New to it all

[MrsPotatoHead]

Hello, I am just in the process of clearing quite a big patch of garden that was filled with overgrown shrubs - this bit is well underway. Although not quite at this stage yet, after advice of which soil is best to use in the raised beds I’m going to build. Should I use multi purpose, or mixture of soil, compost etc. Looking to be planting vegetables. Thank you in advance.

[SimpleSimon]

How big are the raised beds? Buying compost for a decent sized one is going to add up very quickly. You can fill them with all sorts tho depending on how deeply they are.

[peanut]

Welcome to The Vine MrsPotatoHead. You can fill your raised beds with any/all/a mix of that, but before you go ahead, have you considered No Dig Beds, have a look at Charles Dowding's website, I've switched to this method this year and it is fantastic.

[Mr Bones]

Hi Mrs PotatoHead and welcome to the Vine

Sounds an interesting project, are you building raised beds for easier access or is the soil beneath shallow or poor. Just wondered, raised beds look nice but can be difficult to maintain (slugs hiding down the sides, sides rotting etc.) plus they can take more filling than anticipated. Sometimes flat beds (at ground level) are easier to set up and get started.
Re filling raised beds, a mixture of soil, compost, sharp sand (if your soil is on the clay side) and well rotted manure is fine. Depends really what you can get hold of in decent amounts.
Good luck with it and keep us posted of your progress

[Shortie]

Welcome to the 'vine MrsPotatoHead

I will confess I'm not up there with knowing what is good soil or not but I did just want to mention that if you are filling them with soil, some local councils sell bags quite cheap. Someone on our local allotment uses it on her raised beds and she has amazing beds and crops.

Also, she does no dig

[MrsPotatoHead]

Thank you, some great advice - the soil isn’t actually that poor, so maybe I could just straight into the ground?!? Good tip about council soil too.

Thank you- it’s taking a lot of ground work but I’m sure it’s going to be well worth it.

next job - rotavator!

[mothhawk]

Hi Mrs PotatoHead and welcome to the vine. There's absolutely nothing wrong with planting in the ground, many gardeners and allotment growers still do it that way. And as the land is mulched and has compost added, it gradually becomes a raised bed without sides over the years.

Raised beds are a fashion at the moment in the same way decking was 20 years ago. They have advantages - being easier to reach if you have problems bending or kneeling, if filled with purchased compost they are weed-free and stone free, and they give instant good depth of soil. But, as others say, they harbour slugs and woodlice, the sides need replacing after a few years, and they do take a lot of filling.

[burnie]

Welcome to the vine Mrs P, I grow almost all my crops in raised beds, I got soil conditioner from my local council tip for free, it's the stuff composted from our green bins. I then add manure to the beds except for the one with root crops in, that gets my homemade compost, I then rotate the crops every year and because the soil isn't walked on I don't need to dig it.