How do you start a veggie garden?

blue_butterfly: How do you start a veggie garden?
I would like to start a vegetable garden. Our soil is rocky and poor quality, so I plan on building a soil box. How deep do I need the soil to be? Should my garden box have a bottom or should I line it with bark or something else? Once I have a box, what ind of soil should I buy – is it best to use different types of soil at different layers?

Answers and Views:

Answer by BobKat
Really all you need to do is to create a raised bed for your plants. It doesn’t have to be framed in and it will be a lot less work for you if you don’t frame it in.

If you must have a box, of course you would not want to put a bottom in it. The water your plants need must be able to drain out or you would risk drowning your plants. No, you don’t need to line it with bark or anything. You’re overthinking this project.

Just a low pile of good soil with some compost worked into it will make a nice garden for you. Six inches deep is plenty. You don’t need to get different types of soil and layer it. Again, that is overthinking what should be a really simple project.

Here’s how to make a raised bed:
https://freeplants.com/preparing-raised-planting-beds.htm

Answer by Hydroponics G
Hi!

On hydroponics.eu web store you can find some kind of soil (more o less fertilised) and a lot of nutrients for any plants and substrates.

Good luck!

Answer by FloridaTravel
Hello and excellent question!

First, you have made a wise choice in building a raised bed (soil box). When your soil is rocky or poor quality, a raised bed can make the difference between disappointment and a nice harvest.

How deep your soil needs to be kind of depends on what you plan to grow, and how much soil you actually have underneath that you can use — the rocky part is the problem. In general, 12 inches is the least I would go for a great harvest. If you can build your bed even deeper, your beggies will thank you for it. 🙂

As long as you’ve cleared out the weeds and removed some of the rocks, you don’t need to line your raised bed box. In fact, you can start by mixing what soil you do have with compost, to make your poor soil a bit better.

Personally for the raised beds I grow, I like mostly compost — bagged is fine. I will also usually add in some (don’t laugh) potting soil to make the soil a bit more porous; easier for new roots to grow. I just mix it all up.

Once you’ve planted your veggies, don’t forget to mulch them well. I like hay (the cheaper the better) the best, but you can use bark chips, newspaper or plastic garden mulch.

Best of luck with your garden!