What\'s the RIGHT soil for greenhouse raised beds???

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RonTex San Antonio, United States Feb 27, 2023

We have four raised bed in our greenhouse, 3 feet wide, 8 feet long and a foot deep. Last year we used Miracle-Gro garden and potting soil, 50/50 mix. In addition, we used some Miracle-Gro fertilizers designed specifically for vegetables. The whole thing was a disaster. People always said avoid Miracle-Gro like the plague. I should have listened. Plants grew OK, but were DEVOURED by aphids. There were too many to hose off. Pesticides like Malathion and Sevin put most of them down, but in a few days they'd be back by the thousands. See the thread from last August, "Help with aphids!!" for more details.
Plants were mostly tomatoes and salad cucumbers, with some bell peppers.
Then I found out - on here - what the problem was. Aphids and similar bugs LOVE nitrogen. If they're drawn to nitrogen, these plants were a Las Vegas buffet for these parasites. Also, the plants were pretty crowded, which didn't help.
This year we've emptied out the beds, and now with spring coming up, we're in the process of deciding what to fill them with. I've been told to just use ordinary bagged topsoil, maybe with some compost and/or mixed in. I don't want to overdo it with compost, manure, etc. because that kind of stuff generates....(drum roll)... nitrogen. This seems to be a classic case of "more is not better."
We want to do it right this time! What do you suggest?


This message was edited Feb 27, 2023 12:50 PM

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