Filling new raised beds, help please!

[AluckyEllie]

This year we have had two raised beds built in the garden. I need to fill the beds- about one to two feet deep of empty space at the moment! One is 5ft by 3 ft, the other 3ft by 3ft. That’s a lot of space to fill with only topsoil so I was wondering about putting some green waste down first and then topsoil on top- would that work? I’m growing tomatoes atm, when they are finished could I cut the plants fairly small and put them in the beds with other prunings and would they rot down over winter- I could then add the topsoil in spring if it’s better, or add it straight on top. There’s a massive ivy plant that I need to prune and the trimmings could go in as well. As you can tell I’m a very novice gardener and I just don’t want to make a mistake and end up with beds full of debris that won’t rot down.

Thanks for any help 😀

Yes you can - it's called trench composting - google it! But I'd steer clear of ivy clippings in case they take root.

@BewareTheBeardedDragon Thanks so much, there is lots of advice online now I know the name! And I'll definitely take the ivy warning.

If you’re looking at 2’ deep then you’re way below what you need for veg gardening. You only need the first foot or so.

Do you have any rubble or gravel? We dug out the existing top soil from inside our raised beds, filled with rubble and poor soil, then put the top soil back on top. It halved the amount of top soil we needed to import.

You can also bury plant clippings, hedge trimmings, autumn leaves and even logs. Google Hugelkultur for more info on logs. If you know anyone with a lot of garden waste then offer to take it off their hands, it all helps. The only veg that need more than about 8” of crumbly soil are potatoes, who need a foot or so. Everything else will work it’s roots around any obstacles etc.

@peakotter Thanks so much for that. I have some leftover wood that I can put in the bottom (that hasn’t been treated) so that will be a money saver. And its good to know that veg roots only go down a foot or so, I’ll definately fill up a bit more with my autumn prunings.

Thanks again 😀

Untreated wood is an awesome filler because it holds lots of water and breaks down into soil eventually. I made a hugelbed last autumn and grew some very healthy and prolific squash in it this summer. You have to balance some nutrient (nitrogen maybe) because the wood will take some of it as it decomposes, and the way I read to do this was to make sure all the wood was covered with grass clippings before adding any soil on top.