Soil Mix

[daddylonglegs]

Now that the garden season has ended for me, I'm looking toward next year and moving on from pots to raised beds. I have two questions:

If I build the beds 10 inches high, should I cover the bottom or allow the vegetable roots to grow down into the ground underneath. I'd rather not because I have active weeds under there, but worry that 10 inches won't be enough for hearty rooted tomato plants etc.

What is the best mix of soil? I'm confused about how much "soil" you actually need. Between compost and maneur and vermeculite...?? When I read some blogs it almost sounds like some people don't use "soil" at all. I bought the most expensive Miracle Grow potting soild in the 40 pound bags last year and it was more like top soil than potting soil. And it cost a fortune.

With full sized beds coming next year I'm looking at the cost factor of filling them. Yikes!

Anythoughts would be appreciated.

DLL

[Cynthia]

Good for you for thinking ahead. The sooner you start on your soil, the better because it'll give the organisms a chance to get going.

You can treat the weeds right now with a mix of strong vinegar (20%) & orange oil - one ounce to the gallon of vinegar. That will kill the weeds within hours. then you can add soil on top of that. You could do layers of newspaper to keep down weeds but its probably not necessary.

Here is what I did for my 5 x 12 foot beds 10 inches is plenty deep BTW.

Contact a source for your soil - buying bags for big beds is really expensive. You may want to have some good organic garden soil delivered. I ordered organic garden mix and filled my beds about 3/4 full. Don't pack down the soil. next time, I'd fill them only about 2/3 full because you'll be building up your soil for a long time and you want to have room to mix new things in. - plus space for mulch on top.

Miracle Gro is not an organic product. There are components in their products that actually make the soil poorer.

Add compost on top of that. If you watch Patti's videos, you'll see that she does composting right in the beds - this is a great way to do this and it builds up the soil. I bought some organic compost and now have a big compost bin so I use home-made compost too.

Manure is fine if its finished - meaning its decayed enough not to burn everything - rabbit manure is fine to use fresh out of the bunny :) But most gardening soil will be helped if you add some compost or soil amendments along with the manure because it isn't guaranteed to have all the nutrients you needs.

We can get Mycorrhizal fungi here, so I added a sprinkle on top of the soil - and I am not at home right now or I'd tell you the brand, I bet you can google it. Here is some info from my local organic garden supply (www.shadesofgreensa.com)


What is Mycorrhizae?
"Mycor"-"rhiza" literally means "fungus"-"root" and describes the mutually beneficial relationship between plant roots and some fungi. These specialized fungi attach to the roots and extend far into the soil. Mycorrhizal fungal filaments (hyphae) in the soil are truly extensions of root systems and are more effective in nutrient and water absorption than the roots themselves.

How do Mycorrhizal fungi help plants?
Finding nutrients in the soil, particularly phosphorus, and delivering them to the plants is the primary function of the fungi, but there is also important disease and pathogen suppression. The fungi and the roots of the plants form a bond which helps the plants withstand attacks from root knot nematodes, soil borne diseases (both fungal and bacterial), drought, salt, and toxic pollutants in the soil. It also reduces transplant stress, plant loss, and much more. Another very important feature of the relationship is the improvement of soil texture. The hyphae growing on the roots clump the clay particles into aggregates, thereby allowing more oxygen to reach the root zone. This promotes rapid multiplication of beneficial aerobic bacteria which fix nitrogen, increase the solubility of phosphorus, and process other elements into forms the plant can use.

Also I use a granular organic fertilizer on the soil - granular because it dissolves slowly over time & mix everything in. Then add compost tea or a liquid like Hasta Gro frequently during your first growing season.

I added earthworms too the first year because buying my soil meant it wasn't really as "alive" as I wanted, even though it was organic, it felt sterile to me - so I did my best to get things going on a micro level. I bought some red wigglers.

You'll find that each year, your garden soil gets better and better and you'll have fewer soil borne diseases as your organics get established.

You certainly don't have to do all the things I have mentioned, but I wanted to put it out here for you, so you can do some each season or as you feel it will be helpful.

This fall, I'll plant some of my beds, but leave others "empty" I may sow some red clover on one bed that has worked hard the last years so I can turn over the clover in the spring. Other beds will get a sprinkling of the granular fertilizer and big layer of leaves from under the trees.

Let us know what you decide to do, and keep us posted on how your garden grows.

[daddylonglegs]

Thank you so much,
That is all great information. I sure will let you know what I do and keep you posted. I was going to wait until spring to do this, now I know better.
Thanks
DLL

[Cynthia]

Its a real learning process.

I am currently amazed at how my large compost pile decays down into a very small amount of compost - micro-organisms are amazing!!

[cityworm]

Good for you for thinking ahead. The sooner you start on your soil, the better because it'll give the organisms a chance to get going.

You can treat the weeds right now with a mix of strong vinegar (20%) & orange oil - one ounce to the gallon of vinegar. That will kill the weeds within hours. then you can add soil on top of that. You could do layers of newspaper to keep down weeds but its probably not necessary.

Here is what I did for my 5 x 12 foot beds 10 inches is plenty deep BTW.

Contact a source for your soil - buying bags for big beds is really expensive. You may want to have some good organic garden soil delivered. I ordered organic garden mix and filled my beds about 3/4 full. Don't pack down the soil. next time, I'd fill them only about 2/3 full because you'll be building up your soil for a long time and you want to have room to mix new things in. - plus space for mulch on top.

Miracle Gro is not an organic product. There are components in their products that actually make the soil poorer.

Add compost on top of that. If you watch Patti's videos, you'll see that she does composting right in the beds - this is a great way to do this and it builds up the soil. I bought some organic compost and now have a big compost bin so I use home-made compost too.

Manure is fine if its finished - meaning its decayed enough not to burn everything - rabbit manure is fine to use fresh out of the bunny :) But most gardening soil will be helped if you add some compost or soil amendments along with the manure because it isn't guaranteed to have all the nutrients you needs.

We can get Mycorrhizal fungi here, so I added a sprinkle on top of the soil - and I am not at home right now or I'd tell you the brand, I bet you can google it. Here is some info from my local organic garden supply (www.shadesofgreensa.com)


What is Mycorrhizae?
"Mycor"-"rhiza" literally means "fungus"-"root" and describes the mutually beneficial relationship between plant roots and some fungi. These specialized fungi attach to the roots and extend far into the soil. Mycorrhizal fungal filaments (hyphae) in the soil are truly extensions of root systems and are more effective in nutrient and water absorption than the roots themselves.

How do Mycorrhizal fungi help plants?
Finding nutrients in the soil, particularly phosphorus, and delivering them to the plants is the primary function of the fungi, but there is also important disease and pathogen suppression. The fungi and the roots of the plants form a bond which helps the plants withstand attacks from root knot nematodes, soil borne diseases (both fungal and bacterial), drought, salt, and toxic pollutants in the soil. It also reduces transplant stress, plant loss, and much more. Another very important feature of the relationship is the improvement of soil texture. The hyphae growing on the roots clump the clay particles into aggregates, thereby allowing more oxygen to reach the root zone. This promotes rapid multiplication of beneficial aerobic bacteria which fix nitrogen, increase the solubility of phosphorus, and process other elements into forms the plant can use.

Also I use a granular organic fertilizer on the soil - granular because it dissolves slowly over time & mix everything in. Then add compost tea or a liquid like Hasta Gro frequently during your first growing season.

I added earthworms too the first year because buying my soil meant it wasn't really as "alive" as I wanted, even though it was organic, it felt sterile to me - so I did my best to get things going on a micro level. I bought some red wigglers.

You'll find that each year, your garden soil gets better and better and you'll have fewer soil borne diseases as your organics get established.

You certainly don't have to do all the things I have mentioned, but I wanted to put it out here for you, so you can do some each season or as you feel it will be helpful.

This fall, I'll plant some of my beds, but leave others "empty" I may sow some red clover on one bed that has worked hard the last years so I can turn over the clover in the spring. Other beds will get a sprinkling of the granular fertilizer and big layer of leaves from under the trees.

Let us know what you decide to do, and keep us posted on how your garden grows.

Well detailed

Also daddylonglegs if you are able to collect leaves, you can mix leaves with manure right in your raised beds. Start by piling for the winter.When spring time comes around,spread the mix and add some soil.