How To Fill Your Raised Beds With The Right Soil Mix!

<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Simple Garden Life podcast, a program dedicated
<v Speaker 1>to keeping the yard of gardening simple, fun and always rewarding.
<v Speaker 1>Now Here are your hosts, Jim and Mary Competti.
<v Speaker 2>Hello and welcome everybody to another episode of Simple Garden Life.
<v Speaker 2>I'm your host, Jim Competty, along with my co host
<v Speaker 2>and wife, Mary Competti. I'm not laughing, Mary, I'm just
<v Speaker 2>laughing because I always have to start it off that way.
<v Speaker 3>I know, I know, I know.
<v Speaker 2>So we are talking gardening once again today, well into
<v Speaker 2>our sixth season. Hard to believe it, but what a
<v Speaker 2>great topic we have because there's nothing really hotter the
<v Speaker 2>last few years than raised beds. Raised beds are becoming
<v Speaker 2>just huge for a lot of reasons. I mean, first
<v Speaker 2>of all, people in apartments or small areas can still
<v Speaker 2>grow if you don't have a lot of land, If
<v Speaker 2>you don't have a lot of area or soil, you
<v Speaker 2>can do it.
<v Speaker 4>And they're also far easier to take care of.
<v Speaker 3>Yeah, the order I get, the more I appreciate Rae's
<v Speaker 3>bed gardening, and.
<v Speaker 2>Will have you know that the raised beds surface area
<v Speaker 2>and our test garden here has doubled over the last years.
<v Speaker 4>As Mary says, this but very very true.
<v Speaker 2>But they do offer so many great ways to garden,
<v Speaker 2>you know, not bending down as far, not near the
<v Speaker 2>weeds in a raised bed. But the real question with
<v Speaker 2>raised beds becomes how much can you grow in them?
<v Speaker 2>What types of things can you grow them? And how
<v Speaker 2>productive can they be? And honestly, a lot of that
<v Speaker 2>all comes down to what today's topic is, which is
<v Speaker 2>how to fill your raised beds with the right soil
<v Speaker 2>mix and create great soil for your raised beds.
<v Speaker 3>Right, And I think we should also clarify this is
<v Speaker 3>not just for vegetable gardening.
<v Speaker 2>No, No, we put a lot of flowers into our
<v Speaker 2>raised beds as well. You can do perennials and raised.
<v Speaker 3>Beds, so a lot of our herbs and it really does.
<v Speaker 4>Matter with that soil that you put into it. So
<v Speaker 4>as we always like to do.
<v Speaker 2>In the beginning of the podcast, remind everybody that you
<v Speaker 2>can always email us at the farm at owgarden dot com.
<v Speaker 2>You can also catch all of the episodes on Simplegardenlife
<v Speaker 2>dot com. And if you want to know more about
<v Speaker 2>our farm and all of our websites and all the
<v Speaker 2>cool things we have going on here, make sure you
<v Speaker 2>go to ow garden dot com and check it out.
<v Speaker 4>We have all of our.
<v Speaker 2>Websites listed there as well as the forty six acred
<v Speaker 2>farm now that we've turned into.
<v Speaker 4>As we like to tell people, we grow fun.
<v Speaker 3>Right, that's right, not go vegetables, vegetables, flowers and fun.
<v Speaker 4>That's right. That's right. So okay, let's get into today's podcast.
<v Speaker 4>That's what we're here for. So how to fill your
<v Speaker 4>raised beds? Right? It's not as simple as everybody thinks.
<v Speaker 2>I mean when you come down to it, you know,
<v Speaker 2>just as in a garden setting, that soil is what's
<v Speaker 2>going to drive your plant growth and your productivity, whether
<v Speaker 2>it's flowers or vegetable plants.
<v Speaker 3>Right, and what you put in your raised bed is
<v Speaker 3>not only going to determine how well your plants or
<v Speaker 3>flowers grow this year, but also for years to come.
<v Speaker 2>And much do you have to think about that? You know,
<v Speaker 2>you have to think of raised beds kind of like
<v Speaker 2>a potted plant. I mean that's really what it is,
<v Speaker 2>an oversized potted plant. It's because you have limited soil capacity,
<v Speaker 2>you're not going to be able to have, you know,
<v Speaker 2>just a massive garden that you're going to put stuff
<v Speaker 2>in all the time it's a limited soil, you're filling
<v Speaker 2>it up, and to be successful, you know, that has
<v Speaker 2>to have the same soil qualities that a hanging basket
<v Speaker 2>or a container or your garden have, and that means
<v Speaker 2>it has to be able to drain well. It has
<v Speaker 2>to be loose, it has to be light weight and
<v Speaker 2>allow for those roots to grow and absorb things great, and.
<v Speaker 3>Also has to be packed with nutrients because it can't
<v Speaker 3>get extra nutrients from the natural soil on the ground.
<v Speaker 2>You're absolutely right, and so it's that same formula for
<v Speaker 2>success that works with raised beds as it does in
<v Speaker 2>hanging baskets, as it does in a garden. It has
<v Speaker 2>to drain excess water away. If it doesn't, the plants
<v Speaker 2>are going to struggle, they can rot out. It has
<v Speaker 2>to have that power, like you talked about, the nutrients,
<v Speaker 2>and it also has to be able to last a
<v Speaker 2>little bit longer.
<v Speaker 4>Since it's in that raised setting.
<v Speaker 2>So you know it really it really all starts with
<v Speaker 2>people say, well, should I just go out and get
<v Speaker 2>hundreds of bags of potting soil.
<v Speaker 4>Well, I mean that's a pretty expensive.
<v Speaker 2>Venture if you're going to do that, and it's not
<v Speaker 2>always going to create the best raise beds right.
<v Speaker 3>And then there's on the contrary, should I just fill
<v Speaker 3>it with garden soil or soil for.
<v Speaker 4>My yard, And that would be a big no.
<v Speaker 3>That would be a big note. Not only is that
<v Speaker 3>super heavy, it compacts, it doesn't allow the roots to
<v Speaker 3>grow and develop, and it actually can even break your
<v Speaker 3>raised bed system because it just will help the sides
<v Speaker 3>will blow out, and you know, for long term, that's
<v Speaker 3>definitely not a good answer.
<v Speaker 2>Especially if they're made from plastic or thin metal or
<v Speaker 2>you know, light lightweight wood.
<v Speaker 3>And you can get raised beds all over the place
<v Speaker 3>and all over different farm and garden stores online. You know,
<v Speaker 3>there's really ones that are really good and there's there
<v Speaker 3>are better ones.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, we're going to.
<v Speaker 2>Talk about that today and we're going to talk about
<v Speaker 2>how to make sure that what you're putting in there
<v Speaker 2>is strong enough and fertile enough and lightweight enough. And
<v Speaker 2>there's actually some great materials that we're going to go
<v Speaker 2>through that can really ensure all that. But it's not
<v Speaker 2>and this is really key, not just about soil. It's
<v Speaker 2>about what you put down on the base, what's at
<v Speaker 2>the bottom. And we talk about filling raised beds. That
<v Speaker 2>drainage at the bottom is as, if not more important,
<v Speaker 2>and what you're putting to the next levels as is
<v Speaker 2>the soil that's going up.
<v Speaker 4>So let's start marry with this raised beds. How big
<v Speaker 4>do they have to be? How thick do they have
<v Speaker 4>to be? Boy, it really depends on what you're growing.
<v Speaker 2>There's some great raised beds out there that are six
<v Speaker 2>to eight inches off the ground. Now that's because they
<v Speaker 2>might have soil underneath them. Six to eight inches by
<v Speaker 2>itself not really good enough to grow a lot of things.
<v Speaker 3>No, and we're talking about six eight inches off the ground.
<v Speaker 3>That means the bottom is open to the soil below.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, it's on concrete on gravel, yeah, right?
<v Speaker 3>Or does it have a plastic bottom that you know
<v Speaker 3>that the roots can't get more nutrients?
<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, so you really want to always make sure you're
<v Speaker 2>having twelve to eight inches.
<v Speaker 4>Of workable soil.
<v Speaker 3>I think twelve to eighteen, Yes, eight, I think that's okay, twelve.
<v Speaker 4>Eighteen that's exactly you definitely need that. And why is that?
<v Speaker 2>Think about a tomato plant when you pulled up at
<v Speaker 2>the end of the season, or up pepper plant flower
<v Speaker 2>that's going to go down six to ten inches just
<v Speaker 2>with its roots, and you want to have enough that
<v Speaker 2>it can.
<v Speaker 4>Reach out and gain power and gain foothold.
<v Speaker 2>If it's only six inches, those rich are gonna be
<v Speaker 2>very shallow, they're gonna spread out, they're going to dry
<v Speaker 2>out quickly. And no matter what you grow, I mean,
<v Speaker 2>unless you're growing annual flowers with a very small rebol,
<v Speaker 2>you're right, twelve to eighteen inches you have to have that.
<v Speaker 3>Right and anything less, especially for larger vegetable plants. Not
<v Speaker 3>only that they can absorb the nutrients, they're actually going
<v Speaker 3>to topple over in a strong wind even if they
<v Speaker 3>are supported. You know, it's just not ideal. So twelve
<v Speaker 3>to eighteen inches is what you're looking for.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, let's cover some of the things to avoid when
<v Speaker 2>it comes to soil. We've talked about a few, but
<v Speaker 2>let's just kind of go over them so we know.
<v Speaker 2>So the very first thing, you know, don't don't just
<v Speaker 2>use regular soil. We talked about that, it's way too heavy.
<v Speaker 2>And then basic top soil people say, well, what if
<v Speaker 2>I can get some pulverized top soil. Top soil in
<v Speaker 2>of itself is very heavy. It's more of a it's
<v Speaker 2>not a potting soil. Can you use sum in it?
<v Speaker 2>Yeah you can if you lighten it up. We'll get
<v Speaker 2>to that, but you want to avoid those two. It's
<v Speaker 2>the best really to layer in organic materials and other
<v Speaker 2>soil boosters as you build these raised beds. And we
<v Speaker 2>talked about the potting soil again, Yes you can, but
<v Speaker 2>sometimes it's a little too lightweight or too much expense
<v Speaker 2>to fill. You know, if you have a thirty six
<v Speaker 2>inch high raised bed and it's eight feet long, you're
<v Speaker 2>going to spend more than fortune, more than you can
<v Speaker 2>grow vegetables for the next twenty years.
<v Speaker 3>Right story, And eventually that potty story will pack down
<v Speaker 3>as well if there's not other materials in with it.
<v Speaker 4>That's a really great point.
<v Speaker 2>Even when you're potting up hanging baskets, and I think
<v Speaker 2>sometimes people think, oh, it's just all potty tool. It's
<v Speaker 2>going to pack down too because it's so fine and
<v Speaker 2>loose and it's going to get together. So it's really
<v Speaker 2>better and we're going to get to this here to
<v Speaker 2>fill that bottom third. Now we're talking these these are
<v Speaker 2>raised beds that have at least twelve to eighteen eighteen
<v Speaker 2>inches in height. The bottom third of your container shouldn't
<v Speaker 2>be soil at all. It should not be at all.
<v Speaker 4>No, not at all, It.
<v Speaker 2>Should be a large organic material. And so we're like, okay,
<v Speaker 2>what does that mean. Well, we're going to talk about
<v Speaker 2>it when we come back from a break. But what
<v Speaker 2>it means is putting in some other things that over
<v Speaker 2>the next two or three years are going to slowly
<v Speaker 2>break down, but they're going to help you fill some
<v Speaker 2>of that void so you're not using so much just
<v Speaker 2>straight up potting soil, but it also allows channels and
<v Speaker 2>areas for water and nutrients to get down through.
<v Speaker 3>And that draining is just super important when you're potting
<v Speaker 3>and raised.
<v Speaker 4>Beds, it really is.
<v Speaker 2>So we'll take a quick break and we'll be right
<v Speaker 2>back and we'll start talking about how to fill your
<v Speaker 2>raised beds for success, not just for this.
<v Speaker 4>Year, but for years to come.
<v Speaker 2>All Right, we are back talking about how to fill
<v Speaker 2>those raised beds to perfection so that you have great
<v Speaker 2>years of growth, not just this year, but for years
<v Speaker 2>in advance. So we're talking about filling them starting at
<v Speaker 2>the bottom, Marry, And it's kind of funny. One of
<v Speaker 2>the best ways to fill that bottom can kind of
<v Speaker 2>be done for free.
<v Speaker 3>Actually, if you walk around our farm, anyone can fill
<v Speaker 3>their raised beds for free.
<v Speaker 4>That's right.
<v Speaker 2>So we look here when we fill ours for small sticks, twigs,
<v Speaker 2>even small logs.
<v Speaker 4>Again hardwood.
<v Speaker 2>You want to stay away from any wood species like
<v Speaker 2>a buckeye tree or a walnut tree that can cause
<v Speaker 2>problems down the road.
<v Speaker 4>But small twigs are.
<v Speaker 2>Fantastic, even pine cones, anything that's going to have some
<v Speaker 2>loose organic matter. I like the twigs the best because
<v Speaker 2>they really break down like a hardwood mult wood to
<v Speaker 2>give your soil power.
<v Speaker 3>Right, and I think think about the old school game
<v Speaker 3>of pickup sticks. That's kind of what you want at
<v Speaker 3>the bottom of your raised bed.
<v Speaker 4>That's right, about six six inches, Like we said about
<v Speaker 4>a third. So if you have, you know, twenty four
<v Speaker 4>inch beds, you're gonna use eight inches. If you have
<v Speaker 4>eighteen inch beds, you know you're gonna do six inches.
<v Speaker 4>I know you're impressed with.
<v Speaker 3>My math, Yeah, but seriously, don't don't go out and
<v Speaker 3>put a ruler. Just do just eye. It doesn't have
<v Speaker 3>to be an exact science exactly.
<v Speaker 2>So these sticks do a lot of things. First, they
<v Speaker 2>help fill you up, so you're not using so much soil.
<v Speaker 2>But what they really do is they provide some great
<v Speaker 2>drainage at the bottom of that areas for excess water
<v Speaker 2>to give out. They also as they break down and decompose,
<v Speaker 2>they have lead channels in that soil where roots can
<v Speaker 2>fill in and grow. So, you know, we also some
<v Speaker 2>other things, you know, large bark pieces. Bark is great.
<v Speaker 2>We go into our forest here and take the bark
<v Speaker 2>that has fallen off some of the old dead trees.
<v Speaker 2>And you don't have to worry about stacking these neatly.
<v Speaker 2>You talk about picked up sticks, you're just putting them
<v Speaker 2>there almost.
<v Speaker 4>Like a weave.
<v Speaker 3>Right, it's gonna be random. So when you think about
<v Speaker 3>stacking your wood inside of your raised beds, don't do
<v Speaker 3>it like you're stacking a wood pile for firewood. What
<v Speaker 3>you want to do is you want random crisscross patterns.
<v Speaker 4>That's right. That's right. We actually have if you really
<v Speaker 4>want to see this, if you go on.
<v Speaker 2>Our Overal Garden YouTube channel, we have a video on
<v Speaker 2>how we filled our beds, and we start with the
<v Speaker 2>bottom and show it all so it'll kind of show
<v Speaker 2>you how we stack them in for smaller and less
<v Speaker 2>deep beds. You know, use smaller sticks and twigs. It's
<v Speaker 2>a very common sensical thing. Again, you're looking to fill
<v Speaker 2>that bottom third. We leave that leaves enough soil death
<v Speaker 2>really for growing anything and everything you want. If you're
<v Speaker 2>talking about that twelve to eighteen inch you know minimum
<v Speaker 2>when selecting the wood, maple, pine, oak, beech, fruit trees.
<v Speaker 2>Almost all non nut trees are really good. Again, you
<v Speaker 2>just want to avoid those chestnut, walnut, anything that prohibits growth.
<v Speaker 2>And then if you don't have that sister wood scraps,
<v Speaker 2>you know, there's mulch. I mean, mulch is a great one,
<v Speaker 2>especially if you have a sol mill multch like we.
<v Speaker 3>Have right and we have a podcast about using hardwood
<v Speaker 3>mulch in your flower beds. Same type of mulch you
<v Speaker 3>can use in your raise beds.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah, and just a little side tip. We'd like to
<v Speaker 4>give little.
<v Speaker 2>Hents and tips here and for this one we use
<v Speaker 2>in our hanging baskets. That's exactly in our big potted
<v Speaker 2>plants around the farm. We fill them usually six six
<v Speaker 2>inches for the large pots and eight inches at the bottom.
<v Speaker 4>All with wood chips. That's what we do.
<v Speaker 2>We put them in the bottom of wood mulch Basically
<v Speaker 2>that's great because you know we've all been there. People say, well,
<v Speaker 2>I like to use rock or I like to use
<v Speaker 2>pine nuggets. Well, at the end of the year, when
<v Speaker 2>we're putting those under our compost file and you have
<v Speaker 2>stones in there, it's so hard to get the stones
<v Speaker 2>out and get the soil out and separate them. When
<v Speaker 2>you use hardwood mulch, it's almost decomposedment in the year
<v Speaker 2>and by next year it's gone.
<v Speaker 3>In the common right we use in all of our
<v Speaker 3>large potted plants.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, now you're not gonna be taking this out since
<v Speaker 2>it's a raised bed, so it's a little different, but
<v Speaker 2>it gives that same power. So now you have the
<v Speaker 2>bottom field. So what's next. So once your layer of
<v Speaker 2>sticks are in and your wood and bark is in place,
<v Speaker 2>it's time to add the long term power. And it
<v Speaker 2>can be really accomplished with a couple of materials. We
<v Speaker 2>like to mix and match, and again there is no
<v Speaker 2>set formula. I can't stress that enough, can't I. No,
<v Speaker 2>you just want to mix what you have, what do
<v Speaker 2>you have access to. They're all going to work hard
<v Speaker 2>and big, and I'm pretty sure we just had a
<v Speaker 2>large bird hit the seed.
<v Speaker 4>It's spring.
<v Speaker 2>We are just as a side note, I think we
<v Speaker 2>spend every four or five hours outside right now checking
<v Speaker 2>to see what bird has built a nest where we're
<v Speaker 2>trying to so.
<v Speaker 4>But let's get back to the subject.
<v Speaker 2>Compost, straw, glass, kip clippings, and even age manure. They're
<v Speaker 2>all incredible for this next layer. If you only have
<v Speaker 2>access to one or two, you know, that's great. If
<v Speaker 2>you have even at this point you're buried down enough. Hey,
<v Speaker 2>even works, Mary, I mean, it's gonna be fine. Because
<v Speaker 2>the seeds are buried way way below. There's no doubt
<v Speaker 2>about it that you can use anything you want to.
<v Speaker 2>Just get some organic material that's small enough to work
<v Speaker 2>down in between the hardwood. But and then together with
<v Speaker 2>those sticks, they'll allow for great drainage and as they
<v Speaker 2>break down, great nutrients. Right.
<v Speaker 3>And as you go to fill up your raised bed
<v Speaker 3>with these materials, some you know a lot of it's
<v Speaker 3>going to fall in between those sticks, and that's okay.
<v Speaker 3>You want to make sure that you get as much
<v Speaker 3>as in there. You don't need to compact it, just
<v Speaker 3>pour it in and then just layer it on top.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and you're right, you don't need to be pushing
<v Speaker 2>down super hard. Can you lightly tampa to get you through?
<v Speaker 2>That's that's excellent. But Mary makes a really good point
<v Speaker 2>there that you don't want to be, you know, getting
<v Speaker 2>a sledgehammer out and pushing down on it, trying to
<v Speaker 2>smash this all down. Let the aeration work in your favor. Yes,
<v Speaker 2>over time, your level's going to drop a few inches
<v Speaker 2>this year. It's not going to hurt your plants. In fact,
<v Speaker 2>it's going to help them. And then next year you
<v Speaker 2>can add a little bit more soil. So now we've
<v Speaker 2>got the stick layer, we have the drainage layer at
<v Speaker 2>the bottom. We have that organic layer which could be compost,
<v Speaker 2>it could be age, manure from your chicken, coupe, grass clippings,
<v Speaker 2>all of that.
<v Speaker 3>Combination of items.
<v Speaker 2>Ye. Now it's time to add that soil. And here
<v Speaker 2>is where you need that layer to be lightweight and
<v Speaker 2>power filled and almost like an ultra potting soil mix.
<v Speaker 3>Right, this is where that potting mix comes into play.
<v Speaker 4>Yeah.
<v Speaker 2>Really, there's so many great potting soils that are available
<v Speaker 2>for purchase. I mean, you know, the key is to
<v Speaker 2>look for ones that are lightweight and filled with organic power.
<v Speaker 2>Avoid ones that have substitute fertilizers to put in or
<v Speaker 2>it just don't work long term, and you want natural
<v Speaker 2>driven power that you can grow your plants in. I
<v Speaker 2>mean there's all kinds. You know, we use a lot
<v Speaker 2>and people always ask us like what do you like?
<v Speaker 2>You know, s Bomat makes a great organic race bag
<v Speaker 2>and mix that's all organic, but there are also all
<v Speaker 2>kinds of ones that might beat your local feed store
<v Speaker 2>or you can find. You just want to get something
<v Speaker 2>that's lightweight. It should not be top soil. It's got
<v Speaker 2>to be more of a potting soil with a very
<v Speaker 2>light feel.
<v Speaker 3>Right. Look for potting soil that has a mixture of
<v Speaker 3>some composts in it and some per lite, those little
<v Speaker 3>white specks that you see in pot of plants. That
<v Speaker 3>just helps more drainage and keeps it light weight. If
<v Speaker 3>it has worm casting, even a bigger bonus.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, vermiculite, pearlite, both of those, and they know they're
<v Speaker 2>not styrofoam. They are actually an organic material. Perlite is
<v Speaker 2>you know, made from popping volcanic rock from ancient times
<v Speaker 2>and it pops into like a popcorn style and it's
<v Speaker 2>great because it keeps that soil light so here's the
<v Speaker 2>good news.
<v Speaker 4>You filled two thirds of your.
<v Speaker 2>Raised beds with organic material that can almost or if
<v Speaker 2>not always, be free, whether it's grass, clipping sticks, you know,
<v Speaker 2>the manure, so it can really save on the cost
<v Speaker 2>of adding that final ingredient. And let me tell you
<v Speaker 2>that final ingredient is what makes the difference for great
<v Speaker 2>raised beds. So Mary talked about it. So you're putting
<v Speaker 2>this pile in, if you feel the soil is a
<v Speaker 2>little thick, that is where getting an extra bag of
<v Speaker 2>vermiculite or perlite and mix it into that soil. We
<v Speaker 2>like to you know, I'd say every five gallon bucket
<v Speaker 2>of soil, we like two cups and that's a good ratio. Again,
<v Speaker 2>thought to be perfect for this, but it will kind
<v Speaker 2>of loosen it up. And then I think your best one,
<v Speaker 2>no matter what you do, no matter what you buy,
<v Speaker 2>even if it has some in it, get yourself a
<v Speaker 2>bag of worm castings. They're amazing, they are. And you know,
<v Speaker 2>again for every five gallons of soil that are in there,
<v Speaker 2>anywhere from two to four cups is an amazing addition.
<v Speaker 2>Worm castings are just the perfect fertilizer from nature. You know,
<v Speaker 2>worms work their way through the soil, consuming all kinds
<v Speaker 2>of things in the soil, and they're what comes out.
<v Speaker 2>The other end of the worm is the casting, and
<v Speaker 2>it is absolutely it will not burn plants, it will
<v Speaker 2>lighten soil, It will power up soil and really make
<v Speaker 2>a big difference.
<v Speaker 3>And it's really a slow release fertilizer, so it's going
<v Speaker 3>to keep your plants being fed for many months.
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and so here's a few other things that we'll
<v Speaker 2>just kind of go over and talk about that are
<v Speaker 2>really big before we will let you go today on
<v Speaker 2>this podcast.
<v Speaker 4>Eggshell powder another great addition.
<v Speaker 2>You know, if you have a lot of eggshells, grind
<v Speaker 2>them into the fine powder as you can, as fine
<v Speaker 2>as powder as you can with your coffee. You can
<v Speaker 2>use anything, a coffee grinder, you can grind them my hand.
<v Speaker 2>But the finer you grind them, the more they're gonna
<v Speaker 2>absorb into their coffee grounds. We throw our whole filter
<v Speaker 2>and coffee grounds in when we're building them, or the
<v Speaker 2>just the ground.
<v Speaker 4>They're all gonna biodegrade into there and make.
<v Speaker 3>Great soil spent coffee grounds, yes not newcast. Crate the
<v Speaker 3>coffee first, then use the coffee grounds.
<v Speaker 2>Little formula for your fresh coffee grounds. Lots of the
<v Speaker 2>acid spent coffee grounds really good for your soil, very
<v Speaker 2>little acid, so great point. So last, but not least,
<v Speaker 2>we always like to leave people with a final tip.
<v Speaker 2>People fill these raised beds and they think they got
<v Speaker 2>to fill them right to the top. Why don't you
<v Speaker 2>do that? For a couple of reasons. One, it's gonna
<v Speaker 2>settle anyway, so let it go and let it settle
<v Speaker 2>before you add more. But most importantly, you have to
<v Speaker 2>leave room for mulch. Yeah, you know, people forget this.
<v Speaker 2>I think they think sometimes with raised beds it's just
<v Speaker 2>the soil. But when you leave that soil exposed and
<v Speaker 2>it rains and it hards, it comes down, it washes
<v Speaker 2>nutrie sound. But mulch, to me, is just as if
<v Speaker 2>not more important, in a raised bed setting or a
<v Speaker 2>potted plant or a hanging basket. You know, it doesn't
<v Speaker 2>have to be the four to six inches obviously we
<v Speaker 2>do in flower beds, but it can be you know,
<v Speaker 2>an inch covering. It'll protect that soil, it'll protect it
<v Speaker 2>from washing out, and it also makes your beds look really,
<v Speaker 2>really nice. There's no doubt that mulch is the final
<v Speaker 2>key to it all. So let's just kind of recap.
<v Speaker 2>You know, you have your raised beds. You want to
<v Speaker 2>fill the bottom, make sure you have good drained to
<v Speaker 2>the bottom. Make sure that bottom of the water is
<v Speaker 2>going to come out. You have to drill a few
<v Speaker 2>holes in the bottom so it does do so. But
<v Speaker 2>then you want to put in a one third layer
<v Speaker 2>of sticks and you know, any kind of bark, even
<v Speaker 2>some wood chunks if they're big enough. Then you want
<v Speaker 2>to put that organic material, right Mary, I mean, that's
<v Speaker 2>that's the key, really, that second layer, right.
<v Speaker 3>The second layer is one's going to feed your plants,
<v Speaker 3>whether it be annuals, vegetables, anything. Just make sure you
<v Speaker 3>get that layer in there, that's right.
<v Speaker 2>And then that third and final layer, that one third
<v Speaker 2>is going to be the potting soil. And then you're
<v Speaker 2>gonna mix things like wormcare, castings and perlite and coffee grounds,
<v Speaker 2>anything you can to power up that soil. So remember
<v Speaker 2>this is great, this is fantastic, but come this fall,
<v Speaker 2>you either need to cover that with some compost of
<v Speaker 2>manure or some straw to protect it, or even we
<v Speaker 2>use oats and ours, Yeah, we use oats and ours
<v Speaker 2>to help build that power for next year, and then
<v Speaker 2>over the winter be adding things like those crushed egg
<v Speaker 2>shells and the coffee grounds, and then next spring you
<v Speaker 2>can put some more worm castings in and that way,
<v Speaker 2>year after year you'll have great raised beds. So we
<v Speaker 2>have our raised beds now. We moved to this our
<v Speaker 2>new farm in twenty twenty. Twenty twenty one was our
<v Speaker 2>first garden year. Have the same raised beds out there
<v Speaker 2>with the soil we started, and it's it's more fertile
<v Speaker 2>than it ever was even back then. Absolutely, So there
<v Speaker 2>you go. So get out there, grow with those race beds.
<v Speaker 2>Fill them right, fill them for long term success.
<v Speaker 3>And save your back and see your back.
<v Speaker 2>So all right, well for Mary and myself, we hope
<v Speaker 2>you enjoyed this episode, and happy guardening, every happy gardening.
<v Speaker 5>We hope you've enjoyed this episode. Subscribe to the Simple
<v Speaker 5>Garden podcast on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or most of
<v Speaker 5>your favorite podcast apps. You can also head over to
<v Speaker 5>simplegardenlife dot com where you can listen and read all
<v Speaker 5>of the show notes to every episode and if.
<v Speaker 3>You have any questions, any ideas for show topics, or
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<v Speaker 3>us at the Farm at Owgarden dot com.
<v Speaker 5>Until next time, Thanks everyone,