Are you starting a new garden on a budget? Read this post to learn how to fill a raised garden bed without spending a ton of money on compost and soil. It’s so easy!
We just built a GIANT new garden bed beside the greenhouse. It’s 20 feet long and almost 4 feet wide…that’s a total of 80 square feet of new growing space!
We made the box for free using some pallets and scrap wood we had laying around. But, we knew filling it wouldn’t be free.
So, how do you fill a raised garden bed without spending a ton of money on compost and soil? Read on…
How to Fill a Raised Garden Bed on a Budget
Use what you have laying around!
Fill the Bottom…
We used some old, rotting wood from the husband’s firewood pile…
Rotted wood will take some time to break down. So, be sure to put it in the very bottom of your garden beds.
Now the middle…
A whole lot of fallen leaves and random piles of dead grass and plants from raking the lawn…
Use this as an excuse to clean up your yard! Rake out all the fallen leaves, dead plants, leftovers from last year, etc.
Then, we topped that with some composted chicken shavings and threw some old, wood mulch on top of that.
Don’t have any compost? Call around to local farms to see if you can barter or buy some manure from them instead of heading to the local garden center.
Side note: While I’ve never used this company myself, I have read several amazing accounts of others receiving TONS of free wood mulch from ChipDrop. They work directly with arborists around the United States to bring you fresh wood mulch and wood cuttings.
Once the box was just about full, we let it rest for a couple of days…hoping it would rain and help it all settle into the box.
Unfortunately, it didn’t rain for a few days, so we decided to go ahead and spray it down with the hose to saturate the compost and mulch.
After getting it all nice and saturated, we let it sit for another day to settle in further.
Top it off…
Finally, we filled the top 4 to 6 inches with some Whitney Farms Organic Raised Bed Soil.
This particular soil can be expensive if you order it online, however, our local Ace Hardware had it on sale recently for just $10.99 a bag, so keep your eyes open for sales. They can really save you a great deal of money!
I hope these tips have helped you learn how to fill a raised garden bed without spending a ton of money! It’s not necessary at all and as you can see, there are tons of different things you can use to fill the space.
You might also like:
- DIY Stone Walkways and Wood Garden Beds
- How to Create the English Gardens of Your Dreams
- Planting A Kid Friendly Snacking Garden
Have an Awesome Day!
Vanessa
Vanessa Hamlin is the owner and founder of Food Life Design and VLHamlinDesign. With her passion for frugal living and homesteading, Vanessa loves to write about easy recipes, making money, gardening, home remedies and everything else that a good life entails! When she’s not writing for Food Life Design or creating products for VLHamlinDesign, you’ll find Vanessa reading, drawing, gardening, cooking or spending time with her family.