ideas on mixing soil for raised beds?

[willc86]

hey all! so I was thinking 1 part peat moss 1 part top soil 1 part compost - handful of 5 - 5 - 5 fertilizer crumbs and of course perlite.

what do you guys think about this mix? or do you guys think I can get away with

2 part top soil , 1 part peat moss , handful fertilizer
(no compost)

 

[SQWIB]

How tall are your beds?
Are you going to plant in the beds right away?
I wouldn't worry about using perlite but would definitely use compost. I'm a bit down on top soil and like to use my own soil, amended of course.
If planting out in the spring you can add all kindsa stuff to the bed to break down until spring (lasagna gardening)
If the beds are taller and your planting next spring, you can fill with wood (logs, twigs, sticks, leaves, hay, whatever you have then top with 6-8" of your mix (hugelkultur) and plant a legume cover crop.

 

[willc86]

thanks you...im in the middle of planning my backyard. Im roughly going to have beds about 5 feet x 3 feet and about 1 feet deep. These beds WILL NOT be touching the ground, so not sure if this can be considered "potting soil mix"

Beds will be used most likely right away and maybe 2 or 3 not in use. Interesting!!! I am going to google that method to see if it works for me for the beds im not using right away and going to let it compost for spring use.

as for fall and early winter harvest, going to fill these beds now (possibly next week)

So no need to use much perlite, but maybe my typical potting mix for the beds I plant on using now? Maybe
1 part top soil
1 part peat moss
1 part compost
5 - 5 - 5 general purpose fertilizer

just trying to save money i calculated filling these beds will be 50 - 70 dollars each if I were to go premium mix lol

 

[SQWIB]

Can I ask why they will not be in contact with the ground?

If they are not touching the ground I dont know how beneficial a hugelkultur bed would be but you still could use yard waste, rotten wood, cardboard, shredded paper towel rolls, shredded pizza boxes and some greens like grass clippings as a base/fill. You can also by some straw as a fill to reduce cost. Just wet it down real good. I do this in my pots, the wood takes up space so filling isn't as costly and it retains water better. Get your paper shredder out and shred that junk mail and toss it in there.
You can use perlite but I wouldn't pay for it, if you have it on hand, by all means use it.

• Look in your area for a recycle center, here in Philly we have a recycle center that has free compost, triple and single ground mulch some kind of manure and firewood.

Just be careful if you add too much carbon it will tie up nitrogen as it breaks down so make sure you have a good layer above your fill for planting, I would say 6" should be fine.

• Hugel bed

 

[willc86]

Well it was more of a rabbit thing and also ground is in a slope so I can easily dig by the legs to level it out. So it will essentially be a large standing container garden. I can always make it 4 feet by 2 feet if it's more beneficial.

Is there a benefit starting or touching the ground? I've seen people add cardboard box at the bottom of ground beds or even weed guards. Is ground beds vs raised beds not touching the ground the same thing?


Thanks for the tip. I might use carbon for this once I figure out to use raised beds not touching the ground or ground beds.

 

[willc86]

essentially i will have 5 of these right here that im building out of cedar picket fence. I can build em for about 10 - 15 a box lol.

 

[TomatoTango]

If you’re looking to cut costs but get bang for your buck use some manure. I put 2-3 wheelbarrows in all my 8x4 beds every year and they love it. It’s like $2 a bag on sale in stores or buy a truckload for $10 from somebody off Craigslist.

 

[SeniorCitizen]

Do a free simple soil test of your top soil you have then go from there. It can be done with a empty glass jar.The test will show the percentages of sand, clay, silt and organic matter.