Raised Bed query

[charlie]

I'm thinking of making raised beds on my plot.
What i would like to know, is what do i fill them with?
Can i just put top soil in them, or is it better to put a mixture in?
Any help would be appreciated.

Thank you.

[mybarnconversion]

Depends what you want to grow.

I have a almost even mix of topsoil and compost in mine which seems to be a happy home for root veg so far...

[charlie]

Basically, there going to be used to grow all my veg, so pretty much everything.
Carrots, spuds, courgettes, onions, etc. you get the picture :-)

[Captain Caveman]

You can put soil, but then you have to get soil from somewhere. It's better if you can get compost or muck which will add nutrients as well as volume and condition. Beware trying to grow root veg in new compost/muck as I hear it messes them up and causes carrots to fork and deform for example

I've spent the whole weekend preparing my raised beds, and have shifted 20 wheel barrow loads of stone from a 16x12 foot plot! My beds have sunk considerably so I'll be adding a load of well rotted muck that I picked up from a farmer friend, but I'm not growing any root veg this year on those plots

[Magpie]

My raised vege beds are composed of topsoil only. They are very free-draining, too much so really, although I do have some nice veges coming out of them. I don't have access to much manure, so am just mulching as much as I can, and will gradually build up the level of humus in the soil.

So topsoil alone can be done, just don't expect miracles.

[PeterNZ]

We are doing No Dig Gardening.

Regards

Peter