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).