How to Make The Best Raised Garden Beds Soil

Garden beds gardening is an excellent way to garden in a narrow space. The quality of the soil mixture in the garden beds provides a reason for the gardener to produce a good harvest. In addition, you can control the type of soil product used for raised garden beds and create the required soil.

Garden bed gardening, easy to care. If you have trouble bending, stooping and kneeling, create a raised garden bed at the height that best suits you.

Let's be clear

There is no specific combination of ingredients to make the perfect raised garden beds soil. What you put into the soil depends largely on what you plan to plant and the local climate.

Catalogue

The soil mix for garden beds starts with a good basic soil mix

What soil to put on the garden bed - why not buy compost directly?

The soil of the raised garden beds need not be very deep?

When should the soil used in the garden bed be modified?

How to modify garden beds to improve soil health?

Create soil for your garden bed to meet your goals

Covering is very important!

The soil suitable for garden bed gardening can produce a bumper harvest!

The existing soil can always be improved by adding more organic materials.

Different plants need different pH values. For example, blueberries need more acidic soil.

In addition, adjust the soil texture according to the local weather conditions. For example, if you live in a dry and dry climate, you need a soil mixture that can retain water and has good capillarity.

One way to start "building" fertile soil... First, make a 50-50 mixture of high-quality compost and screened topsoil.

When compost and screened topsoil are thoroughly mixed together, you have an excellent alkaline soil mixture that can be modified according to your specific climate and plant needs.

raised garden bed

To drain the compost mixture more quickly, use a three part mixed soil formula. For this coarse mixture, mix equal parts:

Horticultural coarse vermiculite

Composting

Canadian Sphagnum Sphagnum

As with the 50-50 mixture, garden vermiculite, compost and sphagnum are thoroughly combined to obtain the best results.

Coconut fiber is an excellent substitute for peat.

In addition, compost is procured from at least five different locations. This allows various plant nutrients to enter the organic garden.

What soil to put on the garden bed - why not buy compost directly?

If you rely on bagged garden soil or bagged compost in the garden center, you may be scarce in organic nutrients and soil organisms. There is no reason to buy compost. Composting is easy at home.

Well seasoned compost provides rich organic gardening nutrition.

Compost is rich in organic matter and is made of yard, garden, grass and kitchen residues.

If you raise chickens, horses, rabbits or goats, you have an excellent source of nutritious compost.

If you don't have any livestock, look for local organic farms or gardeners to supply natural compost sources.

The soil of the raised garden bed need not be very deep

When creating this high-quality raised garden bed soil mixture, it does not require thick spreading. This nourishing and fertile mixture will support various plants, even if it is only 6 inches deep.

Be sure to lay a thick cardboard (covering layer), newspaper or landscape fabric on the bottom of the garden bed. The lining helps prevent plant roots from contacting native soil and prevent weeds from growing into fertile soil.

When should the soil used in the raised garden bed be modified?

Early spring, until the garden bed soil is mixed and replenished. Remember that the fragile garden soil is ventilated, soft and light.

You should be able to easily reach your fingers into the soil until you reach your upper knuckles. If you find the soil surface hard and unyielding, take measures to cultivate, modify and lighten the soil.

Experts recommend cultivating native soil before adding soil to elevated beds.

How to modify garden beds to improve soil health

The 50-50 mixture and the three part mixture provide the necessary foundation for good soil in the garden. Once you are ready, you can adjust and modify the soil to suit specific plant choices.

A useful supplement to well balanced garden soils is slow release organic fertilizers.

Processing it into soil once or twice a year will help improve soil quality and soil nutrient value. Work in early spring and/or late autumn.

After application, apply a thick covering or compost. The mulch helps to retain nutrients and water in the soil.

raised garden bed

Other good professional correction options include:

Chopped bark, sawdust and/or sawdust. They decompose slowly and help to improve the soil structure.

Used tea bags and coffee powder, as well as compost coffee grinding, provide NPK ingredients. They are an excellent complement to the compost heap.

Algae provide a good balance of nitrogen, potassium and calcium. This seaweed is rich in potassium.

Alfalfa flour is an excellent source of nitrogen. It also provides some micronutrients, potassium and phosphorus.

Sulfur helps to increase the acidity of the soil. It makes it easier for your plants to absorb calcium from the soil.

Dolomite lime helps to increase the alkalinity of the soil. It also adds a lot of magnesium and calcium.

Aged feces (at least six months) provide rich minerals and nitrogen.

Wood ash in garden soil will reduce the acidity of the soil. Ash is supplemented with various nutrients, including potassium.

Use perlite instead of vermiculite, because perlite can better retain water.

Green sand releases micronutrients and potassium in a slow release manner.

Phosphate slowly releases micronutrients and phosphorus.

Bone meal provides some nitrogen and a lot of phosphorus.

Gypsum is an excellent additive for well drained soils.

Soybean meal releases nitrogen slowly and steadily.

Epsom salts provide large amounts of sulfur and magnesium.

Blood powder provides a healthy dose of nitrogen.

Create soil for your raised garden bed to meet your purpose

The texture of the garden bed soil mixture should match your goals. For example, if you plant seeds directly into a garden bed, you need finer soil.

Fortunately, you don't have to change all the soil on the bed to do this.

Start with a basic 50-50 or three portions of the mixture, and then coat it with finer soil. The good soil at the beginning of the seed should be spongy, moist and rich.

This seed starter medium is created by combining fine sieving, composting and sphagnum.

raised garden bed

Covering is very important!

Garden mulch plays an important role in shallow soil. The mulch helps to retain moisture and protect the garden bed soil from the sun. It also helps prevent the invasion of weeds.

Once the seedlings have started, thin them and let the hardest plants take root. Cover around them to keep nutrients and water in the soil to help them thrive.

Surprisingly, many modern gardeners think the best is a few inches of pure compost. Compost has all the protective and moisturizing functions of bark mulch. However, it also adds nutrients to the soil.

The soil suitable for gardening with raised garden beds can produce a bumper harvest!

The garden bed garden is a perfect choice for small spaces. A well maintained garden bed garden can produce four times as many crops or vegetables as a traditional compost only garden.

This is very useful for home vegetable growers with small yards. Even patio and balcony type container gardening settings can be used for gardening.

When you create light, ventilated and nutritious soil for your garden bed garden project, you can expect to achieve great success.