Can I ask another raised bed gardening question? Pleeease?

[ChristusG]

I just went and bought everything I need to make a small (4x4) raised bed garden. I got the soil to go in it....or so I thought. I want my garden to be organic....I already have organic seeds, I'm not going to use any pesticides, and so I purchased this:

 

http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2772291&CAWELAID=109394911

 

For one, I didn't realize it was by Miracle Gro till I got it home. For two, it got horrible reviews online. People said their plants did not grow well, some people found pieces of glass and plastic in it, etc. For three, the package said that it is meant to be used in addition to native soil. I want to fill my whole raised bed up with soil. I don't have extra soil laying around to mix with it. I want something that I can just dump into my raised bed and fill it up. Can I find something like that?

[MomsintheGarden]

I've used Miracle Grow Organic Choice stuff before, and it's just fine. It is organic, even though it says Miracle Grow. I think you will be ok with it. Sometimes people complain that it's the soil when it is their growing technique, the weather, the seeds, etc. There are a lot of variables in gardening.

 

BTW, it is very normal to find small bits of plastic or little rocks in potting soil or compost. I've bought several different brands and found that to be true. Those bits get there because a lot of soils or composts in bags come from municipal composting operations. Sometimes the plastic bags folks put their leaves, etc., in leave little pieces in the compost, or there is trash in it, etc. We sometimes pick up bags of yard waste at the curb (yes, I'm a little fanatic). Usually it's fine, but sometimes we get trash instead

 

Have you read the book Square Foot Gardening? The guy who wrote it recommends that you fill your beds with his concoction, which he calls "Mel's Mix." Here's a website with a recipe for his mix:

http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/mels-mix/

This stuff is not magic just because Mel made it up, but it's worked for a lot of people.

 

Just try what you've got. It will be fine.

 

GardenMom

[MBM]

:iagree:

What Mi-T-G said. I have not yet reached the point of grabbing bags of yard waste from the curb, but oh, how I covet my neighbor's fallen leaves in autumn. :lol:

 

Anyhoo, 'tis a bit late, but I just want to provide a related link from Rodale Press:

 

How to put a garden to bed in fall

 

If you haven't already done so, sign up for their free newsletter. They'll send you useful gardening tidbits of information. You can also subscribe to Rodale's Organic Gardening magazine newsletter for even more information.

 

Remember: gardening is all about learning and patience, and horticulture is the art of moving plants around until you finally get something that looks good. :D

[Firefly]

Yes. Around here you can find a lot of business that sell soil, delivered, by the the cubic yard. I think that's really the best way to go. Just make sure you ask for LOAM or garden soil, or you might end up with fill instead (I speak from experience, and am still pulling rocks and other junk from those beds, three years later!) HTH

[Storm Bay]

Whether or not MiracleGro organic fertilizer is really organic or not is something I don't know, so I would check to see if it's certified organic. This isn't regulated by the government (not saying I rely on their definition of organic food, but at least it's regulated to some degree.) We bought loam for all of our raised veggie gardens. We've used aged manure and make our own compost to feed the soil with. I can't be sure that the horses & cattle were fed organic feed, either, but we do the best we can with the resources we have. I don't put conventionally raised produce in our compost, though, since I'm not sure if that stuff breaks down or not. We've bought loam (which is supposed to rhyme with foam, but folks around here make it a homophone with loom). It's hard to get good loam here, and we've had three different qualities of supposedly good loam delivered (2 from the same supplier.) However, that's because of where we live and the soil around here.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Karin

[ThatCyndiGirl]

I don't know the specific answer to your question, but I just wanted to encourage you. I tried Square Foot Gardening this year and LOVE IT!! I only have two beds, with an improvised pumpkin patch between the two beds. I didn't do the grid, but I wish I had since everything got mixed up and I had no idea what was gonna come up where. I grew a canteloupe, but some horrible nasty creature stole it, left teeth marks in it and left it for dead in the pumpkin patch. Grrrrr! We also grew French Mesclun Salad Mix in pots as well as sunflowers.

 

Happy Growing!

 

P.S. I used the exact recipe for Mel's Mix and....I did grow more than that one canteloupe, but they are still growing/maturing and I'm obviously very bitter about the canteloupe theft!

[MomsintheGarden]

What Mi-T-G said. I have not yet reached the point of grabbing bags of yard waste from the curb, but oh, how I covet my neighbor's fallen leaves in autumn. :lol:

 

Anyhoo, 'tis a bit late, but I just want to provide a related link from Rodale Press:

 

How to put a garden to bed in fall

 

If you haven't already done so, sign up for their free newsletter. They'll send you useful gardening tidbits of information. You can also subscribe to Rodale's Organic Gardening magazine newsletter for even more information.

 

Remember: gardening is all about learning and patience, and horticulture is the art of moving plants around until you finally get something that looks good. :D

Great post!

 

I highly recommend finding when your big leaf fall is in your local town, an driving around on Sunday evening with a trailer. Folks will think you're nuts, but you'll get as much as you want. The compost from leaves is fabulous. My dh is so sweet to help me with this. He knows how far gone I am.

 

So true - gardening IS about learning and patience! You will have different things do better in some years than others, so keep trying. For years I couldn't grow decent peppers. I almost gave up, but now I grow tons of wonderful ones (plus a few that get grubs in them). Even so, one of my pepper plants languished this year from who-knows-what. I pulled it up and composted it. Two years ago the squash bugs were terrible. I didn't grow squash last year to starve them out, and this year we've had all the squash we could want. The squash bugs are just starting to get bad now, mostly because I can't get in there to squish them - the plants are so vigorous. You just never know!

 

I have learned to grow extra transplants, to seed more thickly, to plan to replant (and replant, etc.) sometimes, and to expect the unexpected. There are just soooo many factors. It's what makes it challenging, interesting, and fun. It also makes me thankful for what farmers do!

 

One other thing. In organic gardening circles, hybrid seeds often get a bad rap. I recommend starting with those, rather than heirloom varieties. They are often more vigorous and pest and disease resistant. I also recommend buying from a quality seed supplier that specializes in your region. If I remember correctly, you are from Florida. You might want to check out seeds from the Park Seed Company - they have varieties specially selected for the south. Other companies that have strong seeds are Johnny's (good for up north & winter varieties) and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (for the mid-Atlantic).

 

I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of your garden.

 

GardenMom

[OrganicAnn]

Lots of places have plastic in their soil mix (these are from the plastic bags used to collect the leaves that are just grounded up in industrial mulchers). We don't accept plastic in the soil for our vegetable garden. If you want that for flowers or something else fine, but our personal choice is to find a source without plastic.

 

I know it is difficult to find a source of good soil/compost to add. You will have to get adding to the beds because the soil will settle. So keep looking for a good source. We found a local seed/plant company that we could buy organic mushroom compost from mushroom farms - very good stuff.

 

You can some compose/manure/top soil mixed together for the best soil. You can add newspaper and mulched grass clippings especially in the fall.