How to Make the Best All Purpose Garden Soil for Raised Beds & Containers: Simple, Cheap, Effective

Here are the simple steps to make your own garden soil. Use it in earth beds, raised beds, containers or as a potting up mix.

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[MyFirstVegetableGarden]

Thanks so much for your support! Cheers & Thanks, Gary!
Visit My Seed and Garden Shop

Earn 15% and become a TRG Affiliate for our seed & garden shop

Popular Items from My Seed and Garden Shop...

Seed Starting, Growing, and Pest Management Oils

Seed Collections and Packs
The Rusted Garden 'Scan and Grow' Collection



Support The Rusted Garden & Use My Amazon Garden Store Front
I put the products I use and discuss, in videos, there and have gardening products set up by categories. Such as Grow Lights, Fertilizers, Pest Control, and More.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

My 2nd YouTube Channel Geared Towards Brand New Gardeners

My Podcasts

My Blogs

Perk Memberships
Join this channel to get access to Perk Memberships which focus on providing small live garden mentoring Q & A sessions, classes, and member influenced videos:

My Books:
The Modern Homestead Garden: Growing Self-Sufficiency in Any Size Backyard

Growing An Edible Landscape: How to Transform Your Outdoor Space Into a Food Garden

Products I Use and Recommend and I have an affiliation with them:

GreenStalk Vertical Gardening Towers

AgroThrive Organic Bio-Fertilizers

Vegega Metal Raised Beds
There is often free shipping and my code does NOT stack when current sales are active and equal to or above 10% off.



#gardening
#gardeningtips
#garden
#gardentips
#homestead
#homesteading
#farming
#farm
#farmer
@myfirstvegetablegarden

[keyphabenyisrael]

It's about time I start making my own compost and set up vermicomposting as well. The clearance priced fertilizer is getting harder & harder to find at the end of the season. Meanwhile peat moss & vermiculite prices seem to double overnight! Looking at some of your oldest videos, I must say they tend to age VERY well, thanks Gary!

[lonewanderer]

Don't forget to check your county, folks. Mine gives away free compost all Spring and Summer. As much as you want to shovel. I use a similar mix but I've never had the heart to not mix in perlite. May have to give this a try and see how it works without added aeration. The big bags of perlite tend to add up quickly.

[cheersmeme]

Hi Gary, , Back in 2022, Your video helped me build a leaf mold bin. It's lookig real good now. I can finally start using it.
But I'm not sure how to tho.
In this video, your saying mix compost into the container and raised bed soil. I don't have compost.
Can I mix the leaf mold into it instead ?
Should I dig the leaf mold into the garden soil with fertilizer when I start planting ? Or lay it on top of the soil after planting my vegetables ?

Today I went to Home Depot found 2, 39.6lbs bags of Dolomite. They had a little slice from an x-acto knife.
Reg. $10.00 Discount price $3.50
Also 2 bags of 2.2 cubic foot Peat Moss . They also were ripped from an x-acto knife . Reg. $15.00 I paid $4.50 .
Crazy thing is, it was just a slice on each bag. Nothing fell out, all the bags are full. lol Great deal 😊
Cheers from Toronto

[KateT-zpdk]

I’ve redone the veg space this year, using some new raised beds. Cheap fill on the bottom third, better stuff in the middle third, promix on top. I was on the fence about adding perlite, but there’s very, very little perlite even in the $$ promix. So I am not adding perlite to my diy mix. Stuff is growing well so far.
Gary, thanks for the bonus catnip in the seed order that arrived today!

[megcasey]

Great information, explained well, as always. Thank you.

[cheriemcphail]

Thank you for all this information. Being on a tight budget I'll be able to full my vegetable bucket next year. I look forward to seeing all your videos.

[stephenmoberg]

Ty for the video - I’ve been using this recipe, however I add an equal part of potting mix too and a half portion of perlite. SO looking forward to this growing season- ty again Steve zone 6 b.

[newmeoroldme]

What soil should i use for starting kale, spinach and collards.

[KAREN_FALLS]

Can I use Coco core instead of Pete Moss?

[lilboomer]

I followed this recipe but with my formula I used 4.5cu ft of Peat moss assuming that it would roughly double in size after hydrated (I needed 9cu ft as my 1/3 component of peat). Is this going to be an issue going forward? So far my bed seems to be holding water well, just having issues with the top getting a little crusty on warmer days. Thanks Gary!

[jazzthewayyoulikeit]

At what times do you add fertilizer? Especially for tomato plants?

[Charm-]

I could have been using top soil to mix 😕 Imma try this

[kimberlya]

Is my bagged compost from last year still good?

[dvssayer]

I do garden soil ( a mix from the local landscape company full of mushroom compost steer manuer sand peat and other compost i forget) so garden soil which is compost peat moss perlite, azmonite, bone meal and worm castings) it is fun to make your own mix. We found if we used just the garden soil it is too dense, stinks, and some things like bulbs and other plants died! Need the peat!!! Etc

[ilianaf]

Hi Gary! I have followed all your steps for
Mixing container soil however I ran out of my mix and was in a crunch and went a bought what I thought was potting mix. In a hurry I bought garden soil and before I knew it I was two containers in when I realized the bag read garden soil not potting soil. I planted my cucumbers plants and tomatoes in the soil. They are transplants should I dig them up and if so what should I do next? I grew them fro seed following all your steps and they are beautiful. I will cry if now I kill them due to rushing.

[stAmbientGrl]

Which product do you think is better to use in a mix: peat moss or coconut coir?

[mashaellabedy]

So I am doing this right now but my earth (all of it) is quite muddy and dense, will those proportions still be fine or should I add in something else?

[beckymartinez]

Thank you for always looking for ways to save money.
I already had coco coir so I mixed it with bagged top soil, mushroom compost, and vermiculite. I’m guessing that’s pretty close to what you made.?

[sallygaillard]

Maybe you can address the problem of compacted soil in my raised bed. What is the best way to lighten and loosen it