Article Courtesy of St. Louis Composting
One of the most frustrating things gardeners face in the St. Louis area is clay soil. It is gooey in the spring and solid in the summer. For some reason weeds don’t have an issue developing in it, but fruits, vegetable plants and landscape ornamentals loathe it.
You can dramatically improve your soil by mixing in compost. Plants breathe through their roots. So the spongier and lighter your soil is, the better plants can breathe and grow. Fluffy soil makes it easier for roots to spread and water to reach them. However the downside of turning your soil into a sponge is that water can be trapped around the roots for too long which will cause your plants to drown.
Raised bed gardening is the answer to all this! To build a raised bed all you have to do is create a box (or multiple) that sits on the ground and fill it with Raised Bed Mix. With raised bed gardening there is less bending over, less weeding, less tilling and no more compacted clay soil around your plants. The boxes allow extra water to drain out the bottom and even discourage rabbits from raiding your tasty garden.
You can tailor the soil and compost amount in each box to the type of plants you’re growing in it. Your bed can be fancy or plain and built with all sorts of materials such as railroad ties, lumber, concrete blocks or stones to name a few.
It is vital that raised beds are filled with fluffy and light soils because not only do your plants grow better but well drained soils also don’t rupture your containers by expanding when wet or frozen. The more compost the better! Talk about making gardening easy!
To learn more contact St. Louis Composting at 636-861-3344 or www.stlcompost.com. St. Louis Composting is the largest composter in the St. Louis region. It operates facilities at 5841 Mine Haul Road in Belleville, Ill.; 39 Old Elam Avenue in Valley Park, Mo.; 13060 County Park Road in Florissant, Mo.; and a drop off facility only at 11294 Schaefer Drive in Maryland Heights, Mo. Our compost holds the Seal of Testing Assurance (STA) from the United States Composting Council (USCC).