Planting Vegetables

by Tom Heins
(Orange, Ct)

I am going to build a raised bed garden because the vegetable garden is going in where the swimming pool used to be. The ground is very flat and is mostly clay.

How deep do I have to make the raised bed if I am planting corn, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, cantaloupes and onions?

Is there a certain depth the soil has to be when I transplant these vegetables?


ANSWER:


There is not an exact depth for a raised bed garden.

However, typically raised bed gardens are 8"-10" or more in depth. This gives room for larger plants such as tomatoes to establish a good root system.

We were able to purchase something called "Spring Soil" for our raised bed garden, from a local soil products company. It is a mixture of medium grade bark, dairy compost, peat moss, pumice, coconut core, lime charge, and organic fertilizer.

We filled our entire raised bed with this mixture. It has been really nice to work with, as we also have very heavy clay-like soil in our area.

Each fall, after the garden is put to rest for the winter, the soil products company recommends adding and mixing in about 1-2" of dairy compost to replace lost nutrients.