[spacecadet]

hey guys i just built a 93" x57" x 5.5" raised bed what kind of soil and other amendments do i need to add and how much of each i am used to growing in hyrdo not soil so kind of new for me all so i be growing grown beans and lettuce and may be some tomatoes. could use ny other tips for this style of growing.

[barnyard]

Its a misconception that gardeners need to add soil to raised beds. Often times double digging the soil and shoring up the garden edges by some method is all that's needed to provide a raised bed.

Double digging is where you dig in strips and remove the first layer of soil then dig the second layers. That way you're achieving twice the digging depth. This process fluffs up the soil and will give you at least a few inches above existing grade and create a raised bed. Sure you can add soil or peat moss if you want but it's really not necessary.

Store bought "top soil" is usually just plain 'ol dirt with little structure and is nothing special to grow things in. People buy top soil and think they're getting some kind of special dirt and its usually no better, or worse, than their existing soil.

Sure you can also add peat moss but then you're going to need to control for
pH. Also be aware of creating two layers of different types of soil. You're usually better off improving the existing soil.

Once you've properly cultivated your existing soil the next step is to improve it with compost or fertilizer. Compost is pretty much a cure all and will provide balanced nutrition for your plants and improve soil structure. Cover the garden with 3"-4"'s of compost and dig into the top 6"'s.

If you can't get that much compost you can supplement with fertilizer. I use a combination of organic ferts that includes: bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal and greensand (this is a garden mix and not a container mix). There's also a lot of choices in pre-mixed bagged organic and chemical fertilizer.

For the garden edging lots of things will work. Cinder blocks, landscape timbers and 2x material are all popular material for edging. You can also just mound the soil and not use any edging at all but this usually creates drainage issues. Without something to hold the soil back when you water its easy to wash away your soil and seeds.

Let's see your garden spacecadet is approx 8'x5'x.5'. Can you get your hands on some 2"x10"'s? This would give you enough height to add a few inches of compost.

Raised bed provide good drainage, warm faster in the spring and create a defined area making it easier to control weeds.

Happy Cultivating!

[wastekan]

Nice writeup Barn-)
My raised beds get all my compost, left over and reclaimed potting soil etc, over time it is almost a soiless mix. Using a low pressure drip system with a fertilizer injector, allowed me to turn the "old in ground garden" into a horseshoe pit replacing it with two 4x8 raised beds.

[geopolitical]

The only thing extra I added to the soil in our raised beds was perlite, and that's because our soils here are very heavy on clay and it helps maintain loft.

[sero!]

I use only my compost, and it works well... and it´s cheap