There are a lots of reasons people get into gardening. Some people want to start gardening to save money. These people could quickly learn that growing your own food can sometimes cost more than buying food at the grocery store. However, gardening doesn't have to be expensive. One area where you can save money is on what you use to fill up your garden beds. The good news is you don't have to sacrifice good quality soil in order to save money.
Our garden beds are 14 inches high and we will have 11 of them when our garden is finished. Plus we have a large in ground bed thats around 22 ft by 26 ft. We absolutely could not afford to fill all of that up with soil you can buy from a nursery. You can certainly build beds that aren't as deep as ours but we have found that we've had better luck growing things with deeper beds. Here is how we layer our beds in a way that saves money without sacrificing quality.
First we put a layer of cardboard at the bottom of our garden beds to block out weeds. Regardless of what you put in your beds, I highly recommend this step. People are always giving away free moving boxes on Craigslist if you don't have enough cardboard yourself. But lets be real, we all have a stash of Amazon boxes laying around.
After the cardboard, we put a layer of sticks and logs at the bottom of the bed. These will eventually break down and add nutrients to the soil. They also take up space so you don't have to fill the entire bed with soil.
Next we add a layer of wood chips. In most places, you can get wood chips delivered to your house for free. We used the service Chip Drop to get our wood chips. There are so many uses for wood chips and they are invaluable to no dig gardening. The kicker with getting wood chips delivered using Chip Drop is that they are going to bring you a massive pile. I mean it is HUGE. You cannot request a smaller pile. So you do have to take that into consideration. We have a big ugly pile of wood chips at the top of our driveway, but it's a price we are willing to pay. The wood chips will break down much more quickly than the logs and they will add much needed nutrients to the soil.
The next layer is leaves. If you didn't save your leaves from the fall, you might be able to find some on Craigslist. This isn't a necessary step but again it is a filler and it's free. This is also another material that will break down and add nutrients to the soil.
Now we get to the actual soil. When we were in a pinch we had to get soil from Home Depot and we bought top soil, compost, and Kellogg's potting soil. To fill our 8ft by 4 ft garden beds we used 1 1/3 bag of compost, 2 bags of Kellogg's potting soil, and 2 bags of topsoil. After filling some of our garden beds with that we were able to find black gold- composted manure. This treasure was found on Craigslist and we were able to overfill a truck bed for $60. This is going to be mixed with soil we buy from a local nursery that we can buy by the truckload. I highly recommend getting soil this way if you can, because buying all those bags of dirt is expensive and uses so much plastic.
After adding in all the soil we topped the beds of with another layer of wood chips. We've planted using 2 different methods. We've added the wood chips and then cleared out a spot to plant in. We've also planted before adding the wood chips and then added the wood chips around each plant. The jury is still out on which method I prefer.
So there are a lot of ways you can fill up your gardens beds. And you can save a lot of money by filling your beds with natural materials (wood chips, sticks, leaves, etc) that you can get for free. These have the added benefit of giving back to your soil.
Thanks for stopping by and happy gardening!
FAQs
To fill our 8ft by 4 ft garden beds we used 1 1/3 bag of compost, 2 bags of Kellogg's potting soil, and 2 bags of topsoil. After filling some of our garden beds with that we were able to find black gold- composted manure.
What do you fill an empty garden bed with? ›
Layers of yard debris, such as grass clippings, sticks, branches, trimmings, and leaves, can be beneficial when filling a raised bed for several reasons: Organic Matter: Yard debris is rich in organic matter, which helps to improve soil structure and fertility over time as it decomposes.
What do I fill my raised garden bed with? ›
If you're going to pay for a product to fill your raised beds, again, it should just be really good soil and compost. I only recommend a thin layer of gravel at the bottom of your raised bed and under the edges to help you level the area. Save the rest of your gravel for your garden pathways.
How to fill a raised garden bed with hugelkultur? ›
Hugelkultur is a German word that means “hill culture”. Hugel beds start with a base of logs, branches, and twigs. Then layers of organic materials are added on top, such as grass clippings, hay, straw, leaves, manure, compost, and finally top soil.
How do you fill a raised garden bed for free? ›
After the cardboard, we put a layer of sticks and logs at the bottom of the bed. These will eventually break down and add nutrients to the soil. They also take up space so you don't have to fill the entire bed with soil. Next we add a layer of wood chips.
What not to fill a raised garden bed with? ›
Raised beds that are small and shallow (under 12 inches deep) are typically only filled with soil. Adding other organic materials to shallow beds usually isn't a good idea. Sticks, twigs, and other materials further reduce the limited soil space and can interfere with plant root growth and water drainage.
What are three mistakes to avoid when gardening with raised beds? ›
Seven Beginner Raised Bed Gardening Mistakes to Avoid
- Picking The Wrong Spot. It is a common gardening mistake made by many gardeners. ...
- Not Thinking About The Water Source. ...
- Raised Beds Placed Too Close Together. ...
- Crowding your Plants. ...
- Planting the Wrong Plants. ...
- Skipping Mulch. ...
- Not Using the Correct Soil.
For a 4x8-foot raised bed with a 6” height, using Mel's Mix: about 5 cubic feet each of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite is needed. It usually takes about two to three bags of purchased fertile mix (1.5 cubic feet each) to cover the bed surface to a depth of 2 inches.
What is the downside of hugelkultur? ›
Cons. Hugelkultur raised beds take up more space than traditional ones, and the decomposing wood can temporarily tie up nitrogen, a nutrient essential for plant growth. The nitrogen issue can be mitigated by adding high-nitrogen materials like manure or grass clippings to the mound.
What is the German method of filling raised garden beds? ›
“Hügelkultur” (pronounced hyoo-gul-kulture) is a German word that means mound culture or hill culture. A hügelkultur is a sloped and raised planting bed filled with topsoil, wood, and organic materials. German and European people have practiced it as a gardening method for hundreds of years.
With all that wood breaking down into your hugel and feeding your veggies, it's wise to know your poisonous plants. Please don't put rhododendrons, azaleas, oleander, rhubarb leaves, or anything with a white milky sap into your hugel. I happily put pine and eucalypt in mine.
What can I fill my garden bed with? ›
The first option for filling your beds is a simple soil mixture. As you may have guessed, this is the simplest route you can take. Fill your bed with a 1:1 mixture of topsoil and compost mix, then lightly combine with a rake or shovel.
How do you rejuvenate garden bed soil? ›
1) Add Compost to Your Garden Beds
My number one go to choice always. Compost has the important nutrients plants need, great soil building properties, microorganisms to improve and mediate undesirable soil, and you make it for free.
How do I regenerate my garden soil? ›
Two easy ways to add organic matter to soil
1. Side-dress plants with brown manures, “wastes” that have been through an animal, been composted, or both. 2. Utilize green manures, crops that are grown in place and either chopped down to serve as mulch, or incorporated into the top layer of soil to act as fertilizer.
How do I fill dead space in my garden? ›
Tall shrubs and large, flowering bushes can quickly fill in an empty edge. Add a garden bench nearby to enjoy the view of your gorgeously cultivated plants.
What do you put on the bottom of a garden bed? ›
To put it simply, you should put a layer of organic material at the bottom of your garden bed, which will break down and enrich the soil. This can include compost, or woody material such as logs, dry wood, branches, and leaves.
What can I use to fill my garden? ›
Method #1: Simple Soil Mixture
The first option for filling your beds is a simple soil mixture. As you may have guessed, this is the simplest route you can take. Fill your bed with a 1:1 mixture of topsoil and compost mix, then lightly combine with a rake or shovel.
