I am glad you emphasized adding native soil to the bed. Soil test only give you values of available nutrients, it is the soil life that will break down that native soil to feed your plants' When I started gardening 3 years ago, I knew nothing about soil biology, I do now. Unfortunately I filled my beds with expensive garbage, now I am reintroducing native soil into my beds, live and learn. Great video!!! Stay Well!!!
SIL had soil delivered and it had a lot of garbage in it and it was from a reputable brand. They have great soil and Tons of earthworms. If I had that black gold I would use it. My sand I like for workability, but it needs loads of stuff and it can take a few years to condition.
@@dustyflats3832 Filling 3 new beds this week, I am so grateful I do not have to rely on purchasing anything. Will post a video, will be showing a few different twists also. Stay Well!!!
Thanks for covering some very important points in this video. Made the mistake of not making the new bed sit idle for a couple of months to bake after layering, but ended up planting immediately. The bed did not do so well and the plants struggled. Using old or aged compost is also probably not such a good idea when kicking things off on a new bed, semi aged compost that is still teaming with organisms and half decomposed biomass might work better.
Last fall I put a metal raised bed just like this together, layering with branches, brush, garden waste, and food scraps on the bottom, then old potting soil, new raised bed mix, and mushroom compost, with a sprinkling of alfalfa pellets for nitrogen. I kept shade cloth on to keep it covered through winter. This spring, I topped it off with a mix of raised bed soil, muhshroom compost, and peat moss before direct seeding cool weather crops (radishes, beets, careots, and onions). When the plants get a little bigger, I'll add my mulch. My neighbor had some free sheet metal he was going to gift me to make one, but when he priced out the lumber, it was actually cheaper to buy the new metal bed, and it will last far longer. Absolutely love this metal raised bed!
Darn! I waited too long to get started filling my new raised garden bed. Guess I’m still going to have to put out the money to purchase garden soil and mulch for the metal bed my grandson just built for me, as I need to get started planting immediately. Now that I know, I will be better prepared for next year!
Fill your beds 3/4 in the off season, so it settles. Come late winter/early spring, top, TOP with Good soil. Wait for more settling and top again. MULCH, (before planting).
Thank you so much for this wonderful and detailed help for deep raised beds. Your videos are always so relaxing to watch, but full of excellent advice and tips that are easy to understand!
I'm sure this works, but it sure does seem complicated. I still grow most stuff in ground, and have been improving the soil there, but I do have a few "raised beds"--really compost piles for woody material with some growing medium on top. I don't use expensive metal raised beds. Largely because I have tolerable soil in ground, I don't consider a raised bed worthwhile unless it spares my back (in other words, it's waist high), so there's a lot of room in there for woody material. I use a layer of grass clippings to ensure the growing medium doesn't immediately drop to the bottom of the pile and I accept that there will be a fair amount of settling. Mostly I have been using "any old soil" for the top several inches and making a point of growing inoculated legumes in the bed for the first season so I don't have to fertilize heavily.
Several years ago we made a few RBs and the rest in ground. Since then I decided to make 3’ wide long rows. Easier to irrigate, doesn’t hog space with pathways and no cost. We were given some old deck boards and outlined the rows. It was a necessity to hold the sand in place. I dug the paths down and threw that dirt on top of a high pile of organic materials and filled the paths with wood chips. This year added composted manure and even though it’s not totally broke down it’s plantable. In a couple years if I feel like it I could shift the rows and have hugelkulture rows.
If I couldn’t do a high raised garden bed I probably wouldn’t do gardening, and we grow close to all we need. I find an out a 600 to 700mm high bed excellent for many reasons that I’m not sure one would guess if they didn’t try it. I find I get way way less weeds, and weeding is just a matter of pulling a few things out as I walk past. The plants are up at a height to be able to see everything clearly and of course, I’m not having issues with my knees and back. If you haven’t tried a bed of this height I’d suggest give it a try, I wouldn’t go back to ground level beds for anything except for things like corn and pumpkins.
Excellent teaching Scott, I love filling these beds. I find in a few years I need to top them off as the wood down at the bottom breaks down and collapses.
Scott have you seen Gary’s best soil? He’s a proponent of sand based soil. And only compost on top. I’ve never had issues with using a lot of compost but was interested to see if you knew anything about sand based soil.
I built two metal raised beds for cheaper than you can buy them. Just used a 4x4 and 6 sheets of 8 foot galvanized corrugated steel panels and made the beds 8’ by 4’. You can add drip rail to the top to cover any sharp edges!
Thoughts on my plan? I have lots of weeds that I pulled recently. If I put those green weeds in a trashcan and fill it with water, I’m hoping I can make nitrogen-rich water. Then I will take old logs and soak them in the nitrogen-rich water for a few days. I will then add those logs to the bottom of my raised bed on top of cardboard.
Consider adding the soggy plants to the bed as well. The nitrogen water will leach fairly quickly and have minimal effect on decomposition. The weeds will add organic matter and have a longer-lasting nitrogen effect.
Thanks for another great video. Maybe you can answer a question I have. My son has celiac disease. Ive been looking for mulch ideas and liked the idea of straw. While at Good Earth in Colo springs the other day I noticed their straw bales had a sign that read "wheat and barley straw" That got me thinking... maybe mulching with wheat would be dangerous for my son, as the plants will touch the mulch while they grow. Am i just being a paranoid mom, or pick a different mulch solution? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Cathy
My son had/has terrible eczema. For him, touching some of the foods he is allergic too could cause a skin reaction. Celiac disease is triggered by eating gluten and I don't know if external exposure can cause a reaction. I suspect that the straw, which consists of the plant stalks, has very few of the proteins in gluten. You can ask your son's doctor for information on such research and can always avoid wheat straw if you have any concerns.
Awe man! I wish I would would have this information back when we made our raised beds! Your videos are most informative! And now i realize I've made some mistakes. Moving forward, I could use a little advice, please. I have wooden raised beds that i filled 10 years ago abd I haven't done anything to feed the soil since. The soil is tired. Orinally the beds were filled with organic potting soil, Dr Earth organic Veg Garden Mix, coir, crushed lava rock, SuperCar, rock dust, Bountea Humisoil, and existing garden soil (native clay, old cow manure, sand). Ive been locking for organic mulch options that fit the budget but unfortunatly the beds have suffered some bare-soil years. Last year i started using straw. I like your chop and drop method and i like the idea of no dig. I bought organic Miracle-Gro Raised Bed soil that was on clearance late last fall but didn’t put it down. I'm thinking of scootching last year's hay aside, along with the this springs chop and drop material, putting down the new bed soil and some worm castings, then a layer of compost and topped off with the hay and stuff that i scootched aside. A concern i have is that i won't have time to let this cake bake before the seedlings growing in the basement will need to be planted. So.... should i wait until this fall to add the new soil, and garden another season with my tired soil? Or should i go for it and add the new soil on now? Apologies for the lengthy question. I will buy one of your shirts.
You still have time to get your soil improved, Jennifer. Pull aside the hay and add what you can. As I mentioned in the video, adding fertilizer when you add amendments gives the soil a boost for planting soon after. In fall you can do a more thorough amending for next year.
Miracle Grow soil is just sterile potting soil with chemical fertilizers in. If you add it your veggies will do better because of the chemical fertilizer, but it doesn't seem like you are feeding/building the soil.
@alicias9928 Yes, and I've never liked Miracle-Gro. Although now they offer some OMRI certified products, such as the raised bed soil I bought last fall. To the best of my knowledge, it doesn't contain the synthetic junk.
Question: Is that raised bed made of aluminum? I have been wondering about the possible toxicity of any food grown in a metal raised garden bed. My grandson made me one out of scraps from their shop. The box looks beautiful, but I’m a bit nervous to use it to plant vegetables, as I’m trying to stay organic and detox my body from heavy metals. It’s still completely empty at this moment. Any advice?
what if you have grass cuttings that have been fertizered/sterilized of weeds? where can I store that and grow something with the compost? Love this channel!!!!
Blossom end rot is most commonly caused by inconsistent watering. Too little water or too much water can cause it. Try to provide the tomato plants with enough water to keep the soil evenly moist.
I also have a raised galvanized metal garden bed. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba where the winters can be very cold. Do you have any tips for my garden bed...should I cover it or leave open during winter. Someone mentioned that you can put yard waste raked up in the spring to put in the bottom of the raised bed. But those would be wet and have insects that have made it their home during the cold winter months. What are your thoughts on that?
The bagged compost blend has some in it. I use it in my potting mixes and when I transplant my peppers and tomatoes into these beds that will add more.
It's cheaper to not fill a raised bed or ever have a raised bed in the first place. I may be crazy, but it appears that plants will grow right in the ground.
In addition to the many other reasons mentioned here, some people live where it rains a lot, so a good draining bed is worthwhile. Other people have poor soil, clay, salt, sandy, or potentially toxic soil. I have areas of my backyard where a homeowner poured tons of concrete decades ago, then someone brought in soil on top of it much later, so there's not enough depth for root crops or deep rooted plants in some areas. Not everyone has perfect soil conditions to work from, so, yes... it's worthwhile filling a raised bed regardless of cost.
Does anyone feel that Gardener Scott is the Bob Ross of gardening? Love him!
😂😂😂Mala was so funny 🐕. She was digging in to help for sure🤣😂🤣
I loved seeing your dog help with the digging. 😂. You are making me hungry for chocolate cake. 😊
Thank you! Also use dry branches. I used cutting from raspberries, which were not dry yes. Now raspberryplants are starting to apear.......
I am glad you emphasized adding native soil to the bed. Soil test only give you values of available nutrients, it is the soil life that will break down that native soil to feed your plants'
When I started gardening 3 years ago, I knew nothing about soil biology, I do now. Unfortunately I filled my beds with expensive garbage, now I am reintroducing native soil into my beds, live and learn.
Great video!!! Stay Well!!!
SIL had soil delivered and it had a lot of garbage in it and it was from a reputable brand. They have great soil and Tons of earthworms. If I had that black gold I would use it. My sand I like for workability, but it needs loads of stuff and it can take a few years to condition.
@@dustyflats3832 Filling 3 new beds this week, I am so grateful I do not have to rely on purchasing anything. Will post a video, will be showing a few different twists also.
Stay Well!!!
4:19 Mala! What a genious little cutie girl, giving daddy a hand, helping him!
I love the good helper you have! such a cute dog.
Thanks for covering some very important points in this video. Made the mistake of not making the new bed sit idle for a couple of months to bake after layering, but ended up planting immediately. The bed did not do so well and the plants struggled. Using old or aged compost is also probably not such a good idea when kicking things off on a new bed, semi aged compost that is still teaming with organisms and half decomposed biomass might work better.
Last fall I put a metal raised bed just like this together, layering with branches, brush, garden waste, and food scraps on the bottom, then old potting soil, new raised bed mix, and mushroom compost, with a sprinkling of alfalfa pellets for nitrogen. I kept shade cloth on to keep it covered through winter. This spring, I topped it off with a mix of raised bed soil, muhshroom compost, and peat moss before direct seeding cool weather crops (radishes, beets, careots, and onions). When the plants get a little bigger, I'll add my mulch.
My neighbor had some free sheet metal he was going to gift me to make one, but when he priced out the lumber, it was actually cheaper to buy the new metal bed, and it will last far longer. Absolutely love this metal raised bed!
Darn! I waited too long to get started filling my new raised garden bed. Guess I’m still going to have to put out the money to purchase garden soil and mulch for the metal bed my grandson just built for me, as I need to get started planting immediately. Now that I know, I will be better prepared for next year!
Fill your beds 3/4 in the off season, so it settles. Come late winter/early spring, top, TOP with Good soil. Wait for more settling and top again. MULCH, (before planting).
Thank you so much for this wonderful and detailed help for deep raised beds. Your videos are always so relaxing to watch, but full of excellent advice and tips that are easy to understand!
I'm sure this works, but it sure does seem complicated. I still grow most stuff in ground, and have been improving the soil there, but I do have a few "raised beds"--really compost piles for woody material with some growing medium on top. I don't use expensive metal raised beds. Largely because I have tolerable soil in ground, I don't consider a raised bed worthwhile unless it spares my back (in other words, it's waist high), so there's a lot of room in there for woody material. I use a layer of grass clippings to ensure the growing medium doesn't immediately drop to the bottom of the pile and I accept that there will be a fair amount of settling. Mostly I have been using "any old soil" for the top several inches and making a point of growing inoculated legumes in the bed for the first season so I don't have to fertilize heavily.
Several years ago we made a few RBs and the rest in ground. Since then I decided to make 3’ wide long rows. Easier to irrigate, doesn’t hog space with pathways and no cost. We were given some old deck boards and outlined the rows. It was a necessity to hold the sand in place. I dug the paths down and threw that dirt on top of a high pile of organic materials and filled the paths with wood chips. This year added composted manure and even though it’s not totally broke down it’s plantable. In a couple years if I feel like it I could shift the rows and have hugelkulture rows.
If I couldn’t do a high raised garden bed I probably wouldn’t do gardening, and we grow close to all we need. I find an out a 600 to 700mm high bed excellent for many reasons that I’m not sure one would guess if they didn’t try it.
I find I get way way less weeds, and weeding is just a matter of pulling a few things out as I walk past. The plants are up at a height to be able to see everything clearly and of course, I’m not having issues with my knees and back.
If you haven’t tried a bed of this height I’d suggest give it a try, I wouldn’t go back to ground level beds for anything except for things like corn and pumpkins.
I'm dying, your dog is such a great helper 😂❤
That’s going to be a fantastic home for lots of veggies.
So much goodness for them.
Can’t wait to see which tomatoes are going in there.
Excellent teaching Scott, I love filling these beds. I find in a few years I need to top them off as the wood down at the bottom breaks down and collapses.
Thank You for going into detail about this. Looks like your tomatoes will be very happy.
Great information. Thank you! This is my first year growing in my Birdies raised beds and I can't wait to see how the plants grow in them.
I have raised beds but not that deep. That is a really nice raised bed and an excellent way to fill it. Thanks for the video
The dog helping to dig made me laugh so hard.❤
Your native soil will have a great abundance of minerals, and that's where we get flavor and healthy veggies according to Steve Solomon.
Cool, I actually did my beds correctly, thank you
Great video Scott, thank you.
Scott have you seen Gary’s best soil? He’s a proponent of sand based soil. And only compost on top. I’ve never had issues with using a lot of compost but was interested to see if you knew anything about sand based soil.
I haven't seen that in my area, but I do like the idea of mineral content in mixes.
I built two metal raised beds for cheaper than you can buy them. Just used a 4x4 and 6 sheets of 8 foot galvanized corrugated steel panels and made the beds 8’ by 4’. You can add drip rail to the top to cover any sharp edges!
How tall?
Thank you! Exactly the info I was looking for!
Thoughts on my plan?
I have lots of weeds that I pulled recently. If I put those green weeds in a trashcan and fill it with water, I’m hoping I can make nitrogen-rich water. Then I will take old logs and soak them in the nitrogen-rich water for a few days. I will then add those logs to the bottom of my raised bed on top of cardboard.
Consider adding the soggy plants to the bed as well. The nitrogen water will leach fairly quickly and have minimal effect on decomposition. The weeds will add organic matter and have a longer-lasting nitrogen effect.
@@GardenerScott Okay, thank you!
Thanks for another great video. Maybe you can answer a question I have. My son has celiac disease. Ive been looking for mulch ideas and liked the idea of straw. While at Good Earth in Colo springs the other day I noticed their straw bales had a sign that read "wheat and barley straw"
That got me thinking... maybe mulching with wheat would be dangerous for my son, as the plants will touch the mulch while they grow. Am i just being a paranoid mom, or pick a different mulch solution?
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Cathy
My son had/has terrible eczema. For him, touching some of the foods he is allergic too could cause a skin reaction. Celiac disease is triggered by eating gluten and I don't know if external exposure can cause a reaction. I suspect that the straw, which consists of the plant stalks, has very few of the proteins in gluten. You can ask your son's doctor for information on such research and can always avoid wheat straw if you have any concerns.
Who needs a tiller when you've got a dig-ity dog lol 😂
Awe man! I wish I would would have this information back when we made our raised beds! Your videos are most informative! And now i realize I've made some mistakes.
Moving forward, I could use a little advice, please. I have wooden raised beds that i filled 10 years ago abd I haven't done anything to feed the soil since. The soil is tired.
Orinally the beds were filled with organic potting soil, Dr Earth organic Veg Garden Mix, coir, crushed lava rock, SuperCar, rock dust, Bountea Humisoil, and existing garden soil (native clay, old cow manure, sand). Ive been locking for organic mulch options that fit the budget but unfortunatly the beds have suffered some bare-soil years. Last year i started using straw. I like your chop and drop method and i like the idea of no dig.
I bought organic Miracle-Gro Raised Bed soil that was on clearance late last fall but didn’t put it down. I'm thinking of scootching last year's hay aside, along with the this springs chop and drop material, putting down the new bed soil and some worm castings, then a layer of compost and topped off with the hay and stuff that i scootched aside. A concern i have is that i won't have time to let this cake bake before the seedlings growing in the basement will need to be planted. So.... should i wait until this fall to add the new soil, and garden another season with my tired soil? Or should i go for it and add the new soil on now?
Apologies for the lengthy question. I will buy one of your shirts.
You still have time to get your soil improved, Jennifer. Pull aside the hay and add what you can. As I mentioned in the video, adding fertilizer when you add amendments gives the soil a boost for planting soon after. In fall you can do a more thorough amending for next year.
Miracle Grow soil is just sterile potting soil with chemical fertilizers in. If you add it your veggies will do better because of the chemical fertilizer, but it doesn't seem like you are feeding/building the soil.
@alicias9928 Yes, and I've never liked Miracle-Gro. Although now they offer some OMRI certified products, such as the raised bed soil I bought last fall. To the best of my knowledge, it doesn't contain the synthetic junk.
Question: Is that raised bed made of aluminum? I have been wondering about the possible toxicity of any food grown in a metal raised garden bed. My grandson made me one out of scraps from their shop. The box looks beautiful, but I’m a bit nervous to use it to plant vegetables, as I’m trying to stay organic and detox my body from heavy metals. It’s still completely empty at this moment. Any advice?
Pretty sure they are made from galvanized steel
They are galvanized steel and finished with food safe paints.
The others are right. It is coated steel and safe for plants.
Thank you! I’ll have to check on the materials that mine are made of. 🙏🏻
what if you have grass cuttings that have been fertizered/sterilized of weeds? where can I store that and grow something with the compost? Love this channel!!!!
I store my clippings in a bag until I use them,
Love your channel, thank you!! Do you have a video on how you make your leaf mold that you can share?
I do! Here's a leaf mold video: ua-cam.com/video/KSh4ltwMRJk/v-deo.html
I’m a 3 year novice with gardening, any advice for bottom rot on my tomatoes? Everything else seems to grow fine in my garden besides tomatoes.
Blossom end rot is most commonly caused by inconsistent watering. Too little water or too much water can cause it. Try to provide the tomato plants with enough water to keep the soil evenly moist.
I also have a raised galvanized metal garden bed. I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba where the winters can be very cold. Do you have any tips for my garden bed...should I cover it or leave open during winter. Someone mentioned that you can put yard waste raked up in the spring to put in the bottom of the raised bed. But those would be wet and have insects that have made it their home during the cold winter months. What are your thoughts on that?
I cover my beds with mulch or cover crops for winter
What are those round green planters in the backdrop of this video? Thanks Gardener Scott!
Those are my raised beds made from livestock troughs. Here's the video on them: ua-cam.com/video/I1Sm5nU6iyY/v-deo.html
I noticed you didn’t add any peat moss. Is there a reason for that?
The bagged compost blend has some in it. I use it in my potting mixes and when I transplant my peppers and tomatoes into these beds that will add more.
Hot digity dog!
Have you ever done a self watering raised bed?
Not yet.
It's cheaper to not fill a raised bed or ever have a raised bed in the first place. I may be crazy, but it appears that plants will grow right in the ground.
True, but as you get older, you may find that not being able to bend over so easily means that a raised bed will allow you to keep gardening.
Guess you missed the part where he said you can build the soil how you like...
Guess you never heard of rocky, clay, sandy terrible soil.
Cheaper .. yes .. as productive? .. maybe not.
In addition to the many other reasons mentioned here, some people live where it rains a lot, so a good draining bed is worthwhile. Other people have poor soil, clay, salt, sandy, or potentially toxic soil. I have areas of my backyard where a homeowner poured tons of concrete decades ago, then someone brought in soil on top of it much later, so there's not enough depth for root crops or deep rooted plants in some areas. Not everyone has perfect soil conditions to work from, so, yes... it's worthwhile filling a raised bed regardless of cost.
I see a few clowns putting big pieces of wood in the beds, they don't understand how long it takes to breakdown.
Much too complicated
Great information and very helpful explanation. Thank you!