raised bed soil

[scott78]

morning all.
i have been calling in on the forum for a while now and finally got around to digging up part of the lawn and making raised veg beds. the ground soild looks ok and the 6" deep beds are filled with the same soil from around the garden. at the moment its all light and fluffy and i know its going to sink. i have picked up some onion and garlic sets which i think should have been in the ground before now. my question is
so should i tred the bed down so that what gets planted stays planted
or
should i leave it to settle down and plant in a few weeks
or
leave the soil, plant the sets and hope they stay planted as the soil level drops out.

[Two_Sheds]

When I turned over my lawn to flower beds I just planted straight into it. The soil doesn't sink that much

[vegnut]

If you are that worried, you can always plant the onions and garlic in some pots and plant them out when you are sure that the soil has levelled off. You could then also throw some extra soil or compost over the bed to raise it before planting.
Two Sheds is right though, it doesn't sink that much, not unless you have double dug. That can raise it up a fair bit.

[Kristen]

I agree, don't walk on the beds (I mean EVER!). An open texture will help it drain better, and let air in.

If you are growing Brassicas (Cabbage, Sprouts, Caulis) they like rock-solid ground, so you'll have to tread it down hard for them, but I wouldn't bother for anything else.

If you spread compost (home made, or well rotted manure etc) on the top as a mulch the worms will pull it in, which will improve the soil, and you won't have to dig it again (it will get some "digging" when you harvest Potatoes, Leeks, Parsnips etc). If the soil gets compressed it will have to be dug / rotavated to open it back up. You could cover it with cardboard (whether you have compost, or not) which will keep the moisture in, and stop the weeds growing - and that will rot down over the course of a season.

Don't put the mulch on until the soil has warmed up in the Spring - some time before the ground starts to get dry (in the Summer) will be fine.

[Florence Fennel]

I'd get them in Scott!

[scott78]

thanks for all the advice, all seed and sets now happily in the ground.