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A raised bed garden
  • 4’×8’×10″ (minimum depth) raised garden bed*
  • Eight bags potting soil mix (2 cubic feet each)
  • Eight bags soil conditioner (fine ground bark mulch; 2 cubic feet each)
  • Four bags composted manure OR mushroom compost (2 cubic feet each)
  • Three bags coarse-shredded mulch (for soil moisture retention; 2 cubic feet each)
  • 3-pound bag gypsum** (for summer garden)
  • 3- to 4-pound bag granular fertilizer for vegetable gardens
  • Insecticidal soap (for soft-bodied insects)
  • Bt dust or spray (organic-sourced insecticide for controlling caterpillars, aka worms)
  • Fungicide (Fungal plant diseases can seriously affect plant health.)
  • Sturdy tomato cage, twine, or other way to support large or climbing plants

Seeds or transplants for early spring and late summer planting (mature plants cannot tolerate high heat): beets, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, lettuce, mustard greens, radishes, spinach, and turnips

Seeds or transplants for late-spring and summer planting (cannot tolerate frost): cucumber, eggplant, peppers, tomato, and zucchini

Check “The Alabama Vegetable Gardener” at www.aces.edu for a complete list of crops and planting dates.

Helpful tools:

  • Hose, nozzle, or watering can to transport water to garden area
  • Gardening gloves
  • Hand trowel
  • Hand cultivator

*Raised beds can be constructed from preassembled kits or various materials you may already have on hand. Limestone may be needed depending on the soil/potting mix you choose. Find more information in publication ANR-1345, “Raised Bed Gardening,” on the Alabama Extension website at www.aces.edu.

**Using the ratio of compost to potting mix should give a balanced pH for vegetable growth. Summer crops will still need soil calcium for sturdy fruit production. A 4-foot by 8-foot bed needs 6 cups, or 3 pounds, of gypsum for each summer garden.

 

Grow More Give More www.aces.edu/go/growmore


Bethany O’Rear, Regional Extension Agent, Home Grounds, Gardens, and Home Pests, Auburn University

Revised June 2023, Raised Bed Supply List, ANR-2664


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