Looking to recharge and revive the tired soil in your raised beds before you plant again this spring?
Re-energizing your raised bed soil is one of the most important tasks you can perform to bring life back to your soil – and keep the plants you grow inside of them strong, healthy and productive. And the best part of all – it’s so easy to do!
Raised beds are an incredible growing method for so many gardeners. Because they can be placed nearly anywhere, they are the perfect choice for those with limited yard space. And with their elevated design, they can also make it easier for those with physical limitations to still enjoy gardening.
But with all the advantages raised bed gardening brings, there is one unique challenge to the method that requires annual attention. And that challenge? How to keep the soil within your beds full of nutrients year after year.
Giving Your Soil The Nutrients It Needs – How To Recharge & Revive Raised Bed Soil
One thing is for sure, vegetables, flowers and herbs all take nutrients from the soil as they grow. They need that energy to develop strong roots, stems and foliage. And they need even more of it to produce their blooms, flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Unfortunately, raised beds have no ability to replenish those nutrients on their own. Much as with plants growing in hanging baskets or containers, they have only what is within their confined space. Because of this, as plants use the nutrients up, the soil becomes more sterile and lifeless with each passing season.
The power and energy in raised bed soil can fade away quickly. In fact, depending on the plant varieties you are growing, many of the most vital nutrients can disappear in just a single growing season.
As the nutrients are taken out of the soil, the structure of the soil weakens as well. Over time, it becomes more and more lifeless. In addition, as it weakens, it also loses its ability to hold moisture. As all of these issues begin to pile up, it is the plants that ultimately suffer the most.
Without nutrients, they will simply grow less, produce less, and have more issues with disease and pests. So if your raised beds haven’t been producing the results they have been in year’s past – it’s more than likely that tired soil is to blame!
How To Recharge & Revive Raised Bed Soil – With Ease!
The good news is that by simply adding just a few key life-giving ingredients each and every growing season, you can keep your beds healthy and productive. In fact, you can actually make them more productive than before!
With that in mind, here are five great methods for getting your soil re-energized and charged up for big growth. By simply using one or more, you can have your beds teeming with power in a flash.
The Power Of Compost
Nothing adds more power and life to your tired soil faster than compost. For starters, it’s full of nutrients, microbes and organisms. All of which can easily be absorbed by the roots of plants when mixed into the soil.
But compost does so much more than simply add nutrients. It also helps to loosen the soil for better, stronger and faster root growth. And if that wasn’t enough, it absorbs its weight in water multiple times over. That means your plants can have the moisture they need on hand right when they need it most!
How much compost should you add? The short answer is as much as you can fit in! Even if that means removing some of the old soil as you do. A good rule of thumb is to replace or add 15 to 20% of compost to the existing soil in a raised bed. That is more than enough to help recharge tired soils.
If you do need to remove a bit of the old soil to add compost, take it straight to your compost pile. Not only will it add organic matter to the pile, the old soil will recharge quickly when mixed in with the fresh compost.
Adding Free Organic Material – How To Recharge & Revive Raised Bed Soil
Believe it or not, another great way to add big nutrients to your raised bed soil is with organic ingredients that are completely free for the taking!
Adding shredded leaves, grass clippings, coffee grounds, ground egg shells and banana peels to your soil are all incredible for helping to add nutrients and build better soil structure. Even better, all of them are entirely free to obtain!
Finely shredded leaves break down quickly, giving their energy back to the soil they decompose in. Use a push or riding mower to shred up leaves and then work a few inches of them into the upper six inches of your raised bed soil.
Grass clipping are another big soil builder. Since they are already cut finely, they break down fast as well. Both shredded leaves and grass clippings are also perfect for using as a mulch through the growing season. They protect plants, repel weeds, hold in moisture – and add more nutrients as they slowly decompose.
The Power Of Coffee Grounds, Egg Shells & Banana Peels For Raised Bed Soil
And coffee grounds, egg shells and banana peels? Well, they can really power back up your raised bed garden soil faster than ever!
Coffee grounds add nitrogen back to the soil, all while helping to build soil structure. Ground egg shells add loads of calcium and other trace nutrients that help plants both flower and produce. Banana peels give back potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
It’s important to note, when putting egg shells in – it’s always best to first grind them up in a blender or coffee grinder. Whole or broken shells take a long time to break down and are slow to give their nutrients back. But finely ground egg shell powder will absorb quickly into the soil! See: The Best Way To Store & Use Egg Shells And Coffee Grounds
Adding Aged Manure – How To Recharge & Revive Raised Bed Soil
Chicken, rabbit, cow, goat and horse manure are among the best animal manures to use for raised beds. They are full of the nutrients plants love most. They also happen to be by fairly common and easy to find. Especially if you are lucky enough to have a backyard chicken coop or rabbit hutch!
Manure has to be added with a bit of caution. The best way to add it into your beds is in early spring or late fall. This will allow it enough time to break down before planting. Add a few inches on top top, and then work in with a shovel or rake.
It is important to use dry, aged manure and not fresh. Fresh manure is too hot and can easily burn the roots of plants. A fall layer will have plenty of time to break down by spring. If applying in the spring, put it on at least 8 weeks before planting to allow it to work in and be safe for planting.
Adding Perlite To Soil – Re-Energizing Raised Bed Soil
Perlite is one ingredient that you might not think of adding to raised beds, but can it ever help to create healthier, more productive beds! Although this popcorn-like material is often used to lighten and aerate potting soils, it is also excellent for mixing into raised beds.
When added to raised beds, it helps the soil from compacting. In the process, it creates air channels for water and nutrients to find their way to the roots of plants. Affiliate Product Link: Harris Premium Horticultural Perlite for Plants and Gardening, 8qt
As for how much to add, a good rule of thumb is to add a handful of perlite for every square foot of soil space. One-half of a 5 gallon bucket of perlite is perfect for a typical 4′ x 8′ raised bed space. Best of all with perlite, it stays in the soil to keep it light and compact-free for good!
Plant A Spring Green Manure Crop – How To Recharge & Revive Raised Bed Soil
Planting a green manure cover crop in early spring is another simple and powerful way to build power back into your raised bed soil – and help loosen it up for your plants to grow better than ever! Affiliate Seed Link: Spring Field Peas Seeds – 5 lbs. Annual, High-Protein Legume & Cover Crop.
In the early spring, plant a crop of field peas or peas and oats as a green manure crop to cover your raised bed soil. Not only will the crop protect your soil, the peas help to fix nitrogen back in as well. Simply let the crop grow for about four weeks, then cut it to the soil line to kill it off. You ca also turn the crop over into the dirt with a spade.
And this fall, don’t forget to plant a cover crop over winter too! For fall cover crops, oats and annual rye are great choices for raised beds. They sprout quickly, helping to protect your soil over the winter by keeping out weeds and stopping erosion.
In the spring, you can simply cut it back to kill it off. The nutrients decompose back into the soil and you are ready to plant into fertile soil!
Here is getting your raised beds full of power and energy before spring planting – and to growing better than ever this year! Happy Gardening, Jim & Mary.
Old World Garden Farms
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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