Curious as to how I filled my raised beds? Here’s my recipe for a healthy raised bed garden soil.

A few weeks back I did a post on our raised bed garden and promised I would share with all of you our recipe for a healthy soil. Below are the five ingredients I would never leave out and a few other tips on successful raised bed gardening.

#1 – Organic Matter – Compost – Leaf Mold – About 50% of the soil in my raised beds is made up with organic matter, which includes compost, leaf mold and to a lesser degree wood chips. I make my own compost from leaves, grass clippings and coffee grinds. Leaf mold consist of collected leaves that have been mulched and sitting for a least a year. In addition my local community recycles collected leaves and turns them into a FREE compost for area residents.

The compost heap. Always a work in progress.

#2 – Coco Core or Peat Moss – In recent years I have moved away from using Peat Moss and switched over to Coco Core. Coco Core is the fibrous inner shell of the coconut. Once considered a waste product it is now packaged and sold as a neutral ph soil amendment. The advantages of Coco Core is that unlike Peat you would not need to add lime to balance out your ph level. Core also breaks down quicker than peat therefore drainage is improved. Finally Core is more sustainable. Peat takes centuries to regrow once picked whereas Coco Core is a natural by product of the coconut which regrow every year. Coco Core makes up about 30 % of my raised garden beds.

#3 – Worn Castings – Worm castings or worm poop have really started to gain in popularity as a natural soil amendment. Unlike other manure type products, worm castings don’t smell . They have a natural ph of 7 and the benefits are simply to long to include in a simple paragraph. One of the top reasons for using worm castings is that they make the soil more absorbent, which in turn makes moisture more consistently available to plants. Translation, you tend to water a bit less. Many people have called worm castings a super food for plants, introducing helpful microbes and bacteria into the soil. The only negative I found is that they are expensive. Worn castings make up 4% of my garden bed.

#4 – Organic Fertilizer – There are some many beneficial organic fertilizers on the market that even big box suppliers like Home Depot and Lows are stacking their shelves with them. In the pictures below I have pointed a few that I used and found them to be excellent products. Most include all natural forest products, bat ganno (poop), worm castings and well the list goes on. 15% of my beds include some form of organic fertilizer.

#5 Azomite or Rock Dust – In short Rock Dust helps reintroduce minerals and trace elements into the garden. Over the years of gardening these vital minerals and trace elements are depleted. A good friend of mine lived very close to a rock quarry and the dust generated was always a big concern of his. On the flip side he grow the biggest, healthiest tomatoes I ever seen. Reading all the research done on rock dust and the garden, I feel certain I found the key to his green thumb. Simply sprinkle rock dust over the top of your bed and work into the soil. One caution, when applying rock dust or Azomite as it is commonly sold by, be sure to wear a face mask.

Tips –

• Before filling your bed put a cardboard barrier down to prevent weeds and grasses from growing and thriving in your rich soil. The cardboard will also attract worms which will help in keeping the soil rich.

• When the beds are done and you begin planting, be sure to cover your seedlings with an organic mulch. That leaf mold would do the job nicely.

• Plan on installing either a sprinkler system or drip irrigation line to make sure that water gets to your plants roots. Part three of our Raised Bed posts will deal with this feature.

Hey want to farm your own worms? I’ve had mixed success with this project but I know others that have thousands of worms working on their food scraps and other matter to create quality castings. The worm farm pictured works great, can be kept in the house and provides fairly quick results.

FYI – Many of the pictures above are links to the product on Amazon. If you use the link and decide to purchase the product, there is a chance I make a small commission. Please be aware that all the products shown, I have use and find them to be really good soil amendments. The worm farm 360 is a great product that I just didn’t devote enough time and effort to. I plan on trying again soon.