What to fill raised beds with??

Hi All,

I'm putting in 4 raised bed in the back garden to grow some nice veg this season. I'm having a bit of a hard time figuring out what to fill them with. I don't have acess to any homemade manure or compost, so everything i'm going to have to buy in.
The beds are are 1.5mtrsq (and before you ask i will be able to acess them all on all 4 sides) and 400mm high, i work that out to be 1000ltr per bed, 4000 ltr total. I've found a few places online where i can purchase bulk topsoil and compost but they're asking for £100-130 per 1000ltr which i think is alot.

Do you all have any thoughts on what i could use or where to go?
I'm based in hertforshire

Cheers
Mark

 

There is usually topsoil advertised on freecycle. I find enough to keep my raised beds topped up. Cheers, Toiny.

 

Bouncingnrg,

Sorry to hear that the prices are what they are, but I bit the bullet and put up six raised beds and found that a mix of soil from the land and mixes of topsoil, with compost buy the ton has reaped rewards of good food for the family. In all it cost me in the region of £500 to set up including the sleepers. A lot of dosh but will repay me with fresh veg for some time to come.
Good luck with your venture and let us know how it turns out.

 

Mark, does your local authority have a green waste collection scheme? - if so find out where the stuff goes and you should be able to buy the resulting 'soil conditioner' quite cheaply.

Also have a look in Yellow Pages for local riding schools / livery stables etc., which might offer stable manure cheaply.

Of course, for future 'top-ups' of the beds make sure you set up your own composting area in the garden.

Another idea might be to actually use on of the beds as the compost area, chuck all the ususal stuff in then cover with a layer of soil in May, and plant up some courgettes on top in June, they certainly like their feet in muck.! - as do all the squashes and runner beans.

a-a

 

i put top soil organic compost well rotted manureplus bone meal just before planting
then each year add compost manure and any seed compost left over

 

Google for top soil and look for your area,
cheapest delivered here in Fife is £30 per metric tonne, (non graded) £45 graded,
Find a local horse riding school or farm, I found one who does fill it yourself 100Ltr for £2 or £3 if the girls do it. the best bit of this is it goes back over 12 years, so if you want pure black soil full of worms go to the 12year part of the heap, or if you want ready to use horse manure go to the 2year bit of the heap

We have farms here who deliver by trailer, but it is £20 a tonne and you do not know how fresh or old it is

Or MY bargain of the year 1500 Ltrs growmore compost, B&Q BURST BAG for £3 (only cost me £475 for new suspension in the car :-)

Now I am a new gardener so following is just my idea, buy a ton of ungraded for the base, then top soil and compost, I would use the basic graded topsoil not fine topsoil, as I was going to do, Until I found a neigbour and his experience (what I was going to do ) he riddled the lot with a quarter inch riddle, he had beautiful rich soft soil, you could plunge your fist in day one

Day two three and four it rained, days five six seven and eight,Hot sunny days, then he went back to the bed
A nice solid clay tablet, that he can not even get a spade into, so I reckon you need a mix of stoney stuff in for drainage

Good luck in your venture, You are the same as me, first go at beds ONLY I am doing SUNKEN BEDS
I removed the top turf of my lawn (meadow) and stacked them
I removed the top spits on to a tarpaulin
I then (am in the process of) remove the second spit, to who knows bagged up at the moment
I then refill with the original top soil, B&Q Compost bargain, horse manure, and sharp sand mix
When I get let out of the spinal unit, I will let you know how it all went

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Thanks for the responses, I'll have a bit more of a look. We do a have a few riding schools so I'll see if they have some manure, the local council does do a soil improver but that's £4 per 60l.

 

you could also order stuff like this online
Blended Horse Manure in Bulk Bag INCLUDES DELIVERY

 

Make sure the riding stables know about Aminopyralid herbicide and are sure that they ahve not used it, is has not been used by any contractors who have sprayed their fields with selective weedkiller, and they know the provenance of any hay they have bought in and the pastures that that too came from were not treated with Aminopyralid

If they don't know I would recommend giving them a miss, or at the very least doing a test growing Beans to check that they grow normally (you'll be able to see from a test within a couple weeks)

Aminopyralid is a nightmare if you get it onto your plot in the form of contaminated manure. :(