Raised Beds Soil

Question from Libby:
I would like to improve the quality of the soil in my raised vegetable beds. I read in your book about layering alfalfa, manure,bonemeal and blood meal and then letting it rest for 3 months. Is there a way I can speed up that process so I can plant my summer vegetable garden?

Answer from Pat:
I think you misunderstood the instructions to which you have referred here. It sounds as if you are describing the “No-Dig” method of gardening developed first by Ruth Stout and further refined by others. I do indeed describe that method in my book. Many gardeners are using it but I am not one of them. I am a conventional gardener and I use the old conventional methods of organic gardening.

Please look at my videos (go to the right hand column and click on Videos.) Please watch all the ones on soil preparation before planting vegetables. They will show you exactly how to do it since I am on screen with my great-grandchildren doing the job. The conventional way to prepare soil before planting is also described in many places in my book.

But briefly here are precise instructions:
Cover the ground with a 3- or 4-inch layer of organic home-made or bagged compost. (Use soil amendment meant for digging into the ground. Do not use mulch. Mulch is for lying on top of the soil, not for digging in.) Dig and work this compost into the top 8 or 12 inches of ground. Then level the bed with your garden rake (not a grass rake.) Next sprinkle on an organic fertilizer recommended for vegetables. You can purchase boxed or bagged organic fertilizer at your local nursery or garden supply or else mix your own formula according to instructions and recipes in my book. Follow package directions for amounts to use. This will require measuring the bed first. After spreading on the correct amount of fertilizer, use a cultivator to work the fertilizer into the top 6 or 8 inches of soil. Rake the bed level again. Now sprinkle the bed for about 20 minutes. This will provide the soil with approximately an inch or two of rain, if rain had fallen. Then let the bed settle overnight. Don’t touch it again until morning since this would compact the soil. The next day return and plant the bed. You can do this job today and plant tomorrow.