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Thu, Jun 9, 11 at 23:06
| I am a complete newbie trudging my way through getting some raised beds started so that my three boys can learn along with me. I have made the two 4x8 beds, picked out a spot for them over the septic field ( I was told this was OK as long as they were perp to the drainage path and the beds were deep enough that the roots didn't grow into the native soil...hope I was given good advice if not please let me know) I live in an area of vegetative sand dunes. So our soil is sand. I put down a weed barrier, and hardware cloth to keep out the moles. I am ready for soil! (i think) Please please tell me I don't have to buy 32 bags of planting mix? We have free town compost with free delivery, and of course I have lots of sand. What else do I need to get in bulk, and how much? regular topsoil? I am having the rest of the septic field turned into a lawn, so there will be guys bringing in topsoil for that and I may be able to piggyback a few more cu yards. How much do I need for 2 4x8 raised beds at 16"? please someone just tell me what to do and I will follow instructions : ) I am a little lost since most instructions tell you to use existing soil but all I have is sand. thanks in advance. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| From my side of the world, I'll let you know what I did on my sand dune when I was a newbie... I followed internet advice to install raised beds, without realising that with my climate and my sand, I'd be creating a real irrigation proble for myself. My 'raised bed' sides are still there, but I've dug out BELOW ground-level, so the gazillion cubic meters of sand around the garden hold in the moisture, rather than elevating it and creating more surface area for evaporation. I would generally say 'topsoil' is a waste of effort and cash. Organic matter like compost, manure and leaves is what I'm always after. And mulch, always mulch. The thing I would really recomend is a proper, laboratory soil test, so you know what you're dealing with. |
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| Putting raised beds over the septic system drain field can change how that drain field works enough so the life of the field will be shortened requiring repair and maybe replacement. It is not a good idea to put anything excpet grass over a septic system drain filed. What I found with putting raised beds over sand that drains really well is that the raised bed will drain even better, you will have difficulty keeping adequate levels of moisture in the soil in those raised beds. "Topsoil" is defined as the top 4 to 6 inches of soil. "Topsoil" can be anything so you need to know what you are looking for before you spend any money on something called "topsoil". What I find, when I can find out what someone thinks "topsoil" is, is that people think "topsoil" is loam and it is not. The same with "garden soil" which is another meaningless term. If you need additional soil, and need to but some look for something that has at least 5 percent organic matter in it and then plan on adding more organic matter to that. How many cubic yards of soil you need is calculated by multipying Length by Width by Depth (in the same value as the first two numbers) which if in feet gives you cubic feet and needs to be divided by 27 to get cubic yards. |
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