Oh WOW!!!!! My mind is blown right now. First time gardener here, due to having to heal from feet surgery, gardening has been a healer to me. Your video should have been the first one I looked at. So many mistakes that I have made, but are able to be corrected. Thank you so much, Sir for educating this first time gardener.
Without question. We're in the Ozarks, and 2-3" down is solid stone, so I've had to use raised bed gardens the 9 years we've lived here. I just use mixture of top soil and Fox Farm soils, occasionally tossing in some compost or feeding with watered down Sourdough bread starter. I've had some excellent gardens but do have to top them off every year.
I agree. The slow shrinkage allows me to add horse manure and compost to the top offsetting the initial need for boatloads of soil. My compost is generated at the perfect rate to supply my raised beds.
I just watched one of your playlists and was thinking that you need to be awarded something for being the best! Congrats! You are what I consider to be the Godfather of gardening. Thank you for your great vids!
Regarding filling beds with logs or branches. I couldn’t find any scientific literature that suggests that you deplete your soil of nitrogen by using logs or branches. Contrary I found one that suggest that there is plenty of nitrogen when using logs or branches ie. Hugel Culture
Caution, Caution Caution!!! Please read this. When buying manure buy the bag. !!! Read the bag before buying. Read the bag. Manure should be close to 100% organic. The bags for sale here has a tag claiming at least 15% organic matter. So , what is the remaining 85%. Well it is sand?, just feel a sample between your fingers. Yep it is mostly sand, I might add, very expensive sand. Buyer beware!!!
I kind of wonder if you add in some nitrogen rich stuff like grass clippings on top of old wood as a a bottom layer, and then soil on top. Then the bottom layer will basically turn into compost over time, and it would reduce the issue of the wood leaching nitrogen from the soil.
"change the bed so they are not so high" Got it. What I have done is put someones old lawn as the base layer and then pile on top of that and let it break down. Gets rid of lawn and fills the bed.
Great video, and thank you. I disagree about your opposition to the "hugelkultur" approach. I make all my raised beds 30" high. I have nutrient rich but drainage poor red clay here. Put down a layer of logs, add clay soil. Another layer of logs, add clay soil. Also I throw in bags of shredded paper from my office in each layer. Watering and stomping/shaking as I go. Then I'll add a layer of just shredded paper, water it down well, and add a generous dose of high N fertilizer (I usually use Milorganite, but blood meal will work). Final 12" is local "top blend" (a menagerie of compost and top soil), with peat moss mixed in by hand. Once the roots hit the wood layer...BAM! No more watering, as the wood acts like a water control system, absorbing and releasing water. Great way to incorporate my extra tree material, extra shredded paper, and clay soil. Yes it shrinks every year. How I fix that is another post!
After doing a lot of research I also settled on the hugelkulture method for my raised beds and filled the bottom half with old rotting logs. I compensated for the nitrogen that will take from the soil by adding grass cuttings and organic compost to the topsoil that I filled it with along with chopped leaves. As these things break down they are going to release nutrients into the ground including nitrogen. I specifically used old rotting logs to avoid nitrogen deficiency which mostly comes from fresh wood.
@@shaolinfist8323 Agree. But I find it works fine with my clay soil. PLUS at the start and end of every growing season, I take a trowel and make a 9" hole, about every 2 feet, and put in a generous handful of wasted coffee grounds and filters. (shhhh, that's my secret to never having a nitrogen deficiency). It all leaches to Mother Earth at the base eventually.
If you live in an area with Bermuda grass don't expect two inches of soil to hold it down. Don't even expect two feet of soil to work. That stuff is almost impossible to hold at bay. Another problem I had at my old house was a lot next door that had Wisteria. I was constantly battling Wisteria vines coming up in my raised beds. That's just life in the Southeastern US though.
I wonder if your Bermuda grass is related to our Couch grass? I never tried raised beds while I was living with that stuff, but the distance I saw its runners travel under other objects I'm sure it would be straight up there. Ordinary bark mulch 4" thick didn't bother it at all.
@@tealkerberus748Bermuda grass (the common name in the US) is called couch grass in Australia and New Zealand. I’ve seen it climb up a pipe over 8 feet off the ground.
Yes... I agree. However, I believe this video covered most issues. Bermuda is a great grass, but HORRIBLE around gardens. You need at least six inches below the bed, (at least) and then a 2" line to compete against it growing into garden imo.
Couch grass in Australia? It sounds more like the Kikuyu grass to me, unless it's also called Couch...will check it out on google.. Whatever grass it is called, it is a monster plant to get rid of, especially if your next door neighbours have it.
I dig down 6-12" in to my native soil, put down logs, and then toss the native soil (heavy clay) back in on top. I know this is not a permanent solution, but as the video says it will take decades to totally break down, but that's what I want because I want to be slowly filling it with more compost as I produce it in my compost bins.
What about using commercial fertilizer,like 10-10-10 . I’ve had excellent results by side dressing my crops. How about sprinkling it in raised beds. This is by far the most knowledgeable gardening info I have watched. I have been very successful gardening, and this man’s info is unquestionably expanding my gardening knowledge, TY
Good stuff. I would quibble with the 2" "is all you need to kill grass". My experience says otherwise especially with the runner grass we have--crab or bermuda, not sure. It's a pia and should be cut out with a higher bed to prevent it's climbing and entering the bed. Thoughts on the newer metal beds?
I just got 4 metal beds a month ago. I haven't assembled them yet, but they seem like they'll work great and last a long time.. But I would recommend either getting a light color or painting them.. The darker the container the more your soil life will get heated by the sun.. Plants might like the extra warmth come spring and fall but aren't gonna like it in August..
Bermuda grass is the devil's grass, and it will literally grow through bricks and concrete blocks. It's one of the few plants on which I will happily use glyphosate....one application isn't enough to kill it. If you have Bermuda, it will easily grow up through even a 36" tall metal bed. That said, I have 3 of the large tall corrugated metal beds from Vego Garden (similar to Birdies beds) and I love them.
@@teebob21 I have 17" Vegega on top of good fabric. Giving them a go this year which is why I asked his thoughts on them. They seem popular or faddish right now.
@@C3Voyage I've been gardening in bare soil for 5 years now after a decade of growing in raised beds, in a patch that used to be a grassland hayfield. We simply can't keep up with the weeding. Buffalo burr, Russian thistle, bindweed, and pigweed are the bane of my existence spring, summer, and fall. Even growing on top of plastic wasn't keeping them under control. We're going back to a smaller scale this year and focusing on containers and raised beds. I'll grow and terminate several rounds of cover crops in our dirt gardens this year to hopefully mitigate the weed problem and germinate most of them out of the soil seed bank.
@@C3VoyageI'm not sure it's a fad per sey. Wood is extremely expensive now and replacing rotted beds every few years is very frustrating. They're very convenient for someone who isn't a do it yourselfer, look nice and last a very long time. I personally just made 8 raised beds with galvanized roofing panels and frames of pressure treated. These are replacing my older wood beds that have rotted. Best of both worlds and looks nice
I’m concerned about chemicals in the soil. I’m trying to grow veg as organic as possible. We have a bulk supplier. I can purchase topsoil and compost, which actually comes from the land fill from leaves and yard debris. My concern is, are there chemicals in that topsoil and compost? It is not Omni certified and they offer no assurances that their product is chem free. I’m doing my best to eliminate as much as I can away from my family both inside and outside of our house. Please, if you would, address the best way to fill raised beds for those of us who wish to grow as organic as possible. I’m not a fanatical purest, but this is an important topic. TY ❤ New sub.
As I see all the you tube videos and see the landscape fabric and logs in the beds, I simply laugh. I do mix some of my native soil (not typically topsoil) to my purchased garden mix. I don’t know if it helps but I like the idea I have some native microorganisms. I always use my own compost and worm castings. I do have to continue to add soil every couple years. I have used all compost and it simply didn’t work well. I do grow my flowers and other plants in my sticky, nasty clay soil and have done well enough if I add compost regularly and monitor water levels.
Long time gardener, here, advising my adult child on constructing a raised bed. She lives in an area of Houston that has sticky clay soil (virtually gum). Totally worthless! Nice to finally see advice and guidance that I know to be correct. I'll be sending her a link to this video. Thanks!
I've seen umpteen successful gardeners filling raised beds with Wood. The decomposition isn't bothering their plants. As the beds drop overs years not days just replenish the top with soil and compost. I'm not putting pure soil in a 11ft x 3ft x 4ft wide bed. No one should be using peat moss either. Each to their own. But I'll be cutting up my free numerous logs and adding grass and other layers as I would a compost bin. Top it off at 12 inches. I find this guy patronising. I've had 3 back ops. Sowing 30 foot long beds with onions or carrots I have to lay flay. So..I'll build mine the height I need. Think I'll unsubscribe.
This guy knows alot of stuff ,but dont get fooled by his Big Wig -Medal approach, as he sits in his armchair. Im just a forest garden practitioner-and can proove how sucessful using drainage cam be, specially in created grow beds, especially in my bountyful Chili beds :) Remember-Practice makes perfect! Have fun,experiment,and enjoy Organic Food!,...real food!
I dispute the logs or wood material rotting away to nothing. When they compost, they do shrink, but they should be slowly turning into humus, not evaporating completely. Whatever you fill your beds with, you're going to have to top it up every year, because vegetable gardening takes a lot of nutrients out of the soil. Plan to add a good whole organic mulch like a compost of organic animal manure in wood chips every year and don't stress about it. Calling perlite and vermiculite "man made" is dishonest. To most people, that implies a petrochemical product like plastics. Perlite and vermiculite are both just particular types of rocks that, when heated, expand like popcorn. When you add them to your soil you are adding small lightweight fluffy rocks. Perlite holds some water but tends to make your soil drain a bit better if it's inclined to be boggy, while vermiculite holds water like a sponge, but they're both just particular types of rocks. Being "in your soil forever" is a thing rocks do, and a moment ago you were saying adding rocks to your garden soil is fine! Healthy soil contains four primary components. Sand, silt, and clay, are the three size categories of rock particles in dirt, and different ratios of the three sizes will give you different mechanical properties of your soil - how easily water soaks in and is held, how easily plant roots penetrate, that sort of stuff. This is the stuff in "topsoil" that makes it not compact so much over time - the inert rock particles. Other inert rock particles like perlite and vermiculite, or sand if you add that to loosen your mix, also don't break down. The fourth primary component is organic matter - compost, humus, and whatever plant or animal matter you've added that isn't composting yet. It does break down over time, and you do need to keep adding more because the breaking down process is where all the soil nutrients your plants need to grow are coming from. The sand, silt, and clay particles, and vermiculite or perlite if you add them, are just sitting there. They hold air and water, they support your plants' roots, but they don't provide nutrients. If you want a growing medium that doesn't shrink over time, you're looking for a growing medium that contains no organic matter and therefore no nutrients, and at that point you're moving into hydroponics because if there's no nutrients in the growing medium you're going to have to add them as fertiliser. Also, if anyone has made rased beds more than 2' high, it's almost certainly for disabled access purposes. Disabled people wanting to garden at a comfortable working height are valid and should go right on doing what works for them.
I agree with a lot of what you disagree with the commentator on. And a few other comments. However, I am more impressed with this guy than I am with 99% of the other commentators here on Utube. Some of those guy haven't got enough sense or knowledge to get out of the proverbial rain. They are in it for the bucks!!!!
I would suggest that another reason for building a raised bed up several feet is to avoid carrot fly or other low-flying pests. Whether that actually works or not, I do not know.
The best channel I've seen for trying to prevent people from making mistakes w/ filling beds and using "landscape fabric". This channel comes close to fixing stupid.
When using a combination of top soil and compost do you recommend mixing it together in all levels of the box or concentrating the compost near the surface? Thank you and great video!
Dollar weed is meanest cat in our back yard, the stuff will come back like emperor palpatine with a sliver of healthy white root, and snake its way along for a half dozen feet before it surfaces. Truly diabolical. We had no choice but to put a semipermeable fabric beneath new raised beds. We did go to local place for several yards of topsoil for bottom, and integrated a bunch of good stuff into that for top. Strawberry roots arriving this week. Your videos are extremely informative, thank you. Zone 8 coastal NC.
I have 5 homemade planters. I made 4 of them out of old garbage cans I cut in half. The other one is a bigger one I made from the plastic bedliner from an old pickup truck. I cut a piece of thick plexiglass to close up the open end of the bedliner where the tailgate of the truck would have been. I put a few inches of sand in the bottom of them (free from a sandy area close to my house), then filled the rest with potting soil. I have them raised up high enough I can work in them without bending over, because I have a physical handicap which makes bending over to do things very difficult for me. They work great for me. The only issue I had to deal with was keeping the cats out of them once the plants were planted. I solved this issue by filling the open spaces around the plants with pine cones. I have been using the planters for several years now with success. I am planning to build more planters over the winter to have for next year.
Congratulations Robert, I just noticed you are over 100k subscribers, and congrats on the award, well deserved. I have learned so much from you, and especially now I don’t believe dumb hype information. I trust you as you always have to science back up.
Hardware cloth is a must at the base of my raised beds. The voles, moles, chipmunks have tunnels all over the place and it definitely keeps them out. They don't like being exposed on top of the mulch so the stay away for the most part... except the chipmunks get my strawberries! They even climb up my lilac to get onto my deck and eat my container berries.
So glad you posted this information. So many people that follow these You Tubers that give incorrect information to so many gardeners! Congratulations on the award. Your book is my favorite in my library.
Useful material - thank you for sharing. There's one subject you discuss that I am hoping you can clarify for me. At 10:59 you say soil depth should be at least 2 feet, but toward the end (20:53) you recommend using a raised bed that's no more than 8" tall. I'm trying to decide right now the dimensions of beds I will build and got the mixed messages from this video.
That's the part that confused me too. I've been using 10" and 12" raised beds for 9 years and when he said no less than 2' soil, I thought, uh-oh. Then, when he said 8", although it was contradictory, I decided what I've been doing is fine since it's worked well for me.
My raised beds have 20” aluminum sheet metal wrapping the outside. Our local deer mouse population can’t climb it and they have trouble jumping higher than 18”. Not foolproof but definately helps.
I prefer 1' high raised beds they cost less to fill, less work to fill! Many crops have shallow root systems.. My natural soil underneath is perfectly fine for growing anything I like the ease of keeping weeds and Gophers out! I use 1" chicken wire underneath which kind of herds them into areas for them to work in and makes it easier to trap them...I have 10'000 Sqf of raised beds filled with 50% sandy Loam and 50% compost the only fertilizer I use is cow manure and meal worm frass I grow some mighty fine fruit and vegetables to include some of the best strawberries you will have ever eaten! That's what my customers say...with all that being said it is in my opinion and experience after 3 yrs if doing this it takes a couple of years to allow the organic materials to breakdown to effectively release to nutrients into soil and to allow for the drainage to come into its own working mechanism for optimum effectiveness. My best advice is be patient and be constantly looking for ways to improve each season...
You are so worthy of your award. Thank GOD I saw this video. I almost made all the SAME mistakes as everybody out there. I saw this video and now I can finally do it right. Thank you so much!
Simply stated... THE BEST video I've watched regarding beds and soil. Immediately subscribe. Looking forward to more, realistic gardening and not spending money/waste of time/ gardening.
Good morning from Jamaica 🇯🇲. I have been watching your videos and I feel so comfortable watching and listening to you edifying us daily. Thanks for everything ❤
Please tell how I had a huge garden for 45 years pre RUclips and fed 3 families with nothing more than the Sunset garden book on rare winter nights? Information overload is becoming toxic.
What I do is mix regular garden soil, ProMix, peat moss with either perlite or vermiculite and compost, all mixed together and screened before filling my raised beds.
Congrats on your well deserved award and thanks for the information on filling raised beds. For people who are unable to install raised beds or get permission from their landlords, would you still advise filling 7, 10, and/or 15 gallon containers with 75% top soil and 25% compost?
I was going to build sub-irrigated planters (SIP) 45 cm / 1.5 feet high and fill it with 2/3 potting mix, 1/3 pine bark mulch and 2 gallons of perlite for good measure. What would your recommendation be for such a scenario?
I liked that you mentioned regular soil. Last year I just tilled a patch of grass into a garden. Mixed in a little home-made compost and fertilizer. Did quite well and all I spent was like $20 for seeds and fertilizer. I got some radishes and enough kale to fill several trash bags out of a 3x3' plot. I mulched it with compost in summer and let the weeds take over for winter. It looks fantastic now and it started as hard hydrophobic ground filled with moss and grass roots :) I think, as a younger guy, raised beds only make sense if I want to grow on a slope and don't want to commit/maintain a full terraced landscape. The perched water stuff is very good information to have. I always learn stuff from your content and sometimes find myself being wrong too :P
if putting logs at the bottom leech nitrogen from the soil when decomposing the carbon rich wood, does that happen naturally to a wooden raised bed? would a metal one be better?
Great lesson! Congratulations on reaching your subscribers milestone! 100,000, YAY!!! I installed hardware cloth to keep the moles out; works like a champ! Big rocks - perfect! I like to mix in clay - it helps with mineral content, fine particulate matter for stability & moisture retention. A raised bed with mostly organic matter will dry out way too fast - constant watering. I love clay everywhere with plenty of organic matter; can't beat it for results! No compaction in a raised bed; elsewhere I have to aerate occasionally. All the Best you! 😊
At least 2ft. of top soil. Cool How about from the bottom up: Paper Soil 6in Compost+leaves+woodchips 3-5in. Soil 18in. top soil Grass/hay mulch covering
Question. I have very heavy clay soil here in east Texas. I’m conflicted about putting raised bed directly over lawn versus braking up the natural clay before adding soils such as mushroom, compost ect directly on top of lawn. What’s your advice please?
Well I have 32 inch tall beds and I can attest to the cost of having to fill them and top them off. I think I would go with 17 inch tall ones if doing it over again. Also, if they are metal beds with cross bracing rods, the settlement of soil causes rods to drop down and pull the sides of the planters inward. I had to dig down and pull up those rods on three bins. That was a bit of work. I did find however that huge tomato roots from the last season had extended well below the depth of those rods. I didn't follow the roots to the bottom but I would bet they went all the way to native soil.
Yeah, nah, on some of that. Logs or even (free) arborist's chips for a lot of the bottom of a high raised bed works great for many people. It becomes a sponge over time, before it disappears (and on sand like I have, that's an alternative to having the dune suck moisture out from below instead). Nitrogen not a problem with natural fertilising with chook manure, worm farm juice (and in my case, and I admit not for everyone, aged urine). And high raised beds are definitely more pleasant to work with - weeding most particularly. And the top up shouldn't be a problem - a compost top up (for no-dig) or dig in keeps raising the height with each successive planting.
This was the first video I’ve watched of yours after watching many, many others. I must say it was the most comprehensive and informative I’ve seen so far. I am in the design stage of my raised be garden. I love and appreciate all your suggestions and knowledge. I love the look and feel of raised bed gardening. However as you point out the cost of the materials and the filling of the beds are daunting. You may have convinced me that i don’t necessarily need a 32” high bed. I’m now thinking about an 8-10” deep bed would be all I need this would considerably cut the overall cost. I do have two questions. What are thoughts on wood types for building the beds? Is pressure treated a no no? What if the bed is only 8-10” would it matter much? Also, I currently grow my tomatoes, peppers and flowers in 5 gal grow bags and they seem to do fairly well. My thought is what if I were to up-pot to 10 gallon bags, build 17-21’ high raised beds with a “false bottom” and insert the bags on that base to give the illusion and look of a raised bed without the expense of filling the entire bed with soil? Or for that matter, just thinking out loud here…what if I were to build the 17-21” raised bed and build a false bottom 12” below, made of hardware cloth and weed barrier supported with wood or metal cross members every so many inches? Your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated. I cannot wait to watch more of your videos and to purchase your books. If they are as easy to read and understand as your videos are they are a no brainer. Thank you for your time and consideration. True Fan!
How to amend heavy red clay soil for a raised bed -we get downpours of rain in early spring and late summer which produces water runoff…followed by a blistering hot summer which dries the soil to the consistency of concrete. How do I fix this for a small u shaped raised bed? I am 70 years old with arthritic knees and required a raised bed just for planting and general care.
One CRITICAL TIP: in raised beds, use a drill auger bit 3"-4" dia to mix up soil a few times a yr. I call this 'vertical tilling' and it add oxygen and breaks up soil layering....which microbes love
My husband filled 5 stock tanks with top soil 15 years ago. It worked great! They were abandoned until 3 years ago. I added Promix and commercial compost. It seems to be slightly less productive and requires more water. Am I imagining this? I now also grow in Sterlite 18 gal. Totes for their ease. They are filled with Pro mix and compost . Of course they shrink. Should I have used top soil instead? Would adding bagged topsoil work or cause problems!
My husband filled 5 stock tanks with top soil 15 years ago. It worked great! They were abandoned until 3 years ago. I added Promix and commercial compost. It seems to be slightly less productive and requires more water. Am I imagining this? I now also grow in Sterlite 18 gal. Totes for their ease. They are filled with Pro mix and compost . Of course they shrink. Should I have used top soil instead? Would adding bagged topsoil work or cause problems!
The worst problem I've had with my raised beds is soil compaction. Does anyone have any advice to help with this? I don't want to keep disturbing my soil when I'm growing vegetables, especially root vegetables, but the compaction keeps them from growing properly. I really need help with this.. Note: I live in Florida, and it is HOT. Plus, the soil is so horrible (it's something they call "sugar sand;" it is heaven for weeds, but it doesn't absorb water...water floats on top of it. It isn't a good drainer like real sand) , I HAVE to use purchased soil. I have both a hot and cold compost pile, so I try to use that, and I make my own soil amendment with bone meal, blood meal, chicken poop, and earthworm castings. Every three months I use fish fertilizer. My basic soil is Whitney Farms raised bed soil, combined with a generic top- or potting soil-which my plants love, but isn't immune to compaction. I feel like perlite might help, especially when I'm growing root vegetables like radishes and carrots.
I have an important observation to share about weed barrier. I think what you said makes sense in your climate. However, in New Mexico (and likely any arid environment) tree roots will search out the beds because they are the only source of water. Within just a year or two I've seen beds become completely un-tillable because they are choked with thick tree roots. Water sticking around isn't a problem here, if only it would! I lay out weed barrier over the entire area, like you do with a xeriscaped yard, and then place the beds on top. This method has worked well for me, happy plants and no tree roots :)
in the desert I have found weed cloth to be a nuisance. fine sand blows into the garden and the weeds root ON TOP of the weed cloth. It is especially noticable on gravel ground cover which often is much of the landscaping of desert yards.
Here's the revised text: High beds are superior for the human body. You can comfortably pick up greens, clean weeds, and collect slugs and snails. And you enjoy it, so you do it as often as possible.
In 1990 I put in a 140 sq.' raised redwood bed, 4' x 35' x 3' high. I filled it with expensive worm castings. I was disappointed. I expected I wouldn't need to add compost, but I did need it. Why? I guessed it might be the castings were piled up in hot dry wind the killed the microbes.
I put down cardboard then smaller branches and twigs down first. Then I did lasagna gardening on top of that. I use leaves as a weed barrier. Haven’t added any soil. That was ten years ago.
The reason so many gardeners say you can't grow healthy veggies in todays soil and others say farmers use soil to grow their crops. Todays typical soil that farmers use over and over is drenched with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that kill microorganisms and synthetically grows crops.
I was thinking of putting in raised beds for accessibiltiy reasons, maybe even something similar to 20:10. But if you're not raising it to a comfortable height, what's the point of raising the bed at all? I understand maybe having a barrier around the edge to avoid soil washing out, but why even bother raising it only 8 inches if I have to get on my knees anyway? If you want a different soil mix, why not dig out 8 inches?
What you said about cardboard in the bottom of a tall raised bed makes sense to me. Same for hardware cloth and rodents that are climbers vs diggers/tunnelers. I was figuring to use cardboard as a weed deterrent about 4" from the top of my new, tall raised bed before adding 4" of compost. The bit about logs robbing the soil of nitrogen, however, made me wish I could ask you questions. I've seen where some people use a 1:10 ratio of their own urine-to-water as a source of nitrogen, provided they're not consuming any passed-thru Rx that you wouldn't want "taken up" by edible plants. Wouldn't that be a simple way to compensate? Or, wouldn't the generous addition of compost do the trick? How about straight up green grass clippings? (Though I usually use those to make my compost in the first place.) As to the level of your soil falling as the logs decompose, I was thinking that would be a good thing for two reasons. One, I don't have to come up with all that soil all at once, enough to fill a new & tall raised bed. Instead, I can add more soil over the coming years as I complete other landscaping projects and/or come up with other sources as needed. And, two, since I plan to add a layer of compost to the top of the bed each November as well as some mulch when I plant in the spring, I figured I'd be glad for the top surface to sink a little each year to make space for that. On the other hand, perhaps compost and mulch decompose and sink faster than I thought. Can you tell I'm pretty new to all this?
I'm about a decade into gardening and I feel similarly. I only get paid so much per paycheck and I can't spend what I don't have on gardening, although it's tempting. 😅 I did what I could with life and sticks, yard waste trimmings, unfinished compost and free Starbucks coffee grounds, then filled the top third or more of my beds with potting mix. I'll mulch well, add compost mid season and at the end, and water with a mix of water and urine to add nitrogen. Then at the end of the season, I can add more soil if it has sunken too low. For my one tall bed. I stuck with annuals this year since it's my first year but I have a short bed full of strawberries that I feel will be fine for their 5 year life and as they make runners, I can pot them up in separate containers if I need to move them or dig up the roots in dormancy.
i need 10 - 12 inches for my carrots. . will use compost and potting soil mixed or top soil . what ever is cheapest. would like 24 inches actually due to bad balance due to a bad stroke and can't get up and down. will use a stool to sit on for weeding and harvesting. desperate to suppliment my income and food supply. whatvdo you think.
I understand that I need to add compost every year to feed the bacteria in the soil but my problem is my soil level doesn't go down and make room for the compost. Seems like if you used wood for a filler as it decomposes it will allow room for the compost mulch.
My soil is really, really bad. Too much clay and way too many small stones. Too much potassium, very poor in nitrogen, very high pH. The only thing that grows well is dandelion.
I bought raised bed soil already.can i mix with top soil and compost..i put chicken wire and wire mesh at the bottom.and thin layer of wood chips and leaves mixed with twigs then thicker rotted logs.then filled in the spaces with more leaves lol.i have not planted yet i can still remove all of it. So my question is being as I already bought a bunch of bags of raised bed soil can I mix that with topsoil and compost and just fill the hole raise bed up.
I have a bunch of CLAY SOIL that was leftover from replacing all the pipes underneath the house. It really sticks together and to your hands. I would like to make use of this clay. HOW? Do I mix sand or compost or what with it? I am 86 and container gardening and buying soil by the bag but it is very expensive to get what I need. Can you tell me what I need to do to use this clay? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Really enjoy your videos. I have a serious back issue from a car accident and am unable to bend down too long. I want to have some elvated beds made or order online. Do you recommend elevated beds with legs or the ones that sat on the ground? I was thinking maybe waist high?
I can get horse manure so I would want to bury that cause of the weed seeds so I would put that on top of that second layer and get it to fill in the gaps. Lots of nitrogen for the composting of the wood here.
so i don!t buy compost i do compost and i don!t have enough compost for now so i can easily add next year because i will have more compost next year. for beginning add wood is good solution for me at the beginning.
I just dont put leaves. I put mulched grass and leaves to fill my raised beds then top it off with soil. And i dont use deep raised beds. And every fall i top all my raised beds off with more mulched leaves and grass. I have alot of worms and my soil is nice and loose.
The reason to add wood or other organic stuff to your bed is the price and the fact that when it's decomposed you have free healthy soil made by soil life. And with lasagne technic is nothing more than alternating carbon and nitrogen layers, so no shortage of nitrogen.
I do not understand why you do not but gravel or rocks in the bottom of your planting , gravel does allow for water to drain , gravity and gravel being solid adding gaps for water to drain down and out . Ive always but some small rocks or gravel in the base . Does anyone understand the theory why not to . thank you
Thank you for this, perfect timing. I have some new beds going in and everything I have watched say to fill the base with old logs etc. Since I dont want to fill it again when the wood has decomposed I'm going all soil. I have has the area covered with black plastic for a while to kill of the grass and weeds a little, now I just have to dig out the dandelions. I've used fabric in the past but the horsetail and dandelions seem to grow around it: waste of time and money for me.
Thank you. Very informative. Would love to hear about covering the soil over winter, or not, as well as what mulches are suggested for weed suppression, and if they get removed at some point
If you mulch, the soil is already covered for winter. I do nothing special. In cold climates, it is a good idea to remove it in early spring to allow the soil to warm up. Then plant, and put it back.
in another one of your videos, you said 80% top 20% Compost perhaps even 90 top and 10 compost in an earlier video. Today 3/18 now you're saying 75% top and 25% compost. So which is it?
@@Gardenfundamentals1 Thank you so much for replying. My 1st yr going w/ raised bed and given my age and health I wanted 18" high but now rethinking given amt of time to plant you have me reconsidering no more than a foot high, Hmm & LOL Again thank you for your videos its helped me a lot!
Oh WOW!!!!! My mind is blown right now. First time gardener here, due to having to heal from feet surgery, gardening has been a healer to me. Your video should have been the first one I looked at. So many mistakes that I have made, but are able to be corrected. Thank you so much, Sir for educating this first time gardener.
Logs filler helps to offset cost at start up. No matter what weather raised beds of all kinds will need top dressing.
Exactly!
Without question. We're in the Ozarks, and 2-3" down is solid stone, so I've had to use raised bed gardens the 9 years we've lived here. I just use mixture of top soil and Fox Farm soils, occasionally tossing in some compost or feeding with watered down Sourdough bread starter. I've had some excellent gardens but do have to top them off every year.
I agree. The slow shrinkage allows me to add horse manure and compost to the top offsetting the initial need for boatloads of soil. My compost is generated at the perfect rate to supply my raised beds.
I just watched one of your playlists and was thinking that you need to be awarded something for being the best! Congrats! You are what I consider to be the Godfather of gardening. Thank you for your great vids!
Thankyou very much.
@@Gardenfundamentals1 if you need a hand at some point, reach out! I’m not too far and sure my lady would enjoy a tour. Will work for seeds!
Regarding filling beds with logs or branches. I couldn’t find any scientific literature that suggests that you deplete your soil of nitrogen by using logs or branches.
Contrary I found one that suggest that there is plenty of nitrogen when using logs or branches ie. Hugel Culture
Caution, Caution Caution!!! Please read this. When buying manure buy the bag. !!! Read the bag before buying. Read the bag. Manure should be close to 100% organic. The bags for sale here has a tag claiming at least 15% organic matter. So , what is the remaining 85%. Well it is sand?, just feel a sample between your fingers. Yep it is mostly sand, I might add, very expensive sand. Buyer beware!!!
I kind of wonder if you add in some nitrogen rich stuff like grass clippings on top of old wood as a a bottom layer, and then soil on top. Then the bottom layer will basically turn into compost over time, and it would reduce the issue of the wood leaching nitrogen from the soil.
That's how a good raised bed works
I'm so delighted to discover that you've got a channel - this is bloody awesome. Thank you for all of your excellent work Professor!
Sometimes you cant "bite the bullet" due to financial restrictions and adding soil over a long time is easier. We're living hand to mouth out here.
"change the bed so they are not so high" Got it. What I have done is put someones old lawn as the base layer and then pile on top of that and let it break down. Gets rid of lawn and fills the bed.
Very comprehensive and informative video. Thanks you.
Don't make raised beds with wall - just raise he soil level 6" and plant.
@@Gardenfundamentals1I have several tall ones and two short ones. The short ones always outperform the tall ones.
nitrogen is gone from very old spongey wood...use it then?
Great video, and thank you. I disagree about your opposition to the "hugelkultur" approach. I make all my raised beds 30" high. I have nutrient rich but drainage poor red clay here. Put down a layer of logs, add clay soil. Another layer of logs, add clay soil. Also I throw in bags of shredded paper from my office in each layer. Watering and stomping/shaking as I go. Then I'll add a layer of just shredded paper, water it down well, and add a generous dose of high N fertilizer (I usually use Milorganite, but blood meal will work). Final 12" is local "top blend" (a menagerie of compost and top soil), with peat moss mixed in by hand. Once the roots hit the wood layer...BAM! No more watering, as the wood acts like a water control system, absorbing and releasing water. Great way to incorporate my extra tree material, extra shredded paper, and clay soil. Yes it shrinks every year. How I fix that is another post!
After doing a lot of research I also settled on the hugelkulture method for my raised beds and filled the bottom half with old rotting logs. I compensated for the nitrogen that will take from the soil by adding grass cuttings and organic compost to the topsoil that I filled it with along with chopped leaves. As these things break down they are going to release nutrients into the ground including nitrogen. I specifically used old rotting logs to avoid nitrogen deficiency which mostly comes from fresh wood.
@@shaolinfist8323 Agree. But I find it works fine with my clay soil. PLUS at the start and end of every growing season, I take a trowel and make a 9" hole, about every 2 feet, and put in a generous handful of wasted coffee grounds and filters. (shhhh, that's my secret to never having a nitrogen deficiency). It all leaches to Mother Earth at the base eventually.
I scatter a thin layer of grass clippings around my plants as a mulch, and the coffee grounds go into the compost bin 😁
If you live in an area with Bermuda grass don't expect two inches of soil to hold it down. Don't even expect two feet of soil to work. That stuff is almost impossible to hold at bay. Another problem I had at my old house was a lot next door that had Wisteria. I was constantly battling Wisteria vines coming up in my raised beds. That's just life in the Southeastern US though.
I wonder if your Bermuda grass is related to our Couch grass? I never tried raised beds while I was living with that stuff, but the distance I saw its runners travel under other objects I'm sure it would be straight up there. Ordinary bark mulch 4" thick didn't bother it at all.
@@tealkerberus748Bermuda grass (the common name in the US) is called couch grass in Australia and New Zealand. I’ve seen it climb up a pipe over 8 feet off the ground.
Bermuda is the bane of my garden life.
Yes... I agree. However, I believe this video covered most issues. Bermuda is a great grass, but HORRIBLE around gardens. You need at least six inches below the bed, (at least) and then a 2" line to compete against it growing into garden imo.
Couch grass in Australia? It sounds more like the Kikuyu grass to me, unless it's also called Couch...will check it out on google.. Whatever grass it is called, it is a monster plant to get rid of, especially if your next door neighbours have it.
I dig down 6-12" in to my native soil, put down logs, and then toss the native soil (heavy clay) back in on top. I know this is not a permanent solution, but as the video says it will take decades to totally break down, but that's what I want because I want to be slowly filling it with more compost as I produce it in my compost bins.
What about using commercial fertilizer,like 10-10-10 . I’ve had excellent results by side dressing my crops. How about sprinkling it in raised beds. This is by far the most knowledgeable gardening info I have watched. I have been very successful gardening, and this man’s info is unquestionably expanding my gardening knowledge, TY
Good stuff. I would quibble with the 2" "is all you need to kill grass". My experience says otherwise especially with the runner grass we have--crab or bermuda, not sure. It's a pia and should be cut out with a higher bed to prevent it's climbing and entering the bed. Thoughts on the newer metal beds?
I just got 4 metal beds a month ago. I haven't assembled them yet, but they seem like they'll work great and last a long time..
But I would recommend either getting a light color or painting them..
The darker the container the more your soil life will get heated by the sun..
Plants might like the extra warmth come spring and fall but aren't gonna like it in August..
Bermuda grass is the devil's grass, and it will literally grow through bricks and concrete blocks. It's one of the few plants on which I will happily use glyphosate....one application isn't enough to kill it. If you have Bermuda, it will easily grow up through even a 36" tall metal bed. That said, I have 3 of the large tall corrugated metal beds from Vego Garden (similar to Birdies beds) and I love them.
@@teebob21 I have 17" Vegega on top of good fabric. Giving them a go this year which is why I asked his thoughts on them. They seem popular or faddish right now.
@@C3Voyage I've been gardening in bare soil for 5 years now after a decade of growing in raised beds, in a patch that used to be a grassland hayfield. We simply can't keep up with the weeding. Buffalo burr, Russian thistle, bindweed, and pigweed are the bane of my existence spring, summer, and fall. Even growing on top of plastic wasn't keeping them under control. We're going back to a smaller scale this year and focusing on containers and raised beds. I'll grow and terminate several rounds of cover crops in our dirt gardens this year to hopefully mitigate the weed problem and germinate most of them out of the soil seed bank.
@@C3VoyageI'm not sure it's a fad per sey. Wood is extremely expensive now and replacing rotted beds every few years is very frustrating. They're very convenient for someone who isn't a do it yourselfer, look nice and last a very long time.
I personally just made 8 raised beds with galvanized roofing panels and frames of pressure treated. These are replacing my older wood beds that have rotted. Best of both worlds and looks nice
I’m concerned about chemicals in the soil. I’m trying to grow veg as organic as possible. We have a bulk supplier. I can purchase topsoil and compost, which actually comes from the land fill from leaves and yard debris. My concern is, are there chemicals in that topsoil and compost? It is not Omni certified and they offer no assurances that their product is chem free. I’m doing my best to eliminate as much as I can away from my family both inside and outside of our house. Please, if you would, address the best way to fill raised beds for those of us who wish to grow as organic as possible. I’m not a fanatical purest, but this is an important topic. TY ❤ New sub.
As I see all the you tube videos and see the landscape fabric and logs in the beds, I simply laugh. I do mix some of my native soil (not typically topsoil) to my purchased garden mix. I don’t know if it helps but I like the idea I have some native microorganisms. I always use my own compost and worm castings. I do have to continue to add soil every couple years.
I have used all compost and it simply didn’t work well.
I do grow my flowers and other plants in my sticky, nasty clay soil and have done well enough if I add compost regularly and monitor water levels.
Long time gardener, here, advising my adult child on constructing a raised bed. She lives in an area of Houston that has sticky clay soil (virtually gum). Totally worthless! Nice to finally see advice and guidance that I know to be correct. I'll be sending her a link to this video. Thanks!
I've seen umpteen successful gardeners filling raised beds with Wood. The decomposition isn't bothering their plants. As the beds drop overs years not days just replenish the top with soil and compost.
I'm not putting pure soil in a 11ft x 3ft x 4ft wide bed.
No one should be using peat moss either.
Each to their own. But I'll be cutting up my free numerous logs and adding grass and other layers as I would a compost bin. Top it off at 12 inches.
I find this guy patronising. I've had 3 back ops. Sowing 30 foot long beds with onions or carrots I have to lay flay. So..I'll build mine the height I need.
Think I'll unsubscribe.
This guy knows alot of stuff ,but dont get fooled by his Big Wig -Medal approach, as he sits in his armchair. Im just a forest garden practitioner-and can proove how sucessful using drainage cam be, specially in created grow beds, especially in my bountyful Chili beds :) Remember-Practice makes perfect! Have fun,experiment,and enjoy Organic Food!,...real food!
I dispute the logs or wood material rotting away to nothing. When they compost, they do shrink, but they should be slowly turning into humus, not evaporating completely.
Whatever you fill your beds with, you're going to have to top it up every year, because vegetable gardening takes a lot of nutrients out of the soil. Plan to add a good whole organic mulch like a compost of organic animal manure in wood chips every year and don't stress about it.
Calling perlite and vermiculite "man made" is dishonest. To most people, that implies a petrochemical product like plastics. Perlite and vermiculite are both just particular types of rocks that, when heated, expand like popcorn. When you add them to your soil you are adding small lightweight fluffy rocks. Perlite holds some water but tends to make your soil drain a bit better if it's inclined to be boggy, while vermiculite holds water like a sponge, but they're both just particular types of rocks. Being "in your soil forever" is a thing rocks do, and a moment ago you were saying adding rocks to your garden soil is fine!
Healthy soil contains four primary components.
Sand, silt, and clay, are the three size categories of rock particles in dirt, and different ratios of the three sizes will give you different mechanical properties of your soil - how easily water soaks in and is held, how easily plant roots penetrate, that sort of stuff. This is the stuff in "topsoil" that makes it not compact so much over time - the inert rock particles. Other inert rock particles like perlite and vermiculite, or sand if you add that to loosen your mix, also don't break down.
The fourth primary component is organic matter - compost, humus, and whatever plant or animal matter you've added that isn't composting yet. It does break down over time, and you do need to keep adding more because the breaking down process is where all the soil nutrients your plants need to grow are coming from.
The sand, silt, and clay particles, and vermiculite or perlite if you add them, are just sitting there. They hold air and water, they support your plants' roots, but they don't provide nutrients. If you want a growing medium that doesn't shrink over time, you're looking for a growing medium that contains no organic matter and therefore no nutrients, and at that point you're moving into hydroponics because if there's no nutrients in the growing medium you're going to have to add them as fertiliser.
Also, if anyone has made rased beds more than 2' high, it's almost certainly for disabled access purposes. Disabled people wanting to garden at a comfortable working height are valid and should go right on doing what works for them.
I agree with a lot of what you disagree with the commentator on. And a few other comments. However, I am more impressed with this guy than I am with 99% of the other commentators here on Utube. Some of those guy haven't got enough sense or knowledge to get out of the proverbial rain. They are in it for the bucks!!!!
I would suggest that another reason for building a raised bed up several feet is to avoid carrot fly or other low-flying pests. Whether that actually works or not, I do not know.
The best channel I've seen for trying to prevent people from making mistakes w/ filling beds and using "landscape fabric". This channel comes close to fixing stupid.
When using a combination of top soil and compost do you recommend mixing it together in all levels of the box or concentrating the compost near the surface? Thank you and great video!
Dollar weed is meanest cat in our back yard, the stuff will come back like emperor palpatine with a sliver of healthy white root, and snake its way along for a half dozen feet before it surfaces. Truly diabolical. We had no choice but to put a semipermeable fabric beneath new raised beds. We did go to local place for several yards of topsoil for bottom, and integrated a bunch of good stuff into that for top. Strawberry roots arriving this week. Your videos are extremely informative, thank you. Zone 8 coastal NC.
I have 5 homemade planters. I made 4 of them out of old garbage cans I cut in half. The other one is a bigger one I made from the plastic bedliner from an old pickup truck. I cut a piece of thick plexiglass to close up the open end of the bedliner where the tailgate of the truck would have been. I put a few inches of sand in the bottom of them (free from a sandy area close to my house), then filled the rest with potting soil. I have them raised up high enough I can work in them without bending over, because I have a physical handicap which makes bending over to do things very difficult for me. They work great for me. The only issue I had to deal with was keeping the cats out of them once the plants were planted. I solved this issue by filling the open spaces around the plants with pine cones. I have been using the planters for several years now with success. I am planning to build more planters over the winter to have for next year.
Congratulations Robert, I just noticed you are over 100k subscribers, and congrats on the award, well deserved. I have learned so much from you, and especially now I don’t believe dumb hype information. I trust you as you always have to science back up.
just adding a few inches of compost every year should be ok?
Hardware cloth is a must at the base of my raised beds. The voles, moles, chipmunks have tunnels all over the place and it definitely keeps them out. They don't like being exposed on top of the mulch so the stay away for the most part... except the chipmunks get my strawberries! They even climb up my lilac to get onto my deck and eat my container berries.
So glad you posted this information. So many people that follow these You Tubers that give incorrect information to so many gardeners! Congratulations on the award. Your book is my favorite in my library.
Your comment made my day. Thank you!
Thank you.
Great video, I love all these great suggestions.
Thanks 🎉🎉🎉
Useful material - thank you for sharing. There's one subject you discuss that I am hoping you can clarify for me. At 10:59 you say soil depth should be at least 2 feet, but toward the end (20:53) you recommend using a raised bed that's no more than 8" tall. I'm trying to decide right now the dimensions of beds I will build and got the mixed messages from this video.
That's the part that confused me too. I've been using 10" and 12" raised beds for 9 years and when he said no less than 2' soil, I thought, uh-oh. Then, when he said 8", although it was contradictory, I decided what I've been doing is fine since it's worked well for me.
My raised beds have 20” aluminum sheet metal wrapping the outside. Our local deer mouse population can’t climb it and they have trouble jumping higher than 18”. Not foolproof but definately helps.
Robert, Thanks for your knowledge and strait forward speaking and teaching process...
I prefer 1' high raised beds they cost less to fill, less work to fill! Many crops have shallow root systems.. My natural soil underneath is perfectly fine for growing anything I like the ease of keeping weeds and Gophers out! I use 1" chicken wire underneath which kind of herds them into areas for them to work in and makes it easier to trap them...I have 10'000 Sqf of raised beds filled with 50% sandy Loam and 50% compost the only fertilizer I use is cow manure and meal worm frass I grow some mighty fine fruit and vegetables to include some of the best strawberries you will have ever eaten! That's what my customers say...with all that being said it is in my opinion and experience after 3 yrs if doing this it takes a couple of years to allow the organic materials to breakdown to effectively release to nutrients into soil and to allow for the drainage to come into its own working mechanism for optimum effectiveness. My best advice is be patient and be constantly looking for ways to improve each season...
Congrats on Award!😊
Would 8 or 12 inch high raised bed still grow good tomatoes and cucumbers?
You are so worthy of your award. Thank GOD I saw this video. I almost made all the SAME mistakes as everybody out there. I saw this video and now I can finally do it right. Thank you so much!
Simply stated... THE BEST video I've watched regarding beds and soil. Immediately subscribe. Looking forward to more, realistic gardening and not spending money/waste of time/ gardening.
Good morning from Jamaica 🇯🇲. I have been watching your videos and I feel so comfortable watching and listening to you edifying us daily. Thanks for everything ❤
This is hands down the best video I've ever watched on gardening and by the way I purchased your book that you won the silver award with.
Please tell how I had a huge garden for 45 years pre RUclips and fed 3 families with nothing more than the Sunset garden book on rare winter nights? Information overload is becoming toxic.
Totally agree. I change things around to suit my physical capabilities.
What I do is mix regular garden soil, ProMix, peat moss with either perlite or vermiculite and compost, all mixed together and screened before filling my raised beds.
Congrats on your well deserved award and thanks for the information on filling raised beds. For people who are unable to install raised beds or get permission from their landlords, would you still advise filling 7, 10, and/or 15 gallon containers with 75% top soil and 25% compost?
Yes. My containers are mostly top soil. The clay means I need to water a lot less.
I was going to build sub-irrigated planters (SIP) 45 cm / 1.5 feet high and fill it with 2/3 potting mix, 1/3 pine bark mulch and 2 gallons of perlite for good measure. What would your recommendation be for such a scenario?
Voles are the worst. They tunnel like moles but eat the veggies. Hardware cloth is the answer.
Perlite is mined from the earth. It's a volcanic rock. How can it be man made?
I liked that you mentioned regular soil. Last year I just tilled a patch of grass into a garden. Mixed in a little home-made compost and fertilizer. Did quite well and all I spent was like $20 for seeds and fertilizer. I got some radishes and enough kale to fill several trash bags out of a 3x3' plot. I mulched it with compost in summer and let the weeds take over for winter. It looks fantastic now and it started as hard hydrophobic ground filled with moss and grass roots :)
I think, as a younger guy, raised beds only make sense if I want to grow on a slope and don't want to commit/maintain a full terraced landscape. The perched water stuff is very good information to have. I always learn stuff from your content and sometimes find myself being wrong too :P
Thanks for saving me time and money and for dispelling so many myths.
if putting logs at the bottom leech nitrogen from the soil when decomposing the carbon rich wood, does that happen naturally to a wooden raised bed? would a metal one be better?
I compost everything all winter long, in spring my raised beds are ready to go.
Great lesson! Congratulations on reaching your subscribers milestone! 100,000, YAY!!!
I installed hardware cloth to keep the moles out; works like a champ! Big rocks - perfect!
I like to mix in clay - it helps with mineral content, fine particulate matter for stability & moisture retention.
A raised bed with mostly organic matter will dry out way too fast - constant watering. I love clay everywhere with plenty of organic matter; can't beat it for results! No compaction in a raised bed; elsewhere I have to aerate occasionally. All the Best you! 😊
Thank you for this great explanation of what works and what doesn't really work. I ordered your book and can't wait to read it!
At least 2ft. of top soil. Cool
How about from the bottom up:
Paper
Soil 6in
Compost+leaves+woodchips 3-5in.
Soil 18in. top soil
Grass/hay mulch covering
Question. I have very heavy clay soil here in east Texas. I’m conflicted about putting raised bed directly over lawn versus braking up the natural clay before adding soils such as mushroom, compost ect directly on top of lawn. What’s your advice please?
Well I have 32 inch tall beds and I can attest to the cost of having to fill them and top them off. I think I would go with 17 inch tall ones if doing it over again. Also, if they are metal beds with cross bracing rods, the settlement of soil causes rods to drop down and pull the sides of the planters inward. I had to dig down and pull up those rods on three bins. That was a bit of work. I did find however that huge tomato roots from the last season had extended well below the depth of those rods. I didn't follow the roots to the bottom but I would bet they went all the way to native soil.
Yeah, nah, on some of that. Logs or even (free) arborist's chips for a lot of the bottom of a high raised bed works great for many people. It becomes a sponge over time, before it disappears (and on sand like I have, that's an alternative to having the dune suck moisture out from below instead). Nitrogen not a problem with natural fertilising with chook manure, worm farm juice (and in my case, and I admit not for everyone, aged urine). And high raised beds are definitely more pleasant to work with - weeding most particularly. And the top up shouldn't be a problem - a compost top up (for no-dig) or dig in keeps raising the height with each successive planting.
Fabulous video. Thanks for sharing all of that knowledge!!
How thick should the soil be ?
Whats the point in putting rocks in the bottom!?!? It will just give you less growing depth so you may as well just build shallower beds!?!?
This was the first video I’ve watched of yours after watching many, many others. I must say it was the most comprehensive and informative I’ve seen so far. I am in the design stage of my raised be garden. I love and appreciate all your suggestions and knowledge. I love the look and feel of raised bed gardening. However as you point out the cost of the materials and the filling of the beds are daunting. You may have convinced me that i don’t necessarily need a 32” high bed. I’m now thinking about an 8-10” deep bed would be all I need this would considerably cut the overall cost. I do have two questions. What are thoughts on wood types for building the beds? Is pressure treated a no no? What if the bed is only 8-10” would it matter much? Also, I currently grow my tomatoes, peppers and flowers in 5 gal grow bags and they seem to do fairly well. My thought is what if I were to up-pot to 10 gallon bags, build 17-21’ high raised beds with a “false bottom” and insert the bags on that base to give the illusion and look of a raised bed without the expense of filling the entire bed with soil? Or for that matter, just thinking out loud here…what if I were to build the 17-21” raised bed and build a false bottom 12” below, made of hardware cloth and weed barrier supported with wood or metal cross members every so many inches? Your thoughts and input would be greatly appreciated. I cannot wait to watch more of your videos and to purchase your books. If they are as easy to read and understand as your videos are they are a no brainer. Thank you for your time and consideration. True Fan!
How to amend heavy red clay soil for a raised bed -we get downpours of rain in early spring and late summer which produces water runoff…followed by a blistering hot summer which dries the soil to the consistency of concrete. How do I fix this for a small u shaped raised bed? I am 70 years old with arthritic knees and required a raised bed just for planting and general care.
One CRITICAL TIP: in raised beds, use a drill auger bit 3"-4" dia to mix up soil a few times a yr. I call this 'vertical tilling' and it add oxygen and breaks up soil layering....which microbes love
My husband filled 5 stock tanks with top soil 15 years ago. It worked great! They were abandoned until 3 years ago. I added Promix and commercial compost. It seems to be slightly less productive and requires more water. Am I imagining this?
I now also grow in Sterlite 18 gal. Totes for their ease. They are filled with Pro mix and compost . Of course they shrink. Should I have used top soil instead? Would adding bagged topsoil work or cause problems!
My husband filled 5 stock tanks with top soil 15 years ago. It worked great! They were abandoned until 3 years ago. I added Promix and commercial compost. It seems to be slightly less productive and requires more water. Am I imagining this?
I now also grow in Sterlite 18 gal. Totes for their ease. They are filled with Pro mix and compost . Of course they shrink. Should I have used top soil instead? Would adding bagged topsoil work or cause problems!
The worst problem I've had with my raised beds is soil compaction. Does anyone have any advice to help with this? I don't want to keep disturbing my soil when I'm growing vegetables, especially root vegetables, but the compaction keeps them from growing properly.
I really need help with this..
Note: I live in Florida, and it is HOT. Plus, the soil is so horrible (it's something they call "sugar sand;" it is heaven for weeds, but it doesn't absorb water...water floats on top of it. It isn't a good drainer like real sand) , I HAVE to use purchased soil.
I have both a hot and cold compost pile, so I try to use that, and I make my own soil amendment with bone meal, blood meal, chicken poop, and earthworm castings. Every three months I use fish fertilizer. My basic soil is Whitney Farms raised bed soil, combined with a generic top- or potting soil-which my plants love, but isn't immune to compaction. I feel like perlite might help, especially when I'm growing root vegetables like radishes and carrots.
I have an important observation to share about weed barrier. I think what you said makes sense in your climate. However, in New Mexico (and likely any arid environment) tree roots will search out the beds because they are the only source of water. Within just a year or two I've seen beds become completely un-tillable because they are choked with thick tree roots. Water sticking around isn't a problem here, if only it would! I lay out weed barrier over the entire area, like you do with a xeriscaped yard, and then place the beds on top. This method has worked well for me, happy plants and no tree roots :)
in the desert I have found weed cloth to be a nuisance. fine sand blows into the garden and the weeds root ON TOP of the weed cloth. It is especially noticable on gravel ground cover which often is much of the landscaping of desert yards.
Is that why they use wood chips for mulch? It kills / discourages plant growth because nitrogen?
Great stuff THANKS 👍
Here's the revised text:
High beds are superior for the human body. You can comfortably pick up greens, clean weeds, and collect slugs and snails. And you enjoy it, so you do it as often as possible.
In 1990 I put in a 140 sq.' raised redwood bed, 4' x 35' x 3' high. I filled it with expensive worm castings. I was disappointed. I expected I wouldn't need to add compost, but I did need it. Why? I guessed it might be the castings were piled up in hot dry wind the killed the microbes.
I put down cardboard then smaller branches and twigs down first. Then I did lasagna gardening on top of that. I use leaves as a weed barrier. Haven’t added any soil. That was ten years ago.
The reason so many gardeners say you can't grow healthy veggies in todays soil and others say farmers use soil to grow their crops. Todays typical soil that farmers use over and over is drenched with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides that kill microorganisms and synthetically grows crops.
I was thinking of putting in raised beds for accessibiltiy reasons, maybe even something similar to 20:10. But if you're not raising it to a comfortable height, what's the point of raising the bed at all? I understand maybe having a barrier around the edge to avoid soil washing out, but why even bother raising it only 8 inches if I have to get on my knees anyway? If you want a different soil mix, why not dig out 8 inches?
What you said about cardboard in the bottom of a tall raised bed makes sense to me. Same for hardware cloth and rodents that are climbers vs diggers/tunnelers. I was figuring to use cardboard as a weed deterrent about 4" from the top of my new, tall raised bed before adding 4" of compost. The bit about logs robbing the soil of nitrogen, however, made me wish I could ask you questions. I've seen where some people use a 1:10 ratio of their own urine-to-water as a source of nitrogen, provided they're not consuming any passed-thru Rx that you wouldn't want "taken up" by edible plants. Wouldn't that be a simple way to compensate? Or, wouldn't the generous addition of compost do the trick? How about straight up green grass clippings? (Though I usually use those to make my compost in the first place.) As to the level of your soil falling as the logs decompose, I was thinking that would be a good thing for two reasons. One, I don't have to come up with all that soil all at once, enough to fill a new & tall raised bed. Instead, I can add more soil over the coming years as I complete other landscaping projects and/or come up with other sources as needed. And, two, since I plan to add a layer of compost to the top of the bed each November as well as some mulch when I plant in the spring, I figured I'd be glad for the top surface to sink a little each year to make space for that. On the other hand, perhaps compost and mulch decompose and sink faster than I thought. Can you tell I'm pretty new to all this?
I'm about a decade into gardening and I feel similarly. I only get paid so much per paycheck and I can't spend what I don't have on gardening, although it's tempting. 😅 I did what I could with life and sticks, yard waste trimmings, unfinished compost and free Starbucks coffee grounds, then filled the top third or more of my beds with potting mix. I'll mulch well, add compost mid season and at the end, and water with a mix of water and urine to add nitrogen. Then at the end of the season, I can add more soil if it has sunken too low. For my one tall bed. I stuck with annuals this year since it's my first year but I have a short bed full of strawberries that I feel will be fine for their 5 year life and as they make runners, I can pot them up in separate containers if I need to move them or dig up the roots in dormancy.
Top soil. Sure but what is that these days? It is Kellogs wood chips and some municipal compost mixed and put into 3 CF bags. And it is CRAP!
i need 10 - 12 inches for my carrots. . will use compost and potting soil mixed or top soil . what ever is cheapest. would like 24 inches actually due to bad balance due to a bad stroke and can't get up and down. will use a stool to sit on for weeding and harvesting. desperate to suppliment my income and food supply. whatvdo you think.
I understand that I need to add compost every year to feed the bacteria in the soil but my problem is my soil level doesn't go down and make room for the compost. Seems like if you used wood for a filler as it decomposes it will allow room for the compost mulch.
My soil is really, really bad. Too much clay and way too many small stones. Too much potassium, very poor in nitrogen, very high pH. The only thing that grows well is dandelion.
You are the only person that I can trust on utube to get the information on anything about gardening. Thank you.
Congratulations, Robert for your award, looks good on you :). thank you for sharing your knowledge, time and energy. Cheers
Thank you very much.
Containers on tables (?) No weeding, easy to reach.
I bought raised bed soil already.can i mix with top soil and compost..i put chicken wire and wire mesh at the bottom.and thin layer of wood chips and leaves mixed with twigs then thicker rotted logs.then filled in the spaces with more leaves lol.i have not planted yet i can still remove all of it. So my question is being as I already bought a bunch of bags of raised bed soil can I mix that with topsoil and compost and just fill the hole raise bed up.
Does 8” recommended beds mean only certain plants will grow in them? What about those with deep roots?
I have a bunch of CLAY SOIL that was leftover from replacing all the pipes underneath the house. It really sticks together and to your hands. I would like to make use of this clay. HOW? Do I mix sand or compost or what with it? I am 86 and container gardening and buying soil by the bag but it is very expensive to get what I need. Can you tell me what I need to do to use this clay? Thanks for any help you can give me.
Mix lots of compost, no sand
Really enjoy your videos. I have a serious back issue from a car accident and am unable to bend down too long. I want to have some elvated beds made or order online. Do you recommend elevated beds with legs or the ones that sat on the ground? I was thinking maybe waist high?
I can get horse manure so I would want to bury that cause of the weed seeds so I would put that on top of that second layer and get it to fill in the gaps. Lots of nitrogen for the composting of the wood here.
Moles! That’s what we have in Florida sand. I guess the 1/4” screen would work to keep them out.
Why aren't raised beds built like tables? With side walls and drain holes 🤷🏼. Wouldn't they only need to be a foot deep or so?
so i don!t buy compost i do compost and i don!t have enough compost for now so i can easily add next year because i will have more compost next year. for beginning add wood is good solution for me at the beginning.
I just dont put leaves. I put mulched grass and leaves to fill my raised beds then top it off with soil. And i dont use deep raised beds. And every fall i top all my raised beds off with more mulched leaves and grass. I have alot of worms and my soil is nice and loose.
I really like the idea of making the raised garden beds into wicking beds it cuts down on watering heaps
Congratulations! Thank you for passing on your knowledge.
The reason to add wood or other organic stuff to your bed is the price and the fact that when it's decomposed you have free healthy soil made by soil life. And with lasagne technic is nothing more than alternating carbon and nitrogen layers, so no shortage of nitrogen.
In my community, we often use raised beds because the soil is contaminated with lead and other toxins from the industries that used to operate here.
I do not understand why you do not but gravel or rocks in the bottom of your planting , gravel does allow for water to drain , gravity and gravel being solid adding gaps for water to drain down and out . Ive always but some small rocks or gravel in the base . Does anyone understand the theory why not to . thank you
So, raised wicking beds seem to go against all of your advice. What is your view on wicking beds?
Thank you for this, perfect timing. I have some new beds going in and everything I have watched say to fill the base with old logs etc. Since I dont want to fill it again when the wood has decomposed I'm going all soil. I have has the area covered with black plastic for a while to kill of the grass and weeds a little, now I just have to dig out the dandelions. I've used fabric in the past but the horsetail and dandelions seem to grow around it: waste of time and money for me.
What you don't want to use is small chips of wood on the bottom. Use larger logs that break down more slowly and don't tie up as much nitrogen.
Congrats on the award…
Thank you. Very informative. Would love to hear about covering the soil over winter, or not, as well as what mulches are suggested for weed suppression, and if they get removed at some point
If you mulch, the soil is already covered for winter. I do nothing special.
In cold climates, it is a good idea to remove it in early spring to allow the soil to warm up. Then plant, and put it back.
How can I repel rabbits away from my beds? Thanks for so many tips!
This guy debunked the vapor barrier... start changing building codes.
in another one of your videos, you said 80% top 20% Compost perhaps even 90 top and 10 compost in an earlier video. Today 3/18 now you're saying 75% top and 25% compost. So which is it?
75-25 is almost the same as 80-20. All soil is different, and all compost is different - this is not an exact science.
@@Gardenfundamentals1 Thank you so much for replying. My 1st yr going w/ raised bed and given my age and health I wanted 18" high but now rethinking given amt of time to plant you have me reconsidering no more than a foot high, Hmm & LOL Again thank you for your videos its helped me a lot!
8:04 - why not buy the soil now? Because I don't have the money now!