what to fill vegetable boxes with

[notarehearsal]

I've just purchased three huge apple crates 1m x 1.2m to use to grow vegetables and herbs ( and also to block the nasty view of loads of rubble at back of garden)

Can I ask what you use to fill these with please as I'm reading too much on Internet and getting confused.

Ive got lots of top soil I'd like to use up and also have some mushroom compost arriving soon. I've got one bag of manure from a garden centre. These boxes are huge. A friend suggested putting some small holed wire inside to stop rodents getting in over the winter so I'll do that I think

Any advise gratefully received

What you've got sounds like a good start.

If you're planning on growing veg you'll want more of the mix to be compost than top soil (which is low in nutrients).

You might also want to consider mixing in a wee bit of vermiculite or coir to loosen up the mix a bit and stop it getting too compacted (although given the size of the boxes it is unlikely you'll be trampling on it!

But really, the main thing is compost. Once you've got the beds up and running, I suggest you start your own compost bin to use to top up the beds as the years go on. There really is nothing better!