Growing vegetables and plants in a garden area start with one basic element: good quality soil. When you plan to grow your plants on a raised garden bed, you require really good quality soil to create the framework of your raised garden bed. But the soil quality and type may vary from location to location. So what kind of soil are you going to use for your raised garden bed? Here we have come up with an excellent guide regarding the best soil type for the plants you plan to grow in your raised garden beds.
Importance of choosing the right soil type:
Most gardeners start their gardening journey without proper knowledge of the best soil for their raised garden bed, which provides them with disappointing results. So, you need to be well aware of your soil type because just like human beings have their homes, soil serves as a home to the plants. They provide the plants with spiritual, mental, and physical peace. So, let us look at a few things that you are required to know about the soil you have in your garden bed. You can also implement your own raised garden bed ideas for growing your plants.
Know the soil type:
Four major soil types are available around us. These are loamy, sandy, silty, and clay soil. Out of these, loamy soil is the best type of soil for your raised garden bed as it can promote the growth of all kinds of vegetable plants. This doesn’t mean that you cannot use other types of soil as well, but you require spending a little more time on the different soil types compared to loamy soil. Some people also use a mixture of sandy, clayey and loamy soil for best results. You can also add additional layers of mulch and compost to your existing soil to trigger soil fertility.
Soil pH for plant growth:
The soil pH is also quite important. While the pH requirement varies from plant to plant, most plants grow well in a soil pH ranging between 6 to 7. If the pH is low, your soil is acidic, while a higher pH indicates alkaline soil. So, it would help if you chose the soil type depending on its pH level as well.
Soil texture, color, and smell:
The quality of the soil can also be determined by its texture, smell, and soil. Soil that has high organic matter generally has a dark color. This means that the darker the soil color, the more the organic matter content will be in it, and higher organic matter content will provide the soil with an excellent texture.
And this is how you can choose the right type of soil for your raised garden bed. You can also use diy raised garden beds corrugated iron for creating your garden bed framework.