The compost provides rich, organic nutrients for plants. You can also mix shredded leaves, vermicompost, or mushroom compost as part of the compost ratio. Choose topsoil that’s loamy, which means it’s loose and not very compact. This allows water to drain and prevents the soil from compacting. If you’re filling several beds, find out if local nurseries or home improvements stores can deliver a bulk shipment of topsoil or compost. A 3 to 1 ratio of compost to soil can also work well. [3] X Expert Source Ben BarkanGarden & Landscape Designer Expert Interview. 14 April 2020.

If you’ve got sandy or clay ground soil, compost improves drainage and the texture of the soil. If you’ve got soil that doesn’t hold moisture well, use vermicompost instead of traditional compost. Worm castings mixed into the soil does a better job of improving the soil texture, so it holds onto moisture longer.

If you can’t find raised bed soil, you can simply mix together compost with topsoil in equal parts, or add compost to garden soil.

Plus, the wood products break down over time, adding bulk to your raised bed.

Ask your neighbors if they’d like to go in on collecting gardening materials. You may be able to get a load delivered if it’s in bulk.

For example, if you’ve got a raised bed that’s 9 square feet (0. 84 m2) and you’d like the soil to be 4 inches (10 cm) deep, you’ll need four 0. 75-cu bags of soil.

If you don’t have cardboard to use, spread sheets of newspaper. They’ll break down faster than the cardboard, but they can prevent weeds.

Spray water over each layer to moisten it before you add more material.

You’ll find that the soil level sinks after a few seasons. This is completely normal! You’ll just need to top up your raised beds with compost before the next gardening season.

You can purchase different types of compost like mushroom compost or poultry compost. Try to use different compost types every few seasons to add a variety of nutrients to the beds. If you use your own compost, make sure that it’s completely decomposed first. [13] X Expert Source Ben BarkanGarden & Landscape Designer Expert Interview. 14 April 2020. Compost is completely decomposed when it no longer smells and you can no longer see visible food scraps in the mixture. [14] X Expert Source Ben BarkanGarden & Landscape Designer Expert Interview. 14 April 2020.