If you enjoyed this video, please “Like” and share it to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching😊TIMESTAMPS here: 0:00 Container Garden VS Raised Bed Garden 2:34 The True Purpose Of Raised Garden Beds 4:29 Why Potting Soil Is Wrong For Raised Beds 5:27 Detailed Soil Cost Analysis 10:48 How To Dramatically Reduce Soil Cost 13:21 How To Fill A Deep Raised Bed 14:46 Adventures With Dale

Your whole channel and persona makes so much more sense when you state that you are an engineer by trade. Great attention to detail! Peace.

My dad is so proud of all of the hard work that I've put into my container gardening that he wants to make me 2 raised beds 🥲 I'm 26...he's 47 and has been having heart problems lately I love him so much and I hope we have lots of time to grow tomatoes and strawberries together ❤

I lucked out and got peat moss for 4.99 at Tractor Supply. They were leftover from last year. Regularly $14.99

Thanks for mentioning the Hugelkultur method. I used that method on my deep raised beds and 3 years later the whole deep bed was full of incredible rich soil to grow my veggies.

I think it's fair to note that sometimes raised beds are being used for plants with particular needs such as Blueberries with their acidity requirements so topsoil and compost alone aren't going to be enough at the end of the day it really comes down to what you're trying to grow and where you're trying to grow it.

Started my first raised beds this year. They're 32" tall and i was so glad i saved the wood from an old tree that had to come down 8 years ago. Well aged and it took up so much space and saved me a ton of money.

We started out with the SFG method so we made 'Mel's Mix' - equal parts peat, compost and vermiculite. We have learned to fill some of the deeper beds with some limbs and shredded leaves, then add 'Mel's Mix' for most of the bed.

I fill my beds halfway with shredded cardboard it rots down over time and worms love. I give them cardboard they give me castings. It’s a win win. 👍🏻

If I might add: I got this info from Scott and Helen Nearings’ book, go to the gravel yard with a bucket and get some gravel dust ( I think it’s called M10) and put a couple cups in each new bed and mix well. Adds necessary source of minerals that plants can get and last a long long time. Enjoy your videos. Cheers.

I live 30 miles North of Atlanta, GA. I have Georgia red clay with about 5 inches of good top soil. This is my 3rd season growing mostly tomatoes. I have built 9 raised beds 7 are 4 x8’ and 2 are slightly smaller for blueberries and melons. This year I am using all the things I have learned so far. Soil is expensive but I need less as time goes by. I collect oak leaves and grass cutting which I mix in. Also my property has a burn pile And I used a bunch of charred wood and ashes in one bed. This year I used a roto tiller and am very concerned with Ph and rain water for irrigation. I set up my rain barrel last week. My plants really respond to rain water so much better than tap or even drinking water. I made a grow box inside last year and my seedling are ready to go. They have been growing well since 2/14. Planting Friday after last morning in the high 30s ( I hope). I dug up and threw out several big oak logs from season one. They were too big and had not really broken down except the bark. Enjoy your great videos-Thank you!

FYI...I live in upstate SC. Tractor Supply always has the best prices for peat. Right now it is $14.99. Love your channel. I have been gardening all my life. I learned from my dad. I am now 67. Never too old to learn. Thank you!!

All so well said. Just one thing to add: not all compost and soil mixes from local landscapers are created equal in terms of their ability to supply nutrients. A few years back some friends of mine compared the same plants grown in different local mixes and were astonished to see that the compost supplied by our city’s most beloved “green” supplier actually performed the worst, and by a large margin.

We bought 6 yards of topsoil last year I made a mixture of topsoil, peat and sheep manure. We were pleased with our first year’s crop and I was really happy with how easy it was to work the soil this spring. Before we planted this year I added sheep manure to the beds and the warm spring had me sow some lettuce and radishes first part of April and it is growing nicely.

Thank you so much for the time and effort to calculate the cost. I just built 2 raised beds and took a Square Foot Gardening class. First I racked my brain trying to find the ingredients and when I calculated the cost I thought, I’m trying to save money on my grocery bill by growing my own food. This is NOT going to help! I think I will go with your recommendation. I sincerely appreciate your channel!

This video opened my eyes. I know about cheap raised bed mix . Lowes sells organic bed fill that is absolute garbage! The Home Depot by me sells a much better mix. But if I can save money using your advice I’d be stupid not to! Thank you for the well timed video!

I'm so envious of your garden! I just got back into gardening. Instead of raised beds, I did at-grade beds- i.e. I just peeled the grass off of 4'x12' areas, and tilled-up the soil with a mattock. Next year, I'll be mixing my compost 50-50 with that soil...and I think that'll give me the best of both worlds. Thoughts? And of course, the Dale content is my favorite part of the videos!

In the beginning I spent a small fortune filling my container beds/pots. I now follow your garbage can method for composting. I topped dressed most beds with this compost. I don’t have any of those reasons to have raised beds, except space. I should have filled them with soil but I didn’t. I wish I had because year #1 didn’t do great. However all the organic additives I added have now broken down and the soil is so much better. Mind you a few beds we filled the bottom with logs and brush. Going forward I am doing your method.

"Things are going to be cheaper later..[in years..]...I had to go back & relisten to your presenting ! Very good! Very true!

Goodness I’m one of the ones that has been filling my raised beds with the homemade expensive stuff for containers. Thanks for the information, I was definitely confused about what I was doing! I can get 1 yard of topsoil from my local recycle plant for $6! Oh the money I could have saved 😣

As someone in his mid-70s, I'd like to point out that WE have raised beds so we don't have to bend over so far to weed and care for them! They also help us to limit the spread of crops (e.g., sunchokes and asparagus) that otherwise might tend to spread in an uncontrolled manner. VERY MUCH appreciate your excellent suggestions regarding the proper blend with which to fill the raised beds. Used to get great free filler - mixed horse manure with pine shavings, which we composted for a year first - but the horses died. Have been mixing soil from elsewhere in the garden with either commercial compost or composted steer manure, which has done great for us. Had a great harvest last year particularly of red potatoes - one of which was 8" long and weighed 24 ounces! It's also been great for both the asparagus and the garlic (which we plant in the fall). We've been doing in part what you're describing, but will be "tweaking" our methodology to what you've suggested! Thanks so much again for some excellent ideas!

I went with raised beds to save my back. I filled them with dried leaves at the bottom and this wonderful 4way mix I bought and had delivered from my local landscaping yard. One yard really went a long way. I was able to fill my beds and add the rest to existing plants around my yard. My food garden was excellent last year, minimal pests and maximum yield. Getting ready to do it again this year. 😊

Completely agree with this approach. When we first started our garden we spent a mint just filling half of it. I thought there had to be a better way. The dirt yard is it! We can fill our Tundra with about ½ yard of soil for around $20 😮

We live on a hill. Were older and wanted taller raised beds. We had to dig them in so theyd be level. All of the North Georgia clay went into the center of the beds , raising the soil level to a manageable financial height. So we then filled it with toosoil, compist, vermiculit peat mix. Added veggies from our kitchen and worm eggs. In 2 months itll be ready for its first planting. Were excited cause 2 other we added logs, but soil sinks faster and it can house critters. But they turned out fabtastic too. Love your videos!

I always fill my raised beds with a 50/50 topsoil and compost mix. Been doing that forever. I also add new compost to the boxes yearly. I built mine 6'x12'x10".

About 20 years or so ago, I lived in Brunswick County, NC. Lived on Oak Island. Been back in my home county in Alabama since then. Doing a lot of research to try a successful garden soon. I’ve been learning a lot from you, Huw Richards, Steven Cornett & Mark Valencia. Thanks for the great content. I worked a farm with my cousins a couple summers when I was 12-13, but the gardens I’ve tried as an adult have all failed haha. Hoping I can make a better go of it this year and next & have success. The ground in my yard is pretty much red dirt with rocks all in it, so going to go raised beds I think. Going to be so expensive though to bring in soil. Thanks for the ideas and comparisons. If you are near Southport, check out Generations Church. I helped plant that church when I lived there. Praise God, it has grown much better than my gardens haha. Blessings.

Love your advice and Dale.

I'm able to buy bulk soil near me. It's 70% compost, garden soil. Cost is $38/sq yard bulk. So I bought 3.5 sq yards this year and had it delivered for $50...pre pandemic delivery was $30 and the soil was around $30/yd then as well. The delivery comes via a dump truck.

just ordered my first raised bed and it's the one you posted about! Gonna fill it this way too lol thanks for all the tips and advice.

I'm 61 and am using 2 1/2' tall beds because of not being able to squat down and get back up easily or bending over for long periods of time. So that's one more reason you could list for tall raised beds. :) BTW I live in Georgia so I watch your channel because your climate is so similar to mine.

Spot on. This might be your number one money saving video yet. It makes us feel lucky that in our part of the country the topsoil is pretty good so we just amend with organic matter and don't have to do raised beds.

The raised beds I use are a foot deep, and I use that hugekulture method, then prebagged mix. I'd been using Jungle Growth, but it went up by $3 a bag at my local Lowe's. I end up only filling about six inches worth of 5'x3' raised beds with soil. Garden scraps, leaves, bunny litter, etc all get tossed right into the raised beds. It's really a great method to save some cash as well as build the soil.

This answers a question I've had for a while that caused me to delay getting more raised beds. They should be filled up like raised beds, ie with top soil & compost, not like a container using all that fancy stuff. For me that basically means that the main thing I should be looking to get is top soil since I am producing at least some homemade compost.

I know it likely has been said already, but check your local landfill for compost delivery. My township picks up yard waste and will deliver 3 yards to your home for 60-$80 total depending on distance. If you go there yourself, you can pick it up for free. Basically, if you have a truck and have a small-ish area and want to put in sweat equity, you can pick up the compost for free, minus gas, and fill your beds. Topdressing would be even easier since you wouldnt need nearly as much.

Any time we dig up an area and remove sod or soil, we add it to a pile that “composts” in place and then draw from that pile when making new beds. The mineral content is important in raised beds. When buying bags of things, look for broken bags at big box stores and ask for a discount. I used to always get them at 50%, no matter the condition, but now they’re getting stingy. It’s still a little savings though.

I'd also encourage everyone get a legit soil audit/soil testing done before you spend anything. You will know everything your native soil contains but more importantly everything it needs if anything. Then you can add exactly that and focus on improving biology while you do your thing with your raised beds (if that's your preference) ✌

Your vid arrived just as I finished filling 3 grow bags of the special 3-parts mix for my carrots. Thanks to you, I’ll be filling the rest of them with top soil and compost. Thanks!

I only started gardening in earnest last year and like most people the first thing I looked at was bagged soils. Couldn't believe the prices and how much it would cost me to fill a bed. I knew there had to be a better way. And sure enough I learned how to make it myself from KZfaq. I take it a step further though. I don't buy bagged topsoil at all. I dig out the area for my raised bed and break up my own native soil and combine that with the peat and compost. Now if I could get a landscaping company they just deliver some compost to me, then combined that with my own native soil, I don't think there's a cheaper way it can be done.

I get my garden mix 1 yard at a time with my pickup. I use a load handler so I can unload the bed in just minutes. 1 yard is between 36 to 50 dollars depending on the quality. I just did a 16.5 by 11 feet raised bed for grapes and raspberries for 50 bucks and the mulch I got the same way for just 34 dollars a yard. Northern tool has the load handler for just 149.99. Mine paid for itself in just 4 loads. Great info thank you

You’re completely right. Last year, I bought “raised bed mix” and it was complete trash. Very little actual soil and mostly bark. The veggies I put in that garden bed performed so poorly. Now I know better

I do hugelkultur with 25 gallon pots. I use branches and sticks and lawn clips and yard debris and in a year it turns into beautiful soil. I also find worms and put them into my pots. Then I mix my own potting soil. I do 8 peat to 1 vermiculite to 1 perlite to 1 Tbs. of lime per gallon on soil mix. 30 Qts. to a cubic foot/1 gallon =7.4 cubic feet. I also amend with Azomite, Langbeinite, Bone meal and other micro nutrients.

Here outside of Atlanta Ga, always appreciate your input. We do have a very similar climate. Thanks always

You just saved me a bunch of money. I’m setting up two new raised beds. Though they only hold 15 cubic feet each, it would still cost more than necessary if I’d gone with making a potting style mix. Thank you.

Greetings from Wilmington! Just started 4 raised beds this winter and thought I'd skip on the peat and perlite to save money and just used topsoil topped with a good layer of compost. Things were going really good with lots of lettuce and brassicas until that heavy rain a few days ago made it very hard and compacted and many of my plants became waterlogged and wilted overnight. Definitely wish I'd thought more about drainage!

Speaking of filling the bottom of deep raised beds, I had this idea to mix mulch with large amounts of shredded paper. I went to McKays (which has a bunch of free discarded books in dumpsters outside), picked ones with the compostable pages and took them home. It turns out that shredding a hundred books in a dinky little home shredder is a TON of work, you can only do like 50 pages before the thing overheats and you have to wait. I barely got any volume out of them before I gave up. Now I have a big pile of books in my garage which I'm trying to find a gardening use for. I'm thinking of just ripping the covers off and laying the pages at the bottom of raised beds in piles without shredding them, but I have no idea what that would do for the drainage. I will say that I was impressed that the books I did shred completely composted in a single season. I dug through the beds that I had lain the shreds in and they were completely decomposed, no trace of them. I'd do it again if I had a heavy duty industrial shredder that could take the bulk.

Great video! When we started our raised bed garden seven years ago, we ordered a truckload (5 CF) of the best soil available from the local landscrape company. Back then we paid close to $200 including delivery. Of course we had to ammend it with some pit moss and compost - say another $50. That was enough to fill in 220 sq feet total eight inch deep garden beds, lots of containers, and leftovers for two more years to backfill in all the settled down soil. This is the most economical way to go. Don't forget to make your own compost to save even further. This way, you know exactly what you put into your soil. The worms in my soil are happy. Happy gardening!

Thanks for sharing this info. I am getting ready to make a custom mix, and the 50/50 topsoil and compost mix will be the beginning of that mix. I will be doing a mixture that will incorporate the custom mix you mentioned early on, but only a small bit will be add3d to the 50/50 mix. I will also be adding builders sand to help increase the drainage. When I'm finished with the mix, it will be double the volume, which will fill more beds, and each batch will be customized further with the addition of minerals needed for each individual bed according to the needs of what I'll be planting.

Your video has just popped up at a very opportune time. My wife and I have moved into a new home in Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿. I’ve just built some raised beds this month. Thanks for the video it is very relevant as we have clay soil. We too get an awful lot of rain this side the pond as well. Thanks for sharing some of your vast knowledge.

Good analysis....I work at Lowes and get 10% off, so the topsoil/compost option is great. I built a couple of additional 4x4 beds and lazily used that third option and was very unhappy with the results. I can also cut back a bit on the compost because I can use what I've created in my compost bins.

I’m entering my third year with 32 inch tall raised beds. I filled the bottom with firewood and then native soil with compost then better topsoil, compost, and then the top 6 inches with higher quality mix. It’s amazing how much it takes to fill them. I do recommend not filling all the way to the top so you have room to add Amendments and mulches without them blowing away in the wind.

So I've been following you for a while now and I want to ask a question that, to me at least, and likely to most of your followers, is VERY important. About 4 years ago I stopped buying bagged composted manure of any brand because of the potential contamination of it with a product called Grazon, that beef and dairy farms spray on their grazing fields to eliminate broad leaf weeds. The aim of it is to provide hay and straw that is "pretty" and does not contain broad-leaf plant matter in the bales. Most non-farmer customers won't purchase the bales, thinking the broad-leaf plant matter is bad for their gardens or the animals they feed with the hay (it isn't). The trouble is that while it doesn't harm the animals that graze in those fields, the Grazon goes right thru their digestive systems unchanged and comes out mixed in with their manure. It takes YEARS for the Grazon to dissipate. Several very popular brand names of bagged composted manure were found to be selling product that was contaminated with Grazon; while others, brands like Black Kow for example, were unable to confirm that their product was not made from contaminated manure. If you use any composted manure contaminated with Grazon in your soil or container mixes, it will initially let your crops grow pretty well and then either stunt, mis-shape or kill them. I've experienced the heartache myself of watching my hard work die from this stuff in the raised beds. I had to empty the beds completely and replace the soil with topsoil without composted manure. There are lots of homesteading and gardening channels you can go to, to see the massive damage this product caused to their food production efforts. So now to my question. I've been using bagged leaf and mushroom compost as a substitute for composted manure. Do you have any experiences with either of these and if so, would you recommend them? And how would it affect the percentages when you mix up your raised bed soils and container mixes? Thanks.

I love Dale and all of your gardening advice is perfect in helping my garden grow at its best. Thank you so much

Excellent! You broke it down 3 folds for different folks' situations with cost comparison. You're just awesome. I've learned so much from you over the years now. My garden gets better and better. Thank you

Another suggestion, my town offers free compost with a delivery fee aprox $8 or I can pick up. Only thing they cannot guarantee is any chemicals. These are the leaves from fall pick ups that have composted.

You are an excellent gardener and a great presenter. Logical and to the point. Great job! Thanks so much. I pass your content on !❤

Jealous of how lush and green it is in your video! I'm still looking at a foot of snow on the ground here in Maine! 😁

Started raised bed gardening in the south this year. (Just realized I'm an hour west of you in NC. So I'll be watching all of your videos at I need them). I was able to get 1yd of garden soil with compost from a local landscaper for $45. It filled my 4x8x1 bed perfectly. Then just added some fertilizer and perlite. Please let me know if I didn't need to do any of that.

Hell yeah, the one I ordered from you arrived a few days ago. I’m following along with mine to see what we planting. DFW area here

We just had 5~6 cubic yards of compost delivered to start our container garden. Most of all of our stuff was purchased via your store. In our area this compost was 650 delivered. It sure does look good. Man are the knats in abundance this year!!!

I got a 6x4 galvanized raise bed for Christmas. I filled it with straw from last yrs strawbale garden, compost and topsoil. I cant wait to plant in it.

Yesterday, I purchased 7 cubic yards (189 cubic feet) of compost for $270 delivered . $70 of that amount was a delivery charge. Your bagged compost price per cu/ft = $3.38. My cost = $1.43 per cu/ft. and I didn't have to take the time to go pick it up and then unload it. BIG difference.

you are 100% correct on the buying in bulk ... I just ordered a 12 yard truck of compost to be delivered to my house... I am adding 8 raised beds to my back yard this spring

I have a local soil company near us and I received a dump truck load first go around 5 years ago.. I amended it with peet and compost.. grew great crops..The beds are 32" high.. filled with tree limbs, yard waist logs. Great method.. saved hundreds. I amended each year.. started making my own compost. Two years ago we picked up another load and topped them off.. the soil was mostly top. I went back and they gave me leaf compost but my plant was already in, that soil got hard as a rock. Last year I amended but was still not right.. I had to aerate. Pete moss was helped. I shy away from big box compost .. not very good quality. Three years back I got Colorado potato bugs from compost bought at Home Depot. Took me two weeks to irradiate.. never had issues again. I guess my point is be advised more top soil then compost or organic matter can, depending on your top soil, into a hard as rock nightmare. I will amend with compost each year regardless. Thanks for your help.

You made a video about how much it cost to "build" your garden. But can you do one off of that where you talk about how much you spend in a typical year on seeds, how many varieties, any, and how much you spent on your fruit trees? Thanks

I've done all of these methods (and yes that includes making your container mix for two raised beds, and yeah that was a lot of work). By far the best pricing option has been getting one or two cubic yards of soil in a trailer and hauling that home. I haven't needed enough for delivery since I built out my garden in pieces. Good video. Dale is such a good assistant.

MIgardener sells Triple Washed Coco Coir, so no salt issues... The cheap stuff is good too if you mix it before you plant in it, so the rain can wash it's out.

Can you tell me your opinion of placing hardware cloth under raised beds to keep out pests but still allowing worms?

Great video. It’s about time that someone made a video like this. I had a delivery done and added some more compost and was very pleased and the price was 20% of the bagged.

Oh I appreciate this one. I called a big guy out on this recently haha. I am in favor of top-dressing with peat+compost+topsoil. The really really big flaw with the potting mix is it is 100% organic and is going to completely decay. Except those fancy little white pebbles. So you have to replenish that bed at a premium every year when you could have just been building good soil by growing things in it. Not to mention eventually you have a pea-gravel pit at the bottom which is bad for drainage. If you aren't adding actual 'earth' to your 'soil' you're wasting good money. If you add proper soil from the start, by 1-2 years in you can get away with doing nothing but dropping compost on it to fertilize and buff organic content.

I collect leaves in the fall and mix grass clippings and chicken bedding over the summer to make my compost. By the next spring I have 2 cubic yards of compost to mix with topsoil, so have been adding a pair of raised beds each year.

An potting soil an bed soils here have went up almost 3 bucks a bag I get free compost from our city an mix with bed soil mushroom compost an part potting soil in a wheel barrow then dump the city compost is good is tested an saves alot

I didn’t evidently wait this one where you explained the top soil and compost. Glad you linked to it. Makes sense 😊

In the fall, ask the manager or your locel garden store to make you a skid of ripped bags of soil, peat moss, etc. If you are ok with mix and match and you arent too picky you could save 90% like i did at canadian tire last fall!

Our local landfill offers compost for $10 to fill up your own truck bed. It’s definitely not organic, but it’s a good cheap option for those of us on a tight budget.

I've watched all your video's learned so much. I can't wait till I get out there and use some of your knowledge. I live in Maine so I will have to wait a bit. Oh You have such a great dog love to see Dale at the end.

I am so excited to have found your channel! I live in Rocky Point, just north of Wilmington in Pender County. I am still very new to gardening and have had many challenges. I think this is my third year and so far, I've sucked at it. But, I still enjoy trying. One of my first discouraging fails was when I discovered that I had root knot nematode in one of my raised beds. Since there is no real way to get rid of that crap, we finally made the decision, this season, to empty the bed and start over. I'm glad I saw this video because I was trying to figure out what to get to refill it. I will probably get some top soil and compost from Seaside Mulch. It's still a LOT since my beds are 2 feet tall. But at least I will feel more confident that what I plant won't be a waste. Anyway, I love your videos and the fact that they are so relevant to me since we are very close in proximity. I have subscribed and will support your channel as much as possible. Happy week after Azalea Festival!

Enjoyed your video about saving money filling your raised beds. I inherited the gardening gene from my dad and grandmother. I mostly plant flowers, trees, shrubs and ground covers. Unfortunately I don’t have a good eye for design but work with some good local landscape designers for guidance. One thing has changed over the years is the weather is more extreme now and warmer. This is the second year in a row that Charlotte has not experienced a snow fall. In the past, we would have several snowstorms. I look forward to watching more of your videos!

Very inspiring and makes us all want to garden

I use Fox Farms Happy Frog and Ocean Forest since time was short this year to get my plants moved into larger containers. Expensive but no need to fertilize for a while.

You could simply replace the vermiculite and perlite with crushed pumice, a superior substrate. All 3 are used to increase drainage and oxygenation, but only vermiculite and pumice STAY in the soil where it's mixed in, unlike perlite which rises to the surface over time, which makes it **not** useful for increasing drainage.

I use the hugelkulture method. I dig out the soil where I want my raised beds about a foot deep and set the topsoil aside. I then place tree branches and wood chips and bury them with the topsoil and some compost mixed in. Works great

I've watched you for a long time and learned so much. Seriously gardening since 2020, This weekend I can brag that I haven't purchased any garden soil in 1 year. Nothing leaves the property unlees it's eaten, by us or the chickens, or given away. I'm curious about what will become depleted in my raisedbeds and containers over time...🤔🌷 One of the advantages of this is also not importing unknown contaminants, such as from a public composting.

I called my local landscaping company for garden mix. They delivered me dirt with children's toys, plastic bottles, aluminum cans, candy wrappers, bottle caps, pieces of foam. I ended up going with Miracle-Gro bagged because it was the cleanest.

Hello from Union County! Great video, Anthony! I love the price comparison on soil mixes. We have a wonderful truck load of growers mix delivered; we call it growers gold. When I filled the beds, I used the hugelkultur method then layered dried leaves, growers mix, lastly, mulch. Four year later the beds are full of life underground and above. The right soil is the key to weed free, nutrient rich, healthy organic food. Thanks for all the growing advice and love and hugs to Dale!

This is so helpful! I was wondering if 50/50 method would work if trying to fill raised beds that are sat on concrete? I calculated that I would need at least 1200 litres of compost and coco coir alone to fill my container garden (grow bags and raised beds)....

"Because if your watching this video years later, obviously things are going to be cheaper than it is now" I see what you did there!! 😅😂 we are at the height of 🤡🌎 right now

Also my raised beds (which are higher) help solve my back problems. Since they are higher, I fill each of them with sticks, pine cones, grass cuttings, leaves, etc. before I add the soil so I don't have to use as much soil and the larger pieces break down. Works well for me here in South Alabama because my yard is a mix of sand, dirt and clay.

I can't tell you how many videos I have watched lately about how to save money on soil, and this is the best one I've seen so far! I love the simple 50/50 compost and top soil recipe. That is simple enough for me to remember and easy enough to implement. Thanks so much for sharing!

Good information here! I like the 50/50 compost/topsoil idea! What I did in addition was the hugelkultur method, although only about 6-8" worth, it was still a cost savings. Living north west of you in the State, I am in no short supply of many varieties of dead wood! I tend to stay away from adding oak unless rotting, and cedar. I've had to add soil after 2 years, but it's welcome & expected. In the meanwhile you have many living organisms that produce much love to your plant roots.

Last year we got a yard of dirt for our 2 raised beds for $10 and then put cow manure, worms, and fertilizer in it. Plants were very happy. Hoping to use that same soil this year, rotating crops accordingly.

In E TN we have mushroom farms that sell compost. Pick-up and delivery options are available. Some of the local landscape companies and community members offer the product and / or delivery of the product. Win / win supporting local farms and community businesses and private members. Definitely worth investigating .

Most of the potting mixes I’ve bought this year are mostly wood chips. Even the Miracle Grow brand.

Millennial Gardener, I just love the way you explain things. ❤

Just wanted to say that I really appreciate your posts alerting us about great Amazon deals for gardening supplies! I'm sure that takes a lot of time. 👍

Thank you very well explained.

Thank you so much! My Raised Garden Beds will be delivered tomorrow....Your video has helped me a lot, and saved me a lot.....SUBSCRIBED!

omg thank you so much for this, this is my first year with raised beds and I was just about to buy like 300 dollars in premium potting mix

I did my raised beds one third topsoil one third compost one third farmyard manure and it seems to work very well

Thank you soooo much this was very helpful, only because I just got 2 raised beds and was going to fill with them with the usual potting soil, so now I’m just going to mix top soil with my home made compost thank you so much, I saw this video just in time, thanks

In the late winter/early spring I tend to go around my yard pulling weeds and chunks of Poa Annua from my lawn before it really starts growing. The year I got my bed, which is 16" deep, I was really going nuts pulling stuff. I probably had a good 4" layer of just raw yard waste in my 16' by 4' bed! Got lots of settling over the summer, but it was a great way to help offset the cost of filling. I have a log or two also haha.