soil or compost to finish my raised bed?

dreaming

At last I have nearly filled my raised bed. It is a Linkabord kit 2m x 1m, and half of it is double height (about 40 cm I think). Well, I put old cardboard at the bottom to cover the grass it is stood on, followed by some coir compost to about 2/3 full then a load of organic compost from Homebase mixed with a couple of old growbags and a couple of bags of potting compost I had. Now it needs "topping up" with about 4 more bagfuls (estimate) but I can't decide whether to get more compost or topsoil.

Can anyone give me any advice please?

I'm not sure what I can put in there now either so any suggestions for that would also be welcome. Maybe that determines whether compost will be better or not.

Hopefully by next year my own compost will be ready.

Thanks

A._Badger

I'm puzzled by novice raised bed growers who seem to have been led to believe that compost is better than soil. If you are going to grow in compost, why not just use a pot or some other container and have done with it? After all, a raised bed filled with compost alone is just what that is - a container filled with potting compost.

Potting compost doesn't have soil's ability to buffer reserves of moisture and fertiliser, which means it needs more regular watering and feeding. This is why experienced gardeners often prefer soil-based to soilless composts.

So my answer would be to get some decent topsoil in there and to try to increase the proportion of topsoil next year, too.

dreaming

Thanks A.Badger. I am used to growing in pots so I suppose I did think of it as one large container, but I have been leaning towards topsoil for the final layer.

I see this year as a bit of a learning experience as I plan to put another one up next year to grow more.

A._Badger

dreaming wrote: »

Thanks A.Badger. I am used to growing in pots so I suppose I did think of it as one large container, but I have been leaning towards topsoil for the final layer.

I see this year as a bit of a learning experience as I plan to put another one up next year to grow more.

Others may disagree, but I tend to look at it more the other way round - use topsoil as the base and add compost on top, letting the worms and other critters take it down, as happens in the natural process.

Good luck, anyway. It's an excellent method, with some limitations, it must be said, but I'm delighted with the results from mine.

valk_scot

Why did you cover the grass? I'd have skimmed off the turf, dug a spades depth down, turned the turf in at the bottom and backfilled with the soil plus some home made compost or well rotted manure. That would bring the soil level up quite a bit jjust from the digging and would give a far deeper potential root run. After that I'd add topsoil and home made compost...that multipurpose stuff you get in bags isn't the least bit suitable for growing vegetables in a permenant bed. It runs out of nutrients in six weeks and the structure doesn't resemble soil in the least so it won't hold water either.

There seems to be an increasing tendency to treat raised beds as some sort of giant pot/planter, rather than an actual part of the soil. Given that you can create a raised bed without using any edging at all it strikes me that people are getting hold of the wrong end of the stick here. The raised bit is not the edging or shape, it's the soil level. Soil. Not coir compost or artificial growing medium plus non-stop fertilizer.

A._Badger

Not for the first time, I'm in complete agreement with valk_scot.

dreaming

valk_scot wrote: »

Why did you cover the grass? I'd have skimmed off the turf, dug a spades depth down, turned the turf in at the bottom and backfilled with the soil plus some home made compost or well rotted manure. That would bring the soil level up quite a bit jjust from the digging and would give a far deeper potential root run. After that I'd add topsoil and home made compost...that multipurpose stuff you get in bags isn't the least bit suitable for growing vegetables in a permenant bed. It runs out of nutrients in six weeks and the structure doesn't resemble soil in the least so it won't hold water either.

There seems to be an increasing tendency to treat raised beds as some sort of giant pot/planter, rather than an actual part of the soil. Given that you can create a raised bed without using any edging at all it strikes me that people are getting hold of the wrong end of the stick here. The raised bit is not the edging or shape, it's the soil level. Soil. Not coir compost or artificial growing medium plus non-stop fertilizer.

I covered the grass because it has proved almost impossible to take up. I moved here last summer and the garden was just lawn (well - grass really - I wouldn't call it a lawn) with about 6 blackthorn trees along the fence. I have managed to get most of those out (only 2 left - much reduced) and tried to make a flower border. That's when I found out that the soil is extremely stony, and almost impossible to dig. I decided that this year I would like to grow more veg. but apart from working full time I am also in my 50s with arthritis (which ranges from mild to very severe) so I decided raised beds would be the thing. I asked for advice (on this forum) regarding digging up the grass (which I really didn't think I could manage for the size of bed I wanted) and many people thought it would work just as well to place the beds on top and cover with cardboard etc.
I do understand that a raised bed is not about the edging but I felt it would raise the beds to a more workable height for me, and stop the soil/compost from spilling over when the grandchildren's football hits it. Plus I think they look quite nice. The coir compost was a bit of a cheat, I admit, but I wanted to fill the beds up to a reasonable height quickly. However I know there is no "nutrition" in it hence the organic compost from Homebase to try to address that. As I said in my OP - my own compost is not yet ready otherwise that would definitely be used.
I'm sure I have made mistakes with this which is why I decided to only do one of beds this year so I can experiment a bit and hopefully improve next year, and also why I am on here asking for advice.

Thanks for your comments.

pinkcandyflossprincess

I made a raised bed (mainly out of bordom and the desire to put some old fence posts to use as they were too big to burn. i attached log roll around the edge to finish it off so it looked more attractive. It also had the bonus of creating a raised area in a slping area getting rid of some soil id moved when levelling off.
i did chuck some soil out of 3 cheap veg growbags in it as well mainly as i ran out of soil and to finish levelling it off.
ive so far planted some peas , courgettes potatoes at far end and just sown some easy grow brocolli and lettuce plus nastursiums in.

although advice given is probably the "correct" way to go about things i wouldnt worry, it all depends on what you are after and at worst you realise a mistake has been made so you may have to rethink a little.
I cant see any harm at all in adding compost if thats what you want in there. Id personally prefer mine to be filled full of a nice dark compost rather than the hard as clay stuff i had to dig up, it was back breaking:eek::rotfl:
I didnt have a clue what to do in my garden a few months ago till i reached a point of either i did something myself or leave it like the junkyard it had become...thankfully im strong willed and im proud of what ive done...mainly because ive done it all myself:o
i still have tons to do and am still mastering the art of not killing veg but im enjoying it - my raised bed may not be everyones cup of tea but it works for me and hopefully (with crossed fingers and toes) will produce some veg soon that i can be pleased about:o

annie123

dreaming this may be of interest to you with regards as what to grow in them:

http://www.container-gardening-for-food.com/vegetable-garden-layout.html


I'd top up with topsoil and when your compost is ready in the autumn add that too.
Happy growing

dreaming

Thanks annie123. I shall have a look at that link later. I had hoped to be further along with my plans but as sometimes happens circumstances worked against rather than for me. I have always grown a few tomatoes and peppers in pots but always loved helping my dad when I was little when he grew most of our veg. in our huge garden. Sadly mine isn't that big and as mentioned above a combination of health problems and ground conditions (not to mention time) made me think this was a way I could have an enjoyable hobby as well as saving a bit of cash. I have been very interested in many of the threads on this forum - people seem to be very ingenious in how they adapt their gardens/patios/balconies/windowsills in order to have their own little bit of produce. If I feel up to it at the weekend I may dig out some of the coir/compost mix and add more soil - then I could put the other bed up and at least part fill that, even if I just then cover it with old compost bags for now.

annie123

dreaming I wouldn't bother digging anything out of it, get growing and top up with compost in the autumn.
use this as trial and error to see what grows well in that spot...other than courgettes, which seem to grow anywhere