In article ,
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:

Nad R wrote:
"David Hare-Scott" wrote:
anthony123hopki wrote:
Hi

I have 3 raised beds. They need topping up after settling with about
3/4 of a ton of material. I'm not sure whether to just chuck in pure
compost, or topsoil, or a mix. Does sterilised/sieved topsoil from
garden centres have any nutrients in at all? Clearly compost has
plenty but it doesn't last that long.

Any help much appreciated.

It depends on the quality of what you have and what you want to grow
in the beds. The nutrient content of commercial topsoil is very
variable, it can be anything from quite ordinary to excellent.
Perhaps there is somebody local (garden club?) who can show you how
to assess such things?

How do you know you need 3/4 of a ton? Bulk materials like this are
usually sold by volume and the weight will vary according to content
and moisture. Consider if it will be cheaper in the long run to buy
a truck load and have some left over for other purposes than buy
bags.

David

Assuming your talking about a pickup truck worth and dirt weighs that
amount and topping up actually means filling up the raised bed
completely.

Hmmm... 3/4 ton or 1500 pickup truck bed carries which would be about
6'x3'x2'= 36 cubic feet. 36 / 3 beds = 12 cubic feet per raised bed.
So that would fill a bed that is 4' x 6' x .5' = 12 cubic feet for
each of the three beds.


Where did you get 36 cuft? My back-o-the-envelope says it would be much
less, about 12.

See

http://www.reade.com/Particle_Briefi...ec_gra2.html#S

D

What number are you using? At 95 lbs/cft a pick-up would hold 15.8 cft
at 1500 lbs. 15.8 cft on a surface of 24sq. ft. = a depth of 0.65789475
ft., or 7.894737 in. or you need 1.52 pick up loads/1500 lbs/load,
depending on the type of soil that you buy.

Do I win anything?