Kellogg Garden Organics Raised Bed & Potting Mix is an organic raised bed soil that’s slightly different than other soils. We use fine wood particles in the mix, which creates an incredible organic ecosystem below the surface that provide long-term, sustainable benefits for your soil and your plants. (Read “Why We choose Wood” and how it benefits your organic garden.). This formulation, mixed with a well-balanced organic fertilizer, results in a wonderful, crop-producing raised bed garden.
Conventional high peat-based soil mixes absorb water differently, so when using Kellogg Raised Bed & Garden mix, follow these guidelines to ensure the best results.’
Q. Can I use Kellogg Raised Bed & Potting Mix right out of the bag?
A. Yes, if you are using transplants (4″ containers or larger). If you are planting seeds or small plugs, we recommend replacing a bit of the Raised Bed & Potting Mix with some organic seed starter, which will hold extra moisture as seeds and plugs are getting established.
Q: Do I need to mix it with other native soils or planting mediums?
A: No, no mixing is necessary. However, it does require wetting the soil completely with water before adding transplants. Other conventional soils that have a high peat content absorb water differently. Watering only the top couple of inches will create a composting effect, because the moistened layer creates a barrier that causes the soil below to heat up — and that is great for a science project, but not so great for your plants! So, thoroughly wet the soil mix through the full depth of the bed before planting, and afterwards, regular watering is sufficient.
Q: Help! I used the Raised Bed & Potting Mix and all my plants died. What happened?
A: Barring any other issues, it’s likely the mix was not watered thoroughly enough in the beginning (see the Q & A above). The product needs to be soaked from the top surface down to the bottom before planting, and then your subsequent normal watering will keep the mix moist.
Q: How do I know if I’m watering deeply enough?
A: Before planting, wet the soil thoroughly… but not runny and muddy. If your raised bed is 18″ deep, then the full 18″ depth needs to be watered before planting. To test it, push a trowel or a sharp shooter shovel all the way to the bottom of your bed; if the soil at the bottom is moist, then you’re good to go. If not, continue watering until you achieve this result. Watering in this way helps to stabilize the moisture level in the soil mix.
Q: Should I fertilize?
A: Our Raised Bed & Potting Mix has a lot of helpful microbes, but fruits and vegetables will benefit from some added organic fertilizer like Kellogg Garden Organics Tomato, Vegetable & Herb Fertilizer as you’re planting. The nitrogen, phosphorus & potassium (NPK) levels in our fertilizers will not “burn” plants — but they will jump start growth, especially with edibles, which tend to be heavy feeders and require additional fertilizer in order to produce. Reapply every 5-6 weeks, supplementing with a liquid fertilizer like our Kellogg Garden Organics Fish & Kelp Fertilizer every 2-3 weeks with your regular watering schedule.
Step-by-Step for Using Kellogg Garden Organics Raised Bed & Potting Mix:
1. Fill your raised garden bed with the appropriate amount of Raised Bed & Potting Mix.
2. Wet the soil mix completely in your raised bed with water, all the way to the bottom of the raised bed. You can do this while adding the soil to the raised bed or after your raised bed is filled.
3. Mix in a well-balanced organic granular fertilizer before planting.
4. Plant established transplants.
5. Scoop out a portion of the soil mix and put in your favorite organic seed starter mix if planting from seed.
6. Fertilize with a blended granular fertilizer every 5-6 weeks, supplementing with a well-balanced organic liquid fertilizer every 2-3 weeks.
7. Continue to water adequately. Drip irrigation will be fine.
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Hello I have 3 4ftx4ft raised beds. I noticed the that about a foot was shaded by my garage last year. So I removes all the soil from the boxes plaxed in a wheel barrel. Now the grass underneath the beds I placed garden fabric to stop weeds from coming in under the beds last year and weeds still got through. I wanted to know what is the best thing to put on top of the ground to keep weeds from growing up through the boxes. Right now I have no grass in that space the soil is clay. And with a lot of worms please tell me what you recommend. Now that I have all of the previos soil in the wheel barrel. Do I placed that first and then peat moss on top and then other amendments ?
Hi Shawnda, layering newspaper or mulch on the bottom of your raised bed can help prevent weeds from growing in your boxes. You can add your old soil back into the bed along with any organic amendments such as compost, granular fertilizer, and mulch. You may also want to consider layering organic materials in your raised beds. As the materials break down they will increase the nutrient levels in your soil. To learn about the lasagna garden method, check out this blog post: https://www.kellogggarden.com/blog/soil/how-to-start-a-garden-over-grass/ and this one to learn more about layering organic materials https://www.kellogggarden.com/blog/raised-beds/layering-soil-for-an-inexpensive-raised-garden-bed/. Let us know how it goes.