Best way to fill raised garden beds?

[hopefulgreenthumbs]

Hi experts! First year attempting vegetables in my newly built raised garden beds! My two beds are each 4'x6'x10", a bit less than 24 cubic feet each. From SF bay area with zone 9B if that helps.

- What is most reasonable way to fill the beds if I will like to grow vegetables (tomatoes in one, combination of cucumber/squash/eggplant in second)? Seems like there is a lot of various recipes of compost with soil. Should I just buy multiple bags from home depot? Buying in bulk is not really an option as I have no pickup truck and the beds are on top of my sloped backyard.

- Can I attempt the lasagna gardening method now and amend the top layer with store bought bags of potting soil so I can put the seedlings in now?

Any friendly tips for a beginner trying to stay on budget is much appreciated?

 

[oneeye]

I see you are in the US, you can purchase about 20 bags of top soil in the bag for $2.69 a piece. You can throw in a few bags of compost in for about $5 a bag in with the topsoil. Then you are ready to grow. Good luck

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

Get some "garden soil" plus some composte. Lots of brands out there. It will cost you a bit the first year, but after that you only need to add and adjust.