Easy DIY 3 Ingredient Raised Bed Soil Recipe & How to Fill it Using Less Soil

[@CaliKim29]

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[@mmgreen31]

Kim, what’s the process for grow bags? Do you leave last year’s soil in there and just top off with soil and fertilizer? Thanks!

[@CaliKim29]

Check for my video on Refreshing Container Soil. Go to my main page here on youtube, and search. It should pull them up! Hope this helps -

[@dezarae1984]

The shot with the nasturtiums all around you is gorgeous!

[@CaliKim29]

Thank you! Jerry saw that spot and was like....gotta get a shot in there!! Hope all is well, Dezarae

[@kele1264]

I really love that elevated bed! It's so pretty. Thank you, Kim, for good ideas on how to fill it more economically. Can't wait to see it planted and growing!

[@Jenny-qj3qo]

Oh this couldn’t be better timing for me as wasn’t sure how to improve my garden veggie beds, thank you!

[@justincarpenter6147]

I never tried burying a camera in my compost before. I will try that next season.

[@FieldsOfGold149]

Great! Late in the season last year when I put my raised bed together, I had so many , yes I ordered in bulk 300.00 each for Top Soil and Race horse manure compost. Yes it was a pain to have to haul all of it by hand over to the beds. I used the Hugoculture method for the bottom third of the beds. Mostly half rotted logs. My beds were not ready to plant this spring except for Tomatoes as their roots can be place in deep. I put another layer of half broken down compost on top as the beds settled. Tomatoes are doing fine though. Onion and potatoes are in one bed and a huge Burdock plant came up wild in one bed .. it is edible and medicinal so. I’m leaving it to seed. My beds are beautifully placed so I can see them while sitting in a rocker on my long front porch. I’m very happy with that addition. Thanks for the video.🍓Lexington Race Horse blessings😀

[@CaliKim29]

Sounds wonderfully gorgeous!! Great job!

[@Morning_Everlight]

Thanx Calikim 🌻 Thanx Cameraguy 🎥 You two are awesome 😎

[@CaliKim29]

Aww, thank you SO MUCH!! Love the emoticons, they're perfect!! Kim

[@jackrudden5970]

One of my mistakes was not filling them enough. Since it was compost, it did a lot of breaking down and compressing so this year they are super low. So I’ve been turning them over with a shovel to fluff everything up the best I can which also raises the soil level a bit.

[@igleamingrace]

I made this mistake with one of my beds as well!

[@adriankap2978]

Perfect timing as others have mentioned. I understand that in deep raised beds that you should only plant annuals because it keeps sinking… which kinda made sense to me. But I’m no expert, in fact not even a novice which is why I quote others ; ) Is their other materials that can be added, like planter pots (I’m just throwing that out) to the bottom then soil on top so it doesn’t sink as much? I just got a 2ft tall 6ft long stock tank that I drilled holes in because I’m tired of the underground critters eating the roots. I’ll be putting hardware cloth on the bottom to prevent them from coming up. I’ve opted out of packing peanuts, seems messy if I wanted to dig out the soil for other uses. Any suggestions would be wonderful. Thank you Kim, you’re a lifesaver for many of us.

[@jackiehorsley9263]

Kim your raised bed looks great I look forward to seeing what your going to plant in your new bed

[@CaliKim29]

Video dropping soon, Jackie!! Thank you -

[@rockyusa2012]

Hi calikim. I amended my beds with worms castings and compost and it currently has beets, carrots, spinach, peas, radishes and turnips.

[@CaliKim29]

Nice job, Rocky! Keep'er goin'!

[@igleamingrace]

Can’t wait to see what you’re planting in there!

[@CaliKim29]

Video dropping soon, Gleam!! Kim

[@Stephanie_Cumbie]

We’re filling it!!!! Yay!!!

[@CaliKim29]

..and...how did it go!??

[@Stephanie_Cumbie]

@@CaliKim29 well, ours is not as high as yours. It’s not as tall. But we planted our watermelon seedlings, which may or may not fruit we will see! My sugar baby is getting close!

[@nonitacabaseestipona2199]

Thank you for sharing. I love it!😊

[@CaliKim29]

You are welcome, Nonita . Kim

[@jackieo8693]

Great ideas!

[@thebotanicalwitch5208]

Great soil recipe! I have a very large elevated garden bed that ive been researching soil for without spending hundreds to fill. I was always told not to use topsoil for raised or elevated beds as it compacts too much. Is this not the case?

[@CaliKim29]

The advice you were given is generally correct. Topsoil alone will indeed compact over time. This can restrict root growth and hinder plant health. It's not a strict rule that you can't use topsoil at all. The key is to amend it with other materials to improve its structure and drainage. I hope this helps? Thank you for watching and commenting. CK

[@apriltahe]

Cant wait to see what you plant in the raised bed. I started a bunch of seeds the other day. Basil , okra, flowers , New Zealand spinach , tiny Tim started a different day waiting for it to come up still I have zinnia that has sprouted so far. And we got a Serrano and bell pepper transplant. It’s heating up fast here I have a broccoli plant but I don’t think I will see crowns but I am enjoying the leaves how long do you think I can enjoy the leaves with the hot temps?

[@flofacebook]

If I don’t have leaves saved for the bottom of my raised garden bed, can I use Pete Moss instead?

[@Presso99]

Hi, what about using coconut fiber or husk as the 1st layer base soil? This allows better drainage of excessive water. What do you think?

[@lilspittin313]

The raised bed is looking dark and wonderous

[@CaliKim29]

It does!! Thank you so much! Kim

[@Jsumm2]

What do you put in the bed after the next year when it’s fallen down? What more do you keep adding to it each year

[@CaliKim29]

Watch my video called : How to Refresh/Top Off Raised Bed Soil: It Must Have This Key Ingredient (copy and paste this) You should be good! Sorry for the delay, ugh! Kim

[@sandramcpherson1819]

I always thought that you never use top soil from your yard?

[@Tremmor500]

I just cut down a bunch of tall weeds. I imagine it would probably be a bad idea to line the bottom of my bed with them, but I figured I'd ask. Would that work, or just encourage them to grow back?

[@terryjbrown6953]

Question Kim! You say you can reuse your old soil, can you still use it if powdery mildew was starting on the vegetable plants that was it the raised bed or containers?

[@afterschok6627]

How is a raised bed with a bottom in it going to bring in the worms? 🤔 I enjoy your channel. Keep up the good work!

[@CaliKim29]

There are worm eggs in the soil and worm castings...they always manage to find their way in.

[@afterschok6627]

@@CaliKim29 Awsome! I just learned something. Thanks 👍

[@user-zg5zj9fo9s]

Kim can this recipe be used to grow brassica's? (new to gardening)

[@sonyalewis-ou5xz]

What if some of my old soil has ants in it. Can I still use as filler in raised veggie beds?

[@edsharon100]

What do you add when the bottom fill decomposes?

[@CaliKim29]

When the bottom layer of your compost pile decomposes, it’s time to add more “browns” (like dried leaves, straw, or cardboard) and “greens” (like kitchen scraps, grass clippings, or coffee grounds) to keep the composting process going. I also like to mix in some of the finished compost from the bottom back into the pile to introduce those beneficial microbes and keep things active. Keep the pile moist and well-aerated, and you’ll have a continuous supply of rich compost! 🌱🌾 Hope this helps Ed, and please subscribe if you have not already! CaliKim

[@edsharon100]

@@CaliKim29 Thank you!

[@AR-xu2gg]

I notice you didn’t mix the ingredients prior to adding. I always thought straight compost would burn the plants. How do you avoid that?

[@CaliKim29]

Hi Zane, I mixed the ingredients right in the garden bed, much easier. in all my years of gardening, I've never had compost burn my plants, as my compost is relatively low in nitrogen. If the compost contains high levels of animal manure and is not fully broken down and aged, it can burn the plants.

[@cherylhart-lu1lv]

we live with clay soil where I live, can I use the topsoil from my yard?

[@CaliKim29]

I generally do not do that. The reason being, clay soil tends to be heavy and poorly draining. That's why I have and use/add compost instead it'll add nutrients + aeration to the soil. Let us know how it goes! CK

[@brendablanscett6595]

Would grass cuttings work for the bottom 1/3?

[@CaliKim29]

Sure, if that's all you have, yes, use it! Let me know how it goes, Brenda! Kim

[@victoriajohnson5304]

💖💖🌞🌻🌞💖💖

[@melindaduncan3073]

I have a question, my husband bought mulch. It was just chopped up small limbs. It wasn’t colored, just plain. I found out the hard way that it had pot worm and I noticed some termites. They were eating the roots off of my plants. I ended up emptying one of my beds. It’s a large bed. It is 8 ft long, 4 ft waive and two feet tall. There is some of the pot worms in a couple of the other beds that I treated and it seems to have done the job, but the first bed they put way too much of the mulch in and I noticed that that particular bed was so completely infested that we just had to remove all of the dirt and then there were worms all over the top of the black fabric I put down. is there an easy way to get rid of that so I do not have to remove all of the dirt in the other beds were there are not as many worms? Please help! Thank you. This is my first attempt at garden beds and I have 10 raised garden beds.

[@CaliKim29]

Hi, I just happen to be on and thought this "sounds urgent". I do not have a "method" for this situation. (I'm sorry!) Because of the extreme infestation you are facing; I would go to bonide.com and search for their "pest problem solver" to see what matches your scenario and apply it immediately. Keep up your good work, at least you are initiating solutions. Keep us posted, Melinda!!

[@melindaduncan3073]

@@CaliKim29 thank you. It makes me never want to go get mulch from anybody ever again I’ll tell you that much.

[@CaliKim29]

I totally get that - this is a big bummer. Are your raised beds the wood or metal type?

[@melindaduncan3073]

@@CaliKim29 metal.

[@CaliKim29]

That's good - you won't have to rebuild those! Now it's a matter of what you research on treatment options or be completely sure (peace of mind) and remove all and start over. Let me know!