first raised veg garden- top soil question

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sdant00 Millersville, MD Mar 27, 2009

I am breaking ground this weekend on a raised veg garden. I will be putting about 8 inches of top soil above ground. I have been told for the size garden I will need 10 bags of top soil. I planned on getting 8 bags of top soil and two bags of manure. Is this a good mixture?

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Smokey_SC Piedmont, SC(Zone 7b) Mar 27, 2009

Personally I don't plant anything in top soil. You can buy Mushroom Compost from Walmart or Lowe's. It is way, way better. Depending on your rain fall you could add Peat Moss. It helps to hold water.

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2gonefishing Milwaukee, WI Aug 25, 2009

The age old question-what if! If you do not add the top soil--do you only have clay underneath. When we arrived here the neighbors had placed a driveway in and all the clay and bad soil was tossed you guessed it right here. Today 40 years later and with the magic of the invention called a gallon bucket we painsackingly hauled top soil in each time we came back from the grocery store. Adventually the hauler suggested also a gallon of coarse sand (not play sand) for clay and we added and added. Eventually a compost pile started to work magic--and today only buckets and buckets, and buckets of our own compost is added into the soil. Over the years approximately 13" and in some cases 16" of soil are pure compost and it shows. So don't hesitate to long get started and make sure to start with the compost pile warm and by next season you will be able to save $$$ money and use the dollars to purchase your plants and seeds instead!

Good Luck-and Happy Gardening!

"God's Garden" Wildlife Habitat 2gonefishing--check our answers to various other questions on Dave's forum--all are tried and the stories are true. True gardening begins by sharing-enjoy!

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