Filling your raised bed correctly

Why is filling the raised bed correctly important? Learn step by step how to fill your raised bed correctly.

Creating a raised bed: where, when, how? Reading Filling your raised bed correctly 7 minutes Next Water raised beds

Filling your raised bed correctly

A raised bed is filled in layers. The natural rotting processes inside the raised bed provide the plants with nutrients and sufficient warmth – even during the cold season. Start the season with our guide.

Why is correct filling so important?

Soil temperature and nutrient content inside the raised bed depend directly on the composition of the soil corresponding to the natural conditions of the decomposition of plant parts. The correct filling therefore plays an important role in being able to effectively use the full potential of a raised bed. This means:

Increased nutrient content
Usability up to 10 months
Earlier harvests

Due to the decomposition of the organic material inside the raised bed Sufficient natural nutrients are available, which can be optimally absorbed by the plants. The natural rotting process produces not only high-quality, nutrient-rich compost, but also heat. This heat enables the raised bed up to 10 months a year, as there is no frost in the raised bed. With the right filling and a raised bed cover It can also be used as a cold frame The longer usability also means that the plants can be planted earlier. Therefore, the first harvest of the year can be brought in earlier than with ground-level beds.

Step by step: filling the raised bed

Step 1:

Before you start filling, we recommend installing a vole grid on the bottom of the Raised bed. The first layer of filling is then placed directly on the vole grid: tree cuttings, shrub cuttings and/or hedge cuttings - the so-called "wood core layer". This loose layer creates a loose structure, which means that the raised bed remains accessible to useful soil organisms. The combination with the mouse protection grid is ideal for keeping unwanted visitors away at the same time. To finish off the first layer, around 5cm thick upturned turf is used.

Step 2:

The bottom layer is followed by a second layer, about 20 cm thick, consisting of light compost, leaf cuttings and grass clippings. When composting from your own garden, it is advisable to ensure that only plant waste is used for composting and not leftover meat or fish, in order not to attract vermin and avoid a strong smell. With a rapid composter, you can produce the highest quality compost in your garden, which is ideal for use anywhere in the garden.

Step 3:

The top layer of a properly filled raised bed is a layer of high-quality soil. You can either take soil from your garden (e.g. the soil you removed in order to be able to set up the raised bed) or you can get organic black soil, for example. No extra compost needs to be added to the layer of soil. The plants are then planted in this top layer of soil. If you follow this procedure when filling your raised bed, you can expect a rich and high-quality harvest for around 5 years.

What should I fill the raised bed with?

Ambitious gardeners follow the raised bed the philosophy that your own garden already provides almost all the nutrients needed by the next generation of plants. But even for less experienced gardeners, composting and soil improvement is very easy to accomplish. Basically, you can use most natural garden waste in large quantities for filling. Only stubborn weed roots, such as those of dandelions or bindweed, should not be mixed in. By recycling garden waste, you need less or no fertilizer and still have high yields. Garden waste that can be used well is mainly:

tree and hedge trimming
shredded material
grass clippings
plant care waste
bed cleaning after harvest
leaves

refill raised bed

As the filling material sinks and compacts over time, it will eventually be necessary to raised bed The main reasons for refilling are:

New material for the natural rotting processes
Fresh nutrient supply
Re-layer as the layers mix over time
Use of the entire space in the raised bed

To raised bed To refill the soil, the top layer of one half is usually raked to the side. Then light grass clippings, compost or animal manure are added. The soil is then pulled back to its side and the same is done with the other side. This means that the soil is back to its full height in spring, new nutrients are available and the new material from the lower part of the soil is removed. raised bed brings new rotting heat, which stimulates growth even better next year. So you can continue to look forward to a rich harvest.

If you do not have enough garden waste available, or want to buy the individual components of the raised bed filling, then there is another option: filling the raised bed in 3 layers.

For the bottom layer, use various wood chips. Fill one third of the raised bed with it.
The second layer should ideally consist of naturally composted material. Alternatively, horse or cow manure can also be used.
As a third layer, the raised bed is filled with high-quality soil.

Disadvantages

Due to the lack of protection at the bottom, the risk of voles and other pests entering the raised bed increases considerably
The material used does not have the same high quality as organic material from your own garden.

Part of the filling can also be replaced with straw bales or similar filling material.

Start again by adding the bottom layer of wood chips.
Now place a layer of straw or straw bales on the first layer
As in Alternative 1, cow dung or horse manure is used as the penultimate layer.
On top of this you cover it with a layer of soil into which the plants are then placed.

Disadvantages

Since the straw rots comparatively quickly, it will probably be necessary to refill the raised bed every year with this filling method.

This method is a long-term one and therefore requires a lot more time than the alternatives mentioned above. If you are in a hurry, you should opt for one of the previous approaches.

In this variant, the bottom layer of wood chips is created first.
Now the raised bed used as a composter for a year. Finally, before plants or seeds are planted, a layer of topsoil and a layer of potting soil should be added on top of the composting material.