To Replace or Amend current soil

Anolan 9/2/2020, 9:30 am

I have a 4X8 raised wicking bed that I filled with the dirt from digging the wicking bed. I have been amending the soil over the years but am now wondering if it is worth the effort to remove and refill with Mel's Mix?

Any thoughts?

OhioGardener 9/2/2020, 10:47 am

Really hard to suggest one way or the other on that, Anolan, and there will be as many opinions as there are people. For me, I have a number of beds that were built before I ever heard of SFG, and they were filled with my own mixture of garden soil, compost, coir, and rock dust. Those beds are still in use, and still very productive, just with different planting techniques. The newer beds are filled with a modified Mel's Mix, and doing equally well. So, I haven't seen a reason replace the soil in the old beds, I just add compost and rock dust to them as needed, the same as I do with the new beds.

Hailey 4/8/2022, 3:31 am

I'm thinking if your soil isn't compost then you probably want to take it out and start with Mel mix or at a minimum leave the soil on the bottom and do 6 inches of Mel mix on top. Just a thought. Let's see what everyone else thinks

**sanderson** 4/8/2022, 4:25 am

Anolan, There are many ways to garden. Being as this is a SFG Forum, the answer is 6-7" of Mel's Mix on the top with grids. If there is enough room left, you can top with 6-7" of Mel's Mix, or remove enough dirt to achieve this. For a 4'x8' bed, I recommend two (2) 4'x4' grids to make it easier to remove for cleaning and adding more blended compost each growing season. An 8' long grid is too long and may snap in two.

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