Garden Soil and Raised Bed Soil are both essential applications that gardeners can use to establish the ideal growing environment for their plants. Both organic soils provide beneficial ingredients for a healthy garden full of nutritious fruits and vegetables as well as beautiful, colorful flowers. We will explain where to use both Garden Soil and Raised Bed Soil to get the most out of each.
Benefits of Garden Soil
Garden Soil is specially cultivated to create an optimal environment for in-the-ground gardening. Enriched with well-decomposed compost and organic matter, bagged Garden Soil revitalizes native soil for the best plant growth. Consider Garden Soil as an investment in the success and longevity of your in-ground garden bed. By amending your native soil with Garden Soil, you will reap the rewards of more substantial yields, better plant health, and even more efficient moisture retention through better soil structure.
Provides Beneficial Nutrients
Garden Soil will enrich your native soil with essential nutrients that can help establish robust root systems and assist native soils with vital nutrient retention. Garden soil is fortified with worm castings, and kelp meal, providing organic nutrients that will feed and nurture your plants. However, don’t get complacent. Organic garden soils are not like conventional soil which release chemicals into the soil to feed the plant through the growing season. Organic gardens need nutrient replenishment through the growing season to produce those beautiful flowers and tasty edibles.
Reduces Compaction in Native Soil
Adding compost-rich garden soil improves the structure and quality of the native soil in your garden by reducing soil compaction. This improves air and moisture penetration into the soil and around plant root systems, as well as helping with proper drainage.
Improves Soil Composition
Even the most deficient soil can be revitalized with the addition of Garden Soil. It contains the right balance of soil that is well-draining and is neither too dense or too loose to help support moisture retention to reduce frequent watering. It also can improve the pH of your soil. The addition of Garden Soil is well worth your investment to add healthy components that enable plant roots to receive the oxygen efficiently and absorb nutrients needed to grow more vigorously.
The particile size of Garden Soil is too large for effective use as a stand-alone soil mix for raised bed gardens or containers. While it is nutrient-rich, moisture retention is reduced too much to support plant life adequetly in a raised bed.
Benefits of Raised Garden Bed Soil
Raised Bed Soil provides the ideal soil recipe for raised bed gardening and has significant benefits to gardeners. Raised Bed Soil is formulated to be used as a stand-alone soil mix in a raised bed that sits on the soil or is wholly enclosed in a container. Its use provides the perfect opportunity to establish the most favorable environment for your plants. It can be used for both raised beds and large container gardening.
Nutrient-Rich
Raised Bed Soil is the optimal choice for filling your raised garden beds, as it is bolstered with a hardy amount of organic nutrients such as poultry meal, kelp meal and worm castings that will help feed the soil your plants will grow in. Don’t get complacent though! All organic gardens, including raised bed gardens require additional organic fertilizer through the growing season. Edibles, many of which are grown in raised beds, are heavy feeders and need nutrient replenishment with an organic granular fertilizer every 5-6 weeks. And like potting mixes, supplementing with an organic liquid fertilizer like Fish & Kelp every 2-3 weeks will yield the best results.
Ideal pH
Organic Raised Bed Soil takes the guesswork out of determining the soil quality because it is already pH balanced to be between 5.8 and 7.5, which is optimal for a vegetable or flower garden.
Well-Draining Soil
Raised Bed Soil is like a balance between garden soil and potting mix. It has the exceptional drainage necessary for container and raised bed gardening. It assists gardeners in maintaining loose soil and provides adequate airflow for necessary oxygen and nutrient delivery to root systems.
Ready to Use
Since it is already formulated to be used right out of the bag, gardeners don’t have to contend with adding soil amendments to get a raised garden started. However, many gardeners use Raised Bed Soil as the base mix and add their own compost and other soil amendments to create their own “recipe!” That’s part of the fun with gardening!
To Add to Existing Soil
Ever wonder why the soil in your raised bed seems to “shrink” each season? Beneficial soil microbes consume the soil through the year which helps create plant-available nutrients your plants need to thrive. At the start of each season, spread a layer of Raised Bed Soil within 3-4 inches of the top of your raised bed. Then, mix it with the existing soil to a depth of four to six inches. Now is a good time to mix in that organic granular fertilizer!
Filling Containers and Raised Beds with Raised Bed Soil
Simply fill the raised bed with Raised Bed Soil to 3-4 inches below the top.Kellogg Garden OrganicsAll Natural Raised Bed & Potting Mix
**Product not available in AZ, CA, HI, NV, UT. For a comparable product in these states click here.
To Use in Containers
- Cover the base of the pot or container with Raised Bed Soil and press down firmly.
- Following directions on the package, add an organic granular fertilizer.
- Loosen up the plant roots with your fingers and place the top of the root ball approximately two- inches from the rim of the container.
- Fill the remainder of the pot or container with Raised Bed Soil and press down firmly to secure the plant.
- Water in well, adding a liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.
To Use in Raised Beds
- Add the Raised Bed Soil to the raised bed.
- Following directions on the package, add an organic granular fertilizer to each hole where you are going to place a plant.
- Loosen up the plant roots and place the plant into the soil mix so that the root ball is slightly above ground level.
- Water in well, adding a liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.
