Filling Your Square Foot Raised Bed Garden with Soil from Lowes
John from www.growingyourgreens.com takes a field trip to Lowes to talk about Square Foot Garden Soil. He will also talk about other soils that can be used to fill your raised beds. In the end, he explains how to save money by buying your soil in bulk.
25 Responses to Filling Your Square Foot Raised Bed Garden with Soil from Lowes
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I wouldn’t buy anything from Micracle-Gro – too many toxic chemicals. Their soil
product is just called “Organic’s Choice” – that does NOT mean that it’s certified organic – it isn’t!!! Be aware that many companies are putting the word “organic” on their soils but they are using the word in the “derived from animal or plant matter” meaning of the word,
NOT in the “doesn’t have any drugs, hormones, synthetic chemicals or pesticides” meaning of the word organic. Some pesticides are “organic”!
BrightLightSite
March 18, 2012 at 9:52 am
i was wondering about the compost place…u say the price is great so i’ll use em if i need to ….thanks….i go to this lowes too lol
dtp5150
March 18, 2012 at 10:44 am
I don’t use anything mixed w/Miracle Grow in it…..It’s nuclear!!!! (yuck.)
fuzzymode
March 18, 2012 at 11:41 am
@tastycajun0381 – you want 1/3 of each: compost, vermiculite & peat moss. The key is the compost. Many people blend different kinds of compost to make that 1/3. I suggest you pick Mel Bartholomew’s book Square Foot Gardening and also go to his website. He sells the mixture in bags. While it is pricey, it will get you off to a great start.
socalcraigster
March 18, 2012 at 12:14 pm
@tastycajun0381 – don’t use regular dirt in any way if u can; a mixture of blended compost, peat moss & vermiculite; contact some nurseries in your area and ask them for a local soil company that sells that mixture to the public. They can deliver it to your door. The amount of dirt u will need depends on how big the box & how many you make. A 4ft by 4ft box that is 6 inches high takes should take about 8 cu feet of dirt. Each box should have a minimum of 6 inches of soil. I use a 12 inch depth
socalcraigster
March 18, 2012 at 12:58 pm
@tastycajun0381 ya what he said.
burningangel1000
March 18, 2012 at 1:47 pm
@socalcraigster (cont.) Can a resource that renews itself this slowly be considered sustainable? If we balk at cutting down 500 year old trees in old growth forests, should we accept the extraction of 3000 year old sphagnum moss from peat bogs?
sandworm3
March 18, 2012 at 2:31 pm
@socalcraigster A few very important things to think about. Sphagnum moss grows extremely slow. Less than 3 inches in depth over the course of a century. A second harvest is not possible for 3000 years to justify the costs of extraction. Also, the bog must be drained completely for the peat to be harvested. Peat bogs store more carbon than all the trees on the planet. 562 billion tons to be exact. More than all the trees on the planet. When mined the carbon is released and even after.
sandworm3
March 18, 2012 at 3:18 pm
I like happy frog. they make good stuff.. that being said..its expensive! But in this case, you get what you pay for.
growingyourgreens
March 18, 2012 at 3:40 pm
@sandworm3 – just curious, how is the bog ecosystem negatively affected by harvesting Peat? Essentially we are just redistributing it back into the ground?
socalcraigster
March 18, 2012 at 3:52 pm
John, big fan & subscriber. I bought 20 GardenTime bags & planted tomato, peppers, cucumber & much more in 5 gal containers. They get worm casings dissolved in water weekly; just got 20 San Marzano type tomatoes plants (hard to find down in Ventura County) & wanted to know what you think of HAPPY FROG? One thing I like about the GardenTime is that the soil is very light, drains well, but still seems to retain enough to keep moist. Want to use rock duct but can’t find around here. Peace Craig
socalcraigster
March 18, 2012 at 4:10 pm
You can do many things. For best results, I reccomend using a mixture of compost from the store , maybe some clean soil from the ground, and something like coconut coir. See
watch?v=vWzR9kX76lo
which shows you exactly what I do for soil when installing a new raised bed.
growingyourgreens
March 18, 2012 at 4:34 pm
I have been reading how bad peat moss is to be harvesting from the bog systems. It takes really long to replenish naturally and is being mass harvested. Non-sustainable. With that being said, I am going to go the direction of the coconut coir as an alternative.
Home composting and vermiculture is a must for every home owner. Nothing goes in the garbage at our place. Compost tip: save your brown leaves from the fall! You will need these in the spring and summer for a good carbon source.
sandworm3
March 18, 2012 at 4:41 pm
i’ve had great success with black Kow organic compost. i live in central FL and it is simply not cost effective to fill 4×4 raised beds with bags and mixes. they deliver the wonder ful organic compost by the ‘yard’ which is a huge pile from $20.00-$35.00 a yard plus sometimes a small delivery charge. my last load (i expanded my garden) i got 3 yards and actually they were very generous and i know it was more than 3 yards. 😉 if i have to fertilize, i use worm castings, it’s concentrated!
melissam0ss
March 18, 2012 at 5:40 pm
Can anyone answer….how my 5 gallon buckets could you fill with a standard bag of potting soil??
RedSoxBowHunter
March 18, 2012 at 5:44 pm
Can anyone answer how many bags of potting soil would fill a single 5 gallon bucket?
RedSoxBowHunter
March 18, 2012 at 6:16 pm
@growingyourgreens Where do you buy your Gaia Green and/or Azomite, John? Here on the SF peninsula, I found a place that has the Gaia Green for $20, but the Azomite is almost double the cost at $39.
gruvngyrl
March 18, 2012 at 6:51 pm
Another great video and helpful, practical info! Just added it to our own favorites list so our viewers can learn how to fill our new Raised Garden Kits!
Lifetimeproducts
March 18, 2012 at 7:11 pm
For my tomatoes, I generally dont fertilize when they are growing. Why? The soil is ALREADY fertile. Mix some good organic compost in with your local potting mix, also some worm castings. Also find the rock dust. If you work on building your soil before the season, there should be no reason to fertilize during the season. On occasion, I do fertilize as needed during the season if the plant looks like it needs it. I would recommend Espoma fertilizers.
growingyourgreens
March 18, 2012 at 7:36 pm
John, I’m going to make a raised bed garden with some local potting mix soil. I’m going grow tomatoes and bell peppers with me already using good soil in the raised bed, do I need to fertilize during the growth of the plants and if so what do you recommend to use to fertilize them with? Also I can’t find any rock dust in NC. Thank you
77ajv
March 18, 2012 at 8:12 pm
another option can be filling mostly with free woodchips from local tree services, it will break down,dreleasing heat and become compost over time(this is known in permaculture as “hugelculture” )
by me they will deliver 20 yards or more for free.and some will even pay you something! they otherwise have to pay more in dumping fees to the landfill.
tribalwind
March 18, 2012 at 8:42 pm
good vid John’
hah ! i doubt Mel is watching over what goes into this ‘compost’. he’s paid to have his name/brand on it and that’s where it ends. ive had his book for Ages now.and his videos off some torrent site..
the message at the end is where it’s at! city compost programs are best i think. Also check Craigslist for Free dirt…then amend top 6-12″ with compost and rock dust…
buying soil at corporate big-box stores, should be avoided at all costs, its like buying/shipping water!
tribalwind
March 18, 2012 at 8:43 pm
I’m growing stuff in 5 gallons buckets. When a plant has bolted and I take it out of the pot, can I grown again in the same soil? Or should I replace it?
MsPatreesh
March 18, 2012 at 8:59 pm
I like home depot better because lowes doesn’t sell seeds
lilchopin1
March 18, 2012 at 9:56 pm
I have a similar composting operation down here (CCL Organics) in the Outer East Bay area, and the last two rounds we got from them made terrible soil for our raised beds. Terrible. I added rock dust, as I always do.
Isn’t there also a concern about vermiculite containing asbestos?
feralkevin
March 18, 2012 at 10:24 pm