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To: John 3_19-21
That might be part of it. When I built the raised beds I ordered a truckload of topsoil. I was real disappointed with what was dumped. It was real heavy, lots of clay in it. So I filled the raised boxes with a mix of:

* 1 part Peat Moss
* 1 part sand
* 2 parts topsoil

The raised beds are 4' x 4' x 1' high. (16 cubic feet) I built them in 1997.


Last year's fiasco

Last year I added a coffee can of vegetable fertilizer in each box because I guessed that after 14 years the soil probably needed it.


Color me surprised. those 4x4 boxes can be seen from space. This google earth pic shows them behind the garage.
48 posted on 03/23/2012 7:03:01 PM PDT by Petruchio (I Think . . . Therefor I FReep.)
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To: Petruchio

The reward in gardening is not the harvest but the quest. I like your raised beds.


49 posted on 03/23/2012 8:08:25 PM PDT by tubebender (I always wanted to be somebody, but now I realize I should have been more specific.)
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To: Petruchio
I would increase the ratio of peat moss to at least 50%. The less dense the soil the easier it is for roots to grow.
It might be a amount of sun issue as well.
From the two images in your post it looks as if the house and the large tree in the back are blocking the sun for part of the morning and or the afternoon.
How many hours of direct sun do your beds get?
59 posted on 03/24/2012 5:43:19 AM PDT by John 3_19-21
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