How to use less soil and save money in your raised bed garden.

 

Though raised-bed gardening is an excellent way to grow flowers and vegetables, it can require a large initial investment. Whether you construct it yourself or buy it in kit form, the materials come at no small price, unless you’re scrounging around for scraps.

Add to that the cost of soil. A typical 4’ x 8’ x 1’ box will require 32 sq. ft. of soil. To confuse (obfuscate?) matters, commercially available soils may be sold in liters, square feet, square yards, cubic feet, cubic yards or quarts. One nationally advertised brand sells for around $11.00 for 1.5 cubic feet. If you knew what you’d be spending beforehand, you’d be gobsmacked.

Get out your calculator and search the internet for a formula to convert your square feet to whatever. UnitConverters.net is a good place to start. You’ll need to do this if you aim to budget ahead and find the best deal on soil.

Once you’ve figured out how much soil you’ll need, divide that by about one-half. That’s right! That’s how much soil you’ll actually need if you follow my advice.

A gardening technique that is gaining a lot of attention with thrifty gardeners is called Hügelkultur. It literally means “mound culture.” The authentic form involves building a mound with decaying wood, brush and leaves covered with soil. After a period of time, vegetables and ornamentals are planted. Advantages are many. Burning isn’t needed, nor are other means of disposal. More or less permanent garden features are established. Decaying organic material provides abundant nutrients. Rainfall runoff can be better controlled. Garden soil drainage will be enhanced. NOTE: As with many things, advantages can be limited.

The hügelkultur method can be modified for use in raised beds. Simply collect organic yard waste, and half-fill your raised bed structure. This will save you a whole lot of money!

Over time, the filler debris will decompose, and the soil level will sink somewhat. That’s to be expected. But the addition of mulch and humus season after season will tend to offset the shrinkage.

I believe you’ll find the hügelkultur method to be much to your liking. If you’d like to learn more about the history and proponents of Hügelkultur, check out works by Josef "Sepp" Holzer, Rudolf Steiner, James Paris, Luke Potter, and Herrman Andrä, among others.

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