty of raised beds is that you only dig once. If you're planting transplants you could just part the layers & plant them. Seeds will need fine soil so they can break through. Chunks make it more difficult for them. I agree about allowing space for mulch to hold the moisture & provide some frost protection if your climate warrants.

Skybird - sorry, I think I completely confused you! The soil that sinks every year is a container mix we had delivered from a nursery when we built the first four beds, so there's no native soil in those at all. Just organic stuff, so it's constantly degrading. I just didn't want to add SO much organic matter to our native soil in the asparagus bed that it would end up doing the same thing, but it seems like I would need to use at least 1/3 or more organic matter for that to happen, and I don't think I need nearly that much. I'm probably just obsessing anyway (what a shock!) ;) Our soil is good...kind of a heavy loam I guess. I wouldn't quite say "light and fluffy," but it usually crumbles fairly easily. It really only gets hard when it's been compacted. I find clay once in a while when I dig around but there's not much at all in the first foot or so. Many wise and hard-working homeowners before us have brought in good stuff. But it must have been all clay a looooong time ago - we're about a mile or less from what used to be an old brickyard. And believe me, we WILL certainly enjoy the asparagus - it's my favorite veggie. :) I guess we should expect to be able to start harvesting in the third year, which seems far away until I realize we've been in this house more than five years already. Thanks again! Dianne

I meant to say soil with lots of organic matter, not organic soil. I make a big and wide hole, maybe one yard in lenght and width and 1/2 a yard deep. I fill out this hole with the best soil I can buy at any garden center...I mix in some cow manure, chicken manure and any other rich matter I find...make sure you mulch heavily after planting the vines. Fernando, in Brasil, commercial passion vines are replanted every couple years. Here in Florida, I do the same, I replant my vines every two years, maximum every three years. Nematodes is a big problem in sandy soil. I hope this info will help you. Where are you located?

You need almost a cubic yard of soil per bed. That's a significant investment if you are going with some custom soil mix. But it is really not necessary to get too carried away with what you fill the beds with. All you need is soil - like ordinary garden soil - and some organic amendments like compost or composted manures. If you don't have excess soil sitting around at home - and who has 6 yards of soil going begging for a home?? - then search out some bulk soil suppliers in your area. Most will carry something like a "garden" or "landscape" mix that will suffice nicely, often being an OM enriched product straight from the supplier. Even plain old topsoil (whatever they choose to sell under that vague designation), as long as not filled with rocks and roots, will work perfectly well for a raised bed as long as you incorporate a fair amount of OM in the mix. Focus on the bulk suppliers - bulk soils are far less expensive than bagged product and you would need a ton of bagged stuff to arrive at 6cy. For a raised bed soil, you don't need peat moss and you don't need vermiculite. Peat moss will increase soil acidity, which may not be desirable, and can retain excess moisture. Vermiculite is not advised for any inground (or even container) plantings as once it becomes saturated with water, it collapses and impedes good drainage. And it is an unnecessarily expensive additive as well. Just plain ole "dirt" and a good quantity of OM - 10-15% of the mix - will provide a very successful start to a raised bed garden.