Over the years, we have developed an organic raised bed soil recipe that will help your plants thrive, conserve moisture in hot climates, and increase the microbiology of your soil.

It is essential to begin with the best soil possible when growing crops in any raised bed container or pot where the roots of your crops do not have access to the soil underneath them. This is because your plants only have access to the soil in the container and are restricted to what you provide. Take the time and energy to fill your raised beds, planters, pots, or containers with a wide range of amendments. Our organic raised bed soil recipe will help accomplish that.

Keep in mind that just as there are many recipes for making cookies, there are also many recipes for organic raised bed soil mixes. You can tweak this recipe to accomplish the specific needs of your garden. It is a great starting point for any gardener and will guarantee much happier plants than other raised bed soil mixes.

The key ingredients in our organic raised bed soil recipe are as follows.

• Raised Bed Mix: Fill containers 60% by volume
• Compost: Fill containers 20% by volume
• Fertilizer: Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how much to use
• Manure: Fill containers 20% by volume
• Worm Castings: Add at least 5 lbs. of worm castings each season

Over time your soil will improve with the management of these essential items.

Organic Raised Bed Soil Recipe Ingredients Explained

Raised Bed Mix 

Filling your beds with just a raised bed mix purchased from a nursery or garden center is rarely enough for a thriving garden. Although these mixes are marketed as being all you need for raised beds, they are seldom good enough to grow thriving crops on their own. They will likely be a combination of sifted compost, topsoil, and a few other amendments. They lack the essential soil structure and nutrients needed to grow a healthy, bountiful crop. Raised bed mix can be used, but only as a base, and you should expect to add tons of other amendments to your bed. Think of raised bed mix as the “flour” of a cookie recipe. It is essential as a base ingredient, but it is not the only thing you need for a good cookie!

Often, gardeners use only raised bed mix and have difficulty keeping moisture in their soil, and their crops do not thrive. Do not make this mistake.

Compost

The compost portion of an organic raised bed soil recipe is the most popular and sometimes overused ingredient. Compost is very important to the structure of your soil, but you cannot plant in compost alone. You also do not want your compost to take up more than 40% of the volume of your soil mix.

Adding compost has many benefits, including:

• 2–3 times more water-holding capacity
• It helps to grow and sustain a healthy population of bacteria, fungi, and other microbiology needed in the soil
• It provides a better soil structure for planting

Compost should be added to your organic raised bed soil recipe at the time of planting and mixed in very thoroughly. This means taking your time to hand mix or till-in the compost so that it is well incorporated into the raised bed mix. We recommend, if possible, buying your compost in bulk as it will come in handy in the garden, and you will want to replenish it every season in your raised beds. Keep in mind that compost is NOT FERTILIZER, and although it can add some very small amounts of nutrients to your soil, it will not be enough to grow thriving plants.

Fertilizer

Think of the fertilizer in your organic raised bed soil recipe as the chocolate chips in your cookie recipe! Fertilizer is essential and will make your raised bed gardens thrive. It is vital because the soil you put in your raised beds, pots, or containers is not well-matured garden soil; it naturally has little to no fertilizer. You need to provide this essential plant food to your organic raised bed soil recipe so your plants can thrive.

What fertilizer to add and how much?

There are millions of options for fertilizers on the market, and choosing can get overwhelming. You will want to use an organic granular fertilizer like our Darn Good Fertilizer in your organic raised bed soil recipe. This fertilizer will “stock the pantry” so that your plants have nutrients available throughout the season. Granular fertilizer is naturally slow-releasing and stays available to your plants for longer periods of time. That is why adding it to your organic raised bed soil recipe is recommended. In addition to using granular fertilizer, it is always a good idea to give supplemental feedings of liquid fertilizers throughout the season. Our Fertilizer Bundle will cater to your fertility needs throughout the season.

The amount of fertilizer you use depends on the brand and manufacturer. Make sure to read the label closely to use the correct amount of fertilizer.

Manure

Why is manure essential in our organic raised bed soil recipe? Manure is an important part of what makes mature soil excellent for growing thriving crops. Manure adds essential microbiology to the soil while improving the soil structure. You can use any manure available, but we LOVE horse manure. That is because it is light and fluffy and adds to the soil’s moisture-holding capacity, which is essential in Zones 9 and 10. If you use horse manure, make sure to acquire Bermuda-free horse manure. If you cannot source horse manure, you can use whatever is convenient. Any manure that you purchase is likely already composted. We recommend composting before use if you get manure from a direct source, like a local farm.

Worm Castings

Worm castings in your organic raised bed soil recipe are essential because they add all the benefits of having worms in your organic raised bed soil before the worms have moved in! Of course, over time, worms will move into the soil and thrive if conditions are right. If they are thriving, then they can provide worm castings for your soil on a regular basis. Until you have mature soil, it is a good idea to add worm castings to jump-start that process. We recommend adding at least 5 lbs. of worm castings at planting and each time you amend during a season turnover.

Time

As with all great things, whether soil or wine, time is your friend; your soil will improve as the microbiology in the soil grows, earthworms move in, and organic matter continues to break down. It typically takes two to three years for soil to mature and provide a flourishing home for thriving plants. During this time, you must add the right ingredients to your organic raised bed soil recipe and amend each season to replenish what is lost. Each season you will find that the soil becomes better and better, and you will have to amend less and less. This maturing process for soil is 100% dependent on moisture. Keeping moisture in your soil will keep soil microbiology alive; those microscopic guys will help mature your soil over time.

These ingredients in our organic raised bed soil recipe are guaranteed to give you happy plants and start your gardening journey off on the right foot!