Soil Setup

Soil is the foundation to growing any plant. There are boundless options at the garden center telling you what each is good for. Typically, what’s going to work well for your potted plant won’t be the best option for your raised garden bed. And just digging up some dirt in your yard and tossing it in won’t help you much either. However, there are ways you can use what you already have. 

I talked about getting your garden started and how to set yourself up for success. Admittedly, I didn’t do enough research when starting out. I picked organic raised bed soil and it seemed to be a decent option for me. Yes, there was more mulch than I would have liked in there. However, it has now been over eighteen months and things are progressing smoothly and breaking down properly. We see lots of activity if you will in the garden with bugs helping things along. This spring we will amend our soil for even more benefits.

Dirt versus Soil

Soil is rich and living. It is full of nutrients and minerals. Soil contains things such as worms, insects and fungus. It is made up for different sized particles that work together to create a living ecosystem in your garden. Sand, clay, organic material and silt all create soil together.

Dirt is also made up of sand, silt and clay. However, it cannot support life becasue it is usually rocky in nature. Worms do not make their home in this environment as there is nothing to sustain them through organic material.

Mix it Up

If you do an internet search for ‘best raised garden soil’ you will find a plethora of options. From pre-bagged options to recipes to make up your own, there are many ways to tackle filling your fresh garden beds. I didn’t do any special recipe combinations in the beginning. However, amending your soil over time is a great way to replenish your soils nutrients that are depleted overtime from growing strong plants.

Many recipes call for a combination of soil, compost, and sand. Other additives can be included to help add more nutrients and improve soil quality. These additives can include worm castings and chicken poop for additional benefits.

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Soil

Topsoil is beneficial to include in your soil mixture. It helps add the structure your other add-ins need to provide the best environment for your garden. Topsoil is just that, the top of the soil. Typically it is the top ten inches and depending on the grade you select will not have any rocks or other debris from the soil itself.

This soil is full of nutrients and can often contain organic material that has fallen and mixed into the soil. Topsoil can and will breakdown overtime and will need to be replenished to help keep your garden thriving overtime. That doesn’t mean in a year your garden soil will be all gone and you have to start all over again. It simply means everytime you are tilling up the garden, you want to add in more ingredients, if you will, to keep your healthy soil ecosystem going.

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Compost

Compost is the breakdown of organic material. It can be a pile you start in your backyard where you add kitchen scraps, leaves, sticks, grass, etc. You can also include certain animal waste such as chickens, worms, or rabbit manure. This is not the place to throw cat litter, cat poop or your pups poo in. That is not the proper type of organic material to include! You can easily grab a bag of compost from your garden center if you don’t want to compost your own material.

Compost IS organic matter and can be confusing when you read about needing organic material and matter in your garden soil. A simple way to think about it is you need the organic material, like materials to build something, to breakdown in order to make the organic matter. You then add this matter in your soil mix for a boost of nutrients to provide to your plants.

Compost drains but can also absorb water. While it does contain nutrients, it also lacks the structure needed to support root growth on its own. It’s not the only product you want in your garden bed for a strong garden.

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Sand

On its own, sand is not going to be the most conducive material to grow a garden in. It drains quickly, has no structure to it and simply lacks the nutrients needed. It sounds like a lazy add-in to your soil, why would you want this? Becasue it drains quickly! It helps the soil from staying too saturated and soaking your roots to waterlog because it doesn’t allow the water to pool near the root system.

Bonus Material

Worm castings, chicken manure or rabbit poop are all benefical products to use in your soil ammendments and add-ins. You want to make sure they are at least one year old, well aged. The key is they are fully composted to avoid any pathogens being introduced into your garden. These products are typically found in your garden center. Something else you can grab to add in? Processed and dehydrated cow manure.

Ready to get your soil going? Grab your materials and your tools and dig in to create the richest soil your garden has ever known!

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