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Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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Posted by
DixieGardner none (
My Page) on
Fri, Aug 10, 12 at 18:24
| Hi, my veggie garden is four 4 x 12 foot raised beds. I initially filled them with mushroom compost. For a couple of years I would top them off each spring with the same. Well, 7 years later, I am older (68), not as healthy, and no longer own a truck. My $$$ supply is also low. Of course, my beds are shrinking as the compost continues to compost in situ. I have finished my summer harvest in one of the beds and have started filling it with yard waste and garden plants I am pulling up and cutting up and layering that with wheat straw. That is very manageable for me. I will cover the rest of the beds with wheat straw and add greens from my kitchen through the winter. All of that to ask...is there anything that is relatively inexpensive and light weight that I could add that will not compost but also not deter the productivity of my garden?
Thanks, Susan |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Your initial mistake was building your beds without a strong mineral component.....real soil. The very best garden soils are mostly a porportion of mineral particles.....sand, silt, and clay. That is the bones of your raised bed. The addition of generous amounts of organic matter creates a terrific, stable raised bed. |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Thanks. I didn't really think about that since I was building the beds over real soil. I have lots of earthworms which I assume are helping bring minerals up and taking compost down. And I do get plenty of veggies! I have a much younger friend with a truck. I'll start saving my pennies and see if she will agree to bring me a load of top soil next spring and help me spread it out on my beds. From now on, I'll just do my top dressing each fall with greens and wheat straw. Think that will do it? Thanks |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Sounds like a good plan Dixie. Keep us posted as to how it works. |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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Many people build beds of compost forgetting that this organic matter is the part of a soil that is digestable and it will "disapppear" as the Soil Food Web digests it. A good, healthy soil needs to be a mix of mostly the mineral portion 94 to 92 percent and 6 to 8 percent organic matter.
"Top soil" is a meaningless term used to sell manhy people a pig in a poke. "Top soil" is simply the top 4 to 6 inches of soil from someplace that might be something worthwhile, or not. If what you have in mind that "topsoil" is loam, a specific soil type, then look for a source of soil that has something like that, about 45 percent sand, 25 percent clay, 25 percen silt, and about 5 percent organic matter. |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Humates don't shrink, and have mad CEC. Not at all cheap, however. Otherwise, as already said, sand silt and clay do not shrink. |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Kimmsr, thanks for that reminder. The place I bought the mushroom compost from also has what they sell as top soil. I will ask them more about where it came from. Since I am in Georgia, it will have to have a bunch of clay. I may go by and borrow a jar of it for the test you have given in other posts to test contents of "soil". pbbrown...I'm sorry but I don't know what humates or CEC are. Thanks all, Susan |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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Humates, or humus, are the residuals of organic matter in the soil after the Soil Food Web has digested all it wants of what was originally worked into the soil. sometimes humates, or humus, is refered to as what the SFW does not want to eat unless they are starving. Kind of how some people think of Broccoli and/or Brussels Sprouts.
CEC, Cation Exchange Capacity, is how easily your soil releases some of the nutrtients it has attached to the soil particles. |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| How deep are your beds? If your soil is doing well now, maybe the beds are no longer needed. You could sink the sides of the bed (if they are in the way) or add a different border. I have also seen very nice raised beds without a border at all - just rake the soil into a flat top mound. Best of luck! |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Coir (coconut husk fiber) does not seem to break down in my beds, it works like peat moss except it is a renewable resource. And another benefit is that it "holds on" to nutrients. Not the cheapest, but it does last. Now for cheap, I like the bagged ground bark mulch that K-mart sells. That, of course, breaks down pretty fast (couple of years in a high rainfall area.) |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| still kris, How is peat moss not a renewable resource? |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| It takes thousands of years to build up a peat bog and at the rate all of us are using it, the supply is shrinking fast. The bogs date from the days of the dinasaurs. |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| Lots of good information here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peat_moss |
RE: Raised bed amendments that don't shrink
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| That topic has been thoroughly debated in this forum, in case either of you didn't already know that. There are some extensive threads on it. Back on topic (sorta): The little devil on my shoulder read "Raised Bed Amendments that Don't Shrink," and whispered "Rubber tire mulch!" :-D |
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