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fireduck

Raised Bed Completed-planting mix

fireduck
9 years ago

I have completed my first raised bed...and I am a little bit proud (hehe). I used 2x12's and it has an inside width of 27" (18' long). I am comfortable with that for single-row maters. I considered all the suggestions and ended up with the following blend (basically) for my planting medium. Approx 1/3rd is loose/sandy topsoil, 1/3rd is steer manure/compost blend, and 1/3rd is compost...with some perlite mixed in too. I heard your ideas of compost! My plan is to add only compost in the future as the mix sinks in and compresses. I hope this will work OK. Should I consider any organic fertilizer at first Spring planting??? thanks

Comments (5)

  • sheltieche
    9 years ago

    Mmm, am thinking you might regret narrow raised bed in hot area, as with small pots it could be drying way to fast...
    for composts it is hard to say what you have used and what you ended up- quality matters. Unless you willing to do soil testing of that bed I would just use small amounts of something like Neptune products first year and see what happens.

    Here is a link that might be useful: compost

  • seysonn
    9 years ago

    Your soil mixture sounds all right. As you mentioned, keep adding/amending with compost every season. 27 inch width is ergonomic but not economical in terms of materials cost. By hading 36" width (instead of 27) you could plant twice as many plants by just using 34% more soil, and negligible extra lumber for the ends.

    About fertilizer: Since it is a brand new mixture I would mix in some common all-purpose granular ( 10-10-10 or similar) . Once you have planted your maters, you can tell from their vigor (or lack of it) what is going on. Your plants should mirror the state of the soil/nutrients.

    Seysonn

  • fireduck
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    L...I am not in a hot area. Ten miles from that big ocean really makes the weather mild/nice. I grew in containers last summer with good success (mostly indeterminate's).
    S...good point about the material use. I actually have a plan to mirror this 27"x18' bed...six or eight feet away. With my dear wife....the "look" is quite important. haha. That 10-10-10...are you talking regular synthetic or organic type fert? I am not a die-hard organic guy, but I want to move away from some of my work intense container growing. Some advantages with that...some not. Ya' know?

  • wes074
    9 years ago

    Fireduck
    Your soil mixture is almost identical to what I use in containers and I have high yields of tomatoes compared to most people I know. Something that I should have been doing from the beginning though is a good one to two inch layer of mulch to keep the moisture in and the top layer of soil from baking in the sun. I just use pine bark and it's made a huge difference.

  • fireduck
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    W...you make an excellent point about mulch. My area is much cooler in the summer than you. However, I think the mulch would definitely be an advantage for me, as well. I have lots of wood chips from the local tree people. I might consider straw, however. It might be easier to remove if I want to re-work my soil at a later date.