How to Rejuvenate Raised Garden Bed Soil (2024)

FAQs

How to regenerate soil in raised bed gardens? ›

Raised Garden Beds

Regular compost applications help aerate soil and improve water-retention and drainage. Sowing cover crops and turning them will also help improve raised soil. Tip: You can till raised garden bed soil, but keep in mind that disturbing raised bed soil will break up the soil web that you've created.

Here's a list of organic soil amendments you might want to look into to improve your raised bed soil quality: vermiculite, worm castings, compost, coir, greensand, grass clippings, cornmeal, alfalfa meal, lava sand, straw and kelp meal.

Tips for Improving Compacted Soil

Work the garden bed with a garden fork. This can be a difficult task in heavily compacted soil. Plunge the pitchfork into the soil and move the fork back and forth until you have broken up the soil particles, allowing air to penetrate.

Add Organic Matter. Organic matter is the single most important ingredient to improving any soil. It can make heavy clay soil drain better, easier to dig and not so hard or sticky. It can also help sandy soil hold together better and retain more moisture and nutrients.

Start by scraping away the top-most layer of 'crusty' soil, leaves, pine needles, or whatever else your containers have collected over the off-season. Give the soil beneath a quick turn with a cultivator. If the soil level has dropped, mix in potting soil or garden mix to fill the planter back up.

Do You Need a Top Off? Over time, the soil level of your raised bed will go down due to compaction from heavy snow and rain, decomposition, and harvesting. Add some blended topsoil and compost if you notice that your raised bed has shrunk significantly.

Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil is perfect for raised bed and in-ground gardening. When planting in a raised bed, fill with Miracle-Gro Organic™ Raised Bed & Garden Soil then plant new seeds or plants.

Add home-made garden compost, bagged compost or well-rotted manure. As a rule, add a minimum 5cm layer of organic matter over the surface before digging or forking it in.

In order to have loose, fertile soil you must add fresh organic material into your garden every season. Peat moss loosens the soil but doesn't feed it, so the next step is to add aged manure or compost. If you don't have compost on hand, consider getting some Mushroom Compost.

Why is my raised garden soil so hard? ›

Low Organic Matter

A lack of decaying organic material in sandy soil can contribute to hard soil as well. Generally, soils with less than 2% organic matter are more prone to compaction and undesirable texture for growing many flowers and veggies.

It can be dumped directly out of your containers and into established beds and borders. You can use it in raised beds or wherever your yard has holes or eroded areas. It can also be mixed into compost piles. The old potting soil you reuse can help you save money for what all gardeners want: more plants.

The soil in your raised beds will break down over time; however, you don't need to replace all of the soil in your raised bed garden to have beautiful, vibrant, or bountiful plants. Before planting the following growing season, add Miracle-Gro® Refresh™ Soil Revitalizer to your old soil, following package directions.

To re-wet, repeatedly sprinkle the surface lightly, making sure there is no run off. Covering the surface with a mulch such as straw, leaves, wood chips, or compost will also help. Eventually the soil will become moist enough to break up. A gentle, steady rain will also do the trick.