I have access to the following material FREE so I want to use this to make a mix to use in a raised vegetable bed. What ratio or percentage of each would be best to use?

Topsoil

compost

aged horse manure mixed with sand. the sand was used as bedding for the horse stall.

As the organic material breaks down there will be settlement of the mix in the bed. Would I use the same percentage of the above material to top off the raised bed each year or just top it off with more organic material and no topsoil?

Thanks

Hopefully your raised bed won't drain TOO well with that sand in there. That's a whole different question though that you didn't exactly ask so I don't want to get off tje topic of your question, especially if you've already considered that.

Check out my video (link below) on filling the beds ;-)

Anything we suggest is going to be guesswork because we don't know what type of 'soil' you have - is it clay, silt, sand, or loam (mixture of everything)?

Compost, check, nothing more to ask about there.

For the sand/manure, what's ratio of each? Is this sand with some horse manure compost in it, or mostly compost with some sand in it?

Once we have these maybe we can give you a better answer.

Generally speaking I would go for 10-50% organic matter in your final mix. It's actually fairly forgiving.

The sand manure mix is roughly a 50-50 mix of aged horse manure and sand. The sand is a course yellowish sand, don't know what it is though.

Compost is composted yard waste, pretty good looking stuff.

Thanks

75% topsoil
15% aged manure/sand
10% compost

Incorporate all for the first year - use a high N fertilizer as required IF required. 'Mulch only' in subsequent years.

Al

3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart.

4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell.

5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy.
Since the majority of soil is mineral the only part that needs to be replaced each year is the organic matter component.

Is the source of the manure reputable? Can you ask them if the hay fed to the horses (or pasture if they use a pasture) had been treated with any herbicide containing clopyralid?

Lloyd

What do you mean by <'mulch only' in subsequent years>?

Do you mean just add the compost and aged manure/sand mixture, without topsoil, in subsequent years after the initial filling of the bed? Or are you talking about adding some kind of mulch?

Thanks

Al

if you need ratios... try equal parts top soil and compost then mix in 25% manure into all that.

sounds like you ready for a bountiful harvest!

When you refer to mulch as the compost, manure components of the mix, I get confused.
I think of mulch in terms of a layer of leaves or straw or what have you on top of the soil mix as a way to retain moisture in the soil.
I'm learning!!

Keep learning! Read all you can. Some might pooh pooh book learning and tout experience as all-important when it comes to growing; but the person who gains knowledge from books (or sources other than trial and error) and then uses his own experience to validate that knowledge, will advance his skill set at a rate that leaves the trial & error grower standing in his slipstream.

Al

Two questions:

I'd like to make sure I'm clear on this point.
Would the annual addition of compost be worked into the top few inches of the existing mix or just laid on top?

After the addition of compost would it be advantageous to add some form of additional mulch such as leaves or straw to help keep water from evaporating from the bed? Mulching seems to be the thing to do if you believe every thing you read.
I have read elsewhere, however, that the addition of leaves or straw for mulch will result in an environment that will attract unwanted pests/insects therefore it is best not to mulch with additional leaves or straw. What is your opinion?

Thanks

Al

The mix you suggested of 75% topsoil,15% manure/sand, and 10% compost was based on my having access to these materials free.
I can get pine bark by the yard at a reasonable price. Would pine bark fines help in any way as an additive to the previous mix you recommended?

What about adding lime to the mix?

Thanks

You can add/incorporate some bark if you want and it won't hurt anything - though it will add somewhat to the degree of shrinkage over time and probably add a little to the amount of N supplementing you'll need to provide for best growth. 2-3 years down the road you'll be glad you did.

Al

I used a piece of PH paper(strip) and folded a handfull of damp topsoil around it and squeezed tight. Best I can do for now. I dug the topsoil out of the woods from the top 3-4 inches. It's pretty rich looking stuff. Lots of leaves etc. rotting on the ground in the area I dug from.

How much pine bark fines should I add to the mix?
Why is adding the pine bark fines a good idea? What will that do?

Thanks