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.

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

"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.

So a loaded pickup SHOULD fill 3 beds that measure 4' x 6' x (1/2)' raised
beds.

I would go for a fifty fifty mix. Topsoil is good for structure, compost
for microbes and some nutrients. Could add some peat moss to lighten the
mix if the Mix seems to heavy for the plants. Carrots love a light soil and
I find tomatoes like it a tad bit heavier ( the can topple over and uproot
if soil is too light ).

If going to landscape supplier or free local compost recycler, a typical
small front loader is 27 cubic feet 3x3x3. If you go before a rainy day
that soil will be much much heavier and harder on your truck. However, I
usually get half loads with my Dakota, rated for 750 not 1500, full loads
damaged the protective bumpers for the drive shaft that cost me fifty bucks
to repair. So half loads for me.

Is that what your looking for?

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

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

In article ,
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.

http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%2...ltural%20myths
_files/Myths/Compost%20overdose.pdf

The Myth of Soil Amendments, Part III
³Healthy soil has high organic content²

The Myth

One of the newer catch phrases making the rounds in print and on
gardening websites is ³Building
Healthy Soil.² The starting premise is that residential soil is
inherently unhealthy and in need of
amendment. Without fail these media sources recommend incorporation of
large volumes of compost as
a means of improving soil structure, adding nutrients, improving
drainage and aeration, and increasing
water holding capacity. Websites recommend adding anywhere from 1 to 4
inches of compost; one site
suggests ³1 part compost to 2 parts dirt.² In general, the message is
that unamended soil is unacceptable
and the only way to make it healthy is by adding large quantities of
compost.

The Reality

The dubious practice of amending soil areas destined for permanent
landscape installations has been
discussed in this column on other occasions. To summarize briefly, the
problem with this practice is that
within 10 years (conservatively) the organic amendment will have
decomposed; one is then left with the
original soil, which will have subsided and compacted during this time.
You can see evidence of this
practice by looking at older residential lawns; the lawns slope away
from sidewalks and driveways and
are inches below grade of surrounding surfaces. There is no way to
incorporate additional amendment
into permanent landscapes without damaging root systems. Instead, it is
easier, cheaper, and more natural
to add organic material by topdressing landscapes that are not planted
and harvested on an annual basis.
(My fondness for wood chip mulches has been expressed in this column
before!)

What about landscapes that are planted and harvested on an annual basis
* including vegetable gardens
and flower beds? These landscapes are more logically managed by
agricultural models * adding organic
matter (OM) to replace nutrients removed from the soil by flowers and
vegetables. The annual
incorporation of compost makes sense here. However, one needs to have
an idea of what the soil already
contains before more material is added.

During home construction, topsoil is removed from the site and
eventually replaced by ³designed soil.² It
is almost impossible to purchase native topsoil in urban areas; it is
too precious a commodity.
Commercially available topsoil is usually a mixture of native topsoil
and a variety of inorganic and
organic materials including sand, perlite, compost, peat moss, bark,
sawdust, and manure. These
designed soils usually contain 15% OM by weight (equivalent to 30%
compost by volume). By
comparison, native topsoils contain about 5% OM by weight (or 10% OM by
volume); this level of OM is
considered to be optimal in terms of nutrient content. Obviously, new
residential landscapes contain high
levels of OM, well above what is considered ideal.

If you don¹t know what your soil already contains in terms of nutrients,
how can you possibly determine
how much OM to add? It is simple and cheap to have your soil tested for
OM content and nutrient levels
and this should be done at least once to determine baseline values.
This information can help you
determine if you need to add more organic material, and which nutrients
in particular are at minimal
levels. It wastes resources, both financial and natural, to add
excessive amounts of OM without these
baseline values.

Last fall we collected soil samples from a local organic demonstration
garden and sent them out for
nutrient analysis; this garden had recently experienced some soil and
plant health problems. Every single
one of the sites that was tested came back with nutrient readings off
the scale. In large capital letters the
report warned ³DO NOT FERTILIZE THIS SOIL.² The excessive addition of
nutrient-rich compost to
this landscape contributed not only to plant health problems but to
nutrient loading of adjacent natural
waters.

The Bottom Line

€ Ideal soils, from a fertility standpoint, are generally defined as
containing no more than 5% OM
by weight or 10% by volume
€ Before you add organic amendments to your garden, have your soil
tested to determine its OM
content and nutrient levels
€ Be conservative with organic amendments; add only what is necessary to
correct deficiencies and
maintain OM at ideal levels
€ Do not incorporate organic amendments into landscapes destined for
permanent installations;
topdress with mulch instead
€ Abnormally high levels of nutrients can have negative effects on plant
and soil health
€ Any nutrients not immediately utilized by microbes or plants
contribute to non-point source
pollution


For more information, please visit Dr. Chalker-Scott¹s web page at
http://www.theinformedgardener.com.

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?

Bill Rose wrote:
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?

Sounds about right, however, I subtract points for not rounding off
calculations to two decimal points My My we love math around here

My assumption was at the beginning of topic was by volume not by weight.
When the OP stated 3/4 Ton, the volume of a pickup bed was in my mind, not
weight. I have a gut feeling that is what he meant. I could be wrong
though, my friends (few) call this "taking the primrose path" of solving
problems, sometimes it works sometimes it does not.

But my truck is beater truck on country roads, it is abused

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

"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.

Size of a pickup truck bed, six feet long, three feet wide and two feet
high.

--
Enjoy Life... Nad R (Garden in zone 5a Michigan)

On Mar 21, 10:13*pm, Bill Rose wrote:
In article ,


For more information, please visit Dr. Chalker-Scott s web page athttp://www.theinformedgardener.com.

Dr. Chalker-Scott does contradict your old fairy tales quite a bit
doesn't she billy?

In article ,
Nad R wrote:

Bill Rose wrote:
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?

Sounds about right, however, I subtract points for not rounding off
calculations to two decimal points My My we love math around here

My assumption was at the beginning of topic was by volume not by weight.
When the OP stated 3/4 Ton, the volume of a pickup bed was in my mind, not
weight. I have a gut feeling that is what he meant. I could be wrong
though, my friends (few) call this "taking the primrose path" of solving
problems, sometimes it works sometimes it does not.

But my truck is beater truck on country roads, it is abused

Mine's a 1980 Datsun, also a "beater". It's a great truck for
dependability, i.e. they're hard to kill. It's the 2nd one I've had. I
sold the first one, and missed it immediately. I can't imagine gardening
without a truck.
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_vN0--mHug
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyE5wjc4XOw