First Time Growing Vegetables/Fruit - Soil Question

I use Garden Greaux from the LSU Ag Center. Has everything you need in it already.

where does one get Garden Greaux? can you pick it up on Baton Rouge area?

Basic “garden soil” (composted forestry products, either bagged or bulk) amended with additional composted organic matter and typical vegetable fertilizer such as 8-8-8 or 13-13-13 should work well for you. Try not to overthink it. Something like this as recommended by a local (BR) large retail garden center.



Maybe you want to invest purchasing this as a reference guide.

The first thing to remember about gardening, is that your plants are only going to be as healthy as their soil. Soil is a living ecosystem of its own, so you want your soil to be as healthy as possible. Think of plants like people. They will be happier and healthier with a nutritious diet. Trying to grow a garden with junky dirt is like giving a human a steady diet of McDonald's.

That being said, there are really many ways to do it. It needs to be nutrient-dense but also variable in its materials. This is roughly what I do.

70% soil
- It will say planting mix or garden mix. This is a mixture with sand, vermiculite, or larger pieces of organic material.
- This is NOT top soil.

20% compost
- Lots of people love Black Kow manure, and this is what I personally use. You can also add mushroom compost or chicken manure. It sounds gross, but your plants will be happy.

10% amendments
- This can be anything that adds nutrients into the soil.
- For example, my tomatoes get fish emulsion, worm castings, molasses, and an organic fertilizer on a rotation.
- Others can be added after testing your soil. Things like alfalfa meal, bone, meal, and blood meal can add different nutrients according to your garden's specific needs.

Top it with a good 2-3" layer of mulch. It gets hot in my zone (9), so the water needs to stay put.

As far as organic gardening, you will have a ton of options available that are even available at WalMart now. Dr. Earth, Epsoma, and Jobe's are on my shelf. Captain Jack's products are great for pest situations.

Good luck!

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My plan is to keep using the same soil and keep the plants alive, if possible.

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Then you need to ignore everyone in this thread telling you to fill your beds with decomposing wood chips and compost. Plant the beds with a sandy mineral based soil and put your compost/etc. only on the soil surface. This "living soil" BS is wrong; the life you will be supporting is fungus and bacteria, not roots.

Now if you're going to grow tomatoes and peppers for 6 months and then buy new plants again next year, by all means use the wood chips and compost.

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the life you will be supporting is fungus and bacteria

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without which there would be no life, at all. I grow in heavily amended media and have happy plants, but I do agree with you that topping with organic matter is better than growing in it, in general. What I do for my new beds is gather a tractor bucket of leaf mold or rotted bark and spread in a layer inside the bed, then top with more of the same. The fungi make the whole machine work as naturally as possible

Only mychorhizzae fungi are playing a huge role in root heath. Because they are symbiotic with the plants to obtain nutrients, these fungi do not need the same level of decomposing matter in the soil. A bed full of compost is growing all kinds of other things too such as phytopthora and armillaria. If you want a long term environment in a container like a raised bed your organic material should only be on top.

What about for mulch? I have read that you can use grass clippings. Has anyone had success using grass clippings?

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What about for mulch? I have read that you can use grass clippings. Has anyone had success using grass clippings?

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Good for feeding the bed but bad for protecting the roots. You want something that will hold moisture in the soil, not wilt in bright sunlight, and won't blow away in the wind. I use cypress mulch because it's not dyed and doesn't float. It's also acidic which 99% of my plants prefer.