The Times They Are A Changing

In early spring you will place your raised bed frames into the garden and attach them with steaks (I prefer them on the inside corners) to keep them in place. The next step will be to fill them with rich soil that will give your seeds or seedlings a good start.

1. Raised bed gardens tend to dry a bit quicker than ground-level gardens. Therefore you will need additional compost mixed in the in order to hold the water in the soil. You will want to add compost to your garden beds every spring, before planting and every fall, after harvest.

2. Mix the following in a 1X1X1 ratio. You should be able to get the ingredients at any local garden center. If you have good soil and an abundant amount you can use your ground dirt. If you are creating a large garden you may want to look into getting a load of garden fill dirt.

* Soil
* Vermiculite
* Compost

You can use a 5 gallon bucket to measure or what ever large container you have on hand. Use garden tools to mix the three ingredients once they are in the raised garden beds.

3. Fertilizer. I like to use an organic fertilizer, but it is a matter of preference, I suppose. I just figure, why put any added chemicals in my vegetables. After all, I get enough of them from the grocery store ones that I purchase. Sure, I’d love to buy all organic food - wish I was wealthy too. Enough of my ranting.

This site, Extremely Green, has a lot of organic fertilizers and soil amenders (if your own dirt is too sandy or to clay). You can, however, get your soil tested (call your local agricultural dept. to find out where). The results will tell you what your soil needs or has too much of. I have to admit, I am too impatient and usually purchase an organic compost manure or organic prepared fertilizer and mix it into the top 6 inches of soil

Tomorrow: The Garden Plan