It may have more to do with the ability of your soil to hold nutrients (CEC
cation exchange capacity) rather than soil moisture. I do not know anything
about the mix you purchased but many commercial mixes contain a lot of sand
and pine bark that typically have a very low CEC. I would check the soil
and pH out.

In the long run in our area, it's always better to have soils on the well
drained side. It's much easier to manage the water.

--
Baine



"Mister Sensitive" wrote in message
nk.net...
We built raised beds for veggies this year. First try with raised beds. We
got soil from B&B topsoil mine, with which we've had great success in the
past. We tilled the soil into furrows and planted veggies along the furrow
ridge. I water every day it doesn't rain, but the plants are growing very
slowly, if at all. We left a couple of plants in the valleys in their
nursery containers, to backfill failing plants. The valley plants are
growing much better. I also noticed after prodigious watering that the
soil
is pretty dry just under the surface if I scratch the wet soil. The only
time the plants seem to grow is after these recent long drenching rains.

Have we created too much drainage for water and are depriving our plants
of
water?

Thanks,

Hungry in Hillsborough