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Hot take: My raised bed soil mix failed on day 3 and I mixed my own
Last Saturday in my Tucson yard, the bagged raised bed mix I dumped into my 4x8 cedar bed turned rock hard after one 100 degree afternoon. I grabbed a wheelbarrow, mixed 50% native dirt, 30% compost, and 20% perlite, then watered it slow with a hose wand until it stopped pooling. Has anyone else bailed on store soil after a heat wave killed it?
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wendygrant25d ago
My buddy out in Marana had the same thing happen last June with that fancy bagged stuff. His bed looked like a cracked mud puddle by day two, so he dug in about half native caliche and half cow compost from a local dairy. Took him a full weekend to get it right because the caliche turned to concrete if he let it dry out between waterings. He ended up adding a thick mulch layer on top and now it holds water through July like a champ. That native dirt thing is no joke out here, it holds moisture way better than the fluffy bagged mix once it settles in. Perlite helps too but you can still overdo it in our heat.
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