Forum home› Fruit & veg

Raised Beds - What do I fill them with

snug.baileysnug.bailey Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
Our soil is infected with white rot and we have struggled for the last 7 years to grow decent onions and garlic. After reading Adams article on different ways to grow garlic we've decided to invest in raised beds for the purpose. Does anyone have any advice on what to fill the beds with for best results.  :)

Posts

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,136
    edited September 2019
    It depends on the size of the beds and the volume of soil needed.    If it's a lot, it'll  be cheaper to get a delivery of clean topsoil delivered than to buy bags of compost from a garden centre or DIY store.  If you're buying compost bags, get a mix of loam based John Innes no 3 and multi purpose compost.  

    If you're going to do a 3 or 4 year crop rotation to maintain healthy soil and crops - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=124 - you'll need to add manure to one third or one quarter of the beds and that can be free or very cheap if you can collect it from a local stables. 

    If you haven't already got one, set up a composting system too with at least 2 bins so one can be filling and decomposing while the other is providing you with compost for annual mulching and renewing of soil in the beds to maintain healthy levels of micro-organisms and worms in the soil.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • SmudgeriiSmudgerii Posts: 185
    Homemade compost, used coffee grinds, bought compost, leaf mould, shredded paper and cardboard, bought topsoil.
Sign In or Register to comment.