In the event you’re putting in a brand new raised mattress this 12 months, how do you fill it as inexpensively as potential but additionally present high quality soil that your new greens will thrive in?
That’s the dilemma many gardeners face. I’ve had my share of disappointing experiences by utilizing the most affordable bagged soil I might discover. I realized the onerous method that you simply get what you pay for. However should you’ve ever got down to fill a raised mattress with high quality elements it’s a must to buy, you recognize that the price of filling a raised mattress can get fairly steep.
In a decade of rising in raised beds, and even by evaluating completely different soil mixes on this side-by-side raised mattress soil combine comparability, I’ve settled on a way to filling new raised beds for cheaper than you notice — with out sacrificing high quality.
My BEST harvests EVER have come from utilizing this methodology to fill my new raised beds.
And the excellent news is, this methodology is adaptable to what chances are you’ll (or could not) have readily available.
Earlier than we get to the steps to filling a brand new raised mattress, let me share the fundamental rules for you, so you possibly can alter it to your distinctive state of affairs.
Place the BEST soil within the high 6″ of the raised mattress.
No matter whether or not your raised mattress is 6″ deep or 36″ deep (I’ve each…with all the things in between), it’s the highest 6″ that issues probably the most. With annual greens, herbs, and flowers, the largest focus of their roots will fill this zone.
That’s why filling the remainder of the mattress with high-quality — however costly — soil is a waste of cash. It’s merely not essential.
Select Excessive High quality Compost + Topsoil
Now that we’re solely involved with the highest 6 or so inches, we will afford — pun meant — to be extra choosy with what we select to make up that high six inches. For this, I constantly get the most effective outcomes with roughly a 50/50 mix of topsoil and high-quality compost.
Let’s speak about these two essential elements.
