Dirt Mix for Raised Garden Boxes

During March and April you should spend the most effort and money “making” your dirt. Your harvest depends on the quality of your dirt...weather you have a traditional garden plot, raised garden boxes, or just a few containers on your porch.

Here's my dirt recipe for use in raised garden boxes:


First, strip all plants, sod, and weeds from the ground where your grow box will be. Then till the area well. For best results, rent a “rear-tine” rototiller. Remove any rocks larger than a walnut.

Cover the area with 6-8 inches of composted organic mater. The best soil options for western US states are commercial compost, well rotted dairy cow/horse/poultry/ manure, or peat moss. Or any combination of the above. Steer away from STEER MANURE which has too much salt and can permanently damage your garden. Don't buy 'top soil', commercial 'grow box mix', or weird ingredients like sand, vermiculite, sawdust, wood shavings, or pearlite - they aren't worth the hype.


Next you need to sprinkle on soil amendments. Western soils need extra Nitrogen and Phosphorus, and just a little extra Potassium. To get this special mix look for a “complete fertilizer” labeled 16-16-8. Fill a can with 3 cups of the fertilizer and 1 cup of Ironite brand iron fertilizer, and thoroughly mix it together. Now lightly sprinkle this over the compost layer. One quart of this mixture should cover a 4' X 30' garden space.

Now you need to till everything again so the amendments get incorporated into the compost mixture.

The last thing you need to do is mound your new dirt up so the grow boxes can be leveled on original grade. Then smooth it back out in the boxes gently without compacting the dirt.

For more information go to: www.extension.usu.edu Horticulture Fact Sheet 01.


TIPS:

• Never lay plastic sheeting or weed barrier cloth under your grow boxes! Your harvest will always be better when you let plant roots grow 5-10 ft. down.

• If you want help making the fertilizer mix, I can send you a 2 quart bag of premixed fertilizer and Ironite for $10.00.  That's a good deal, and it will really help if this is you're a beginner.  Check out my little shop to get the fertilizer mix (and other helpful stuff coming soon).

Garden Like You Mean It

Spring is finally here...and not a moment too soon.

I anticipate the season's first trip to the garden store like a crazed Christmas shopper on Black Friday. As soon as I take that first step into the greenhouse, I'm drunk with the “green” smell of moist earth. I could stay for hours. I want to buy everything. It's my therapy after nine months of cold and gray here in the Mountain West.


By and by I come to my senses, and relish the beginning of another gardening season. Four decades of trial and error, scores of gardening classes, and more trial and error has taught me that anyone can have a huge harvest IF you know the secrets, tricks, and basic recipes.


So garden like you mean it. Follow my plan and you can go from zero to a bumper crop harvest in ONE season. Guaranteed. 

Look for future posts on what you should be doing each month.  I'll also be posting dirt "recipes" and tips that are I've tried and proven over the years.  So let's get growing.