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Compost for Raised Beds

Compost for raised beds

Top up with 3-5cm each spring. Raised beds sink every year. That is the organic matter you added being consumed, which is the system working, not a fault. Below: how much compost for raised beds to use, when to apply it, and where it does more harm than good.

Dark crumbly compost being spread as a mulch on raised beds, trowel or gloved hand in frame, compost for raised beds
Compost for raised beds: spread on the surface and let worms take it down.

Why beds sink

Organic matter is continuously respired by soil life. A bed filled with a compost-heavy mix will drop several centimetres in its first year and less thereafter. Topping up annually is simply maintenance.

Filling a new bed

Do not fill it with pure compost. It slumps, holds too much water, and is nutritionally lopsided. A rough third compost, two thirds topsoil or a soil-based mix is more stable.

Topping up an established bed

3-5cm on the surface in spring. No need to mix.

The bottom of a deep bed can be bulked with woody material, leaves and turf, a hügelkultur-style base. It rots down slowly and will settle, so expect to top up more in the early years.

Related

General rates: using your compost. Improving native soil: improving garden soil.

Further reading on compost for raised beds

Independent sources worth reading alongside this page: University of Georgia Extension, Composting · EPA, Composting at Home.