Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Soil Preparation

As Howard Garrett, the Dirt Doctor says, ‚”Nutritious food comes from nutritious soil. Soil is the key to health.” It’s really as simple as that. The great thing about raised beds or container gardening is that it tends to be low-scale, and this makes it affordable to use high-quality soil amendments.

Chemical or Organic Vegetable Gardening?

This is the first question to ask when either building up a new bed or revitalizing the soil for spring planting. Some gardeners (and grocery store shoppers, for that matter), are so organic-oriented that it’s almost an obsession. Likewise, many chemical users claim that purely organic practices are too difficult and expensive.

Others, like Randy Lemmon of the Gardenline radio show, takes more of the middle road. His opinion is that each method complements the other and they may be mixed. In the end, it’s a personal decision.

Start with the Correct Garden Soil

The base soil, not considering the amendments, should be of a consistency that encourages healthy root growth. Garrett puts it this way, ‚”Rich soil is composed of soil particles, air spaces between the particles, water, and energy.”

Whether or not native soil is appropriate is dependent on location. For example, in south Texas, where Lemmon broadcasts, the prevailing soil is ‚”gumbo” and makes poor garden soil and doesn’t work well in landscaping projects. Lemmon recommends using rose soil, which can be purchased in bags or bulk.

Add the Best Soil Amendments

Once the base garden soil is in place, it’s time to feed it. The preferred method is to till in compost. Compost can be purchased from a nursery in bags, but a preferable way is for the gardener to keep a couple of homemade compost piles going. They can be built up using grass clippings, leaves (not oak; too much tannin), coffee grounds, and scrap vegetables.

How much compost should be tilled in? A good rule of thumb is a rose soil to compost ratio of 6:1. A good time to make this preparation is a month or so before planting vegetables to give the raised bed time to ‚”rest”.

Following the organic approach, Garrett recommends spraying the soil surface with fish emulsion, seaweed, or some other organic biological stimulator, followed by a thin layer of earthworm castings.

Add a Layer of Mulch to the Top of the Bed

Mulch plays a big role in raised bed gardens or any landscaping project. The most important function is to conserve moisture. It also keeps the soil from enduring wild temperature extremes, inhibits weeds, and gradually breaks down, providing nutrients and food for the microorganisms that make for healthy soil.

What are some of the best ones? Hay, pine needles, and shredded hardwood bark. With bark, examine the bag labels carefully to be sure it’s not ‚”colored” or ‚”dyed”. Poor choices are peat moss, grass clippings, and sawdust.

Finally, when the weather is right, plant the vegetables. Good choices are vegetables that are personal favorites that are expensive at the grocery store. It’s also a good idea to release beneficial insects and add herbs that control pests naturally.

Resources:

Garrett, Howard. (1993). Texas Organic Gardening Book

Lemmon, Randy. Gardenline radio show. KTRH, Houston, TX