I was going to get the really cheap compost we get from the RI recovery corp and mix it with bagged topsoil but could not figure out the whole renting a truck etc for the minimum 1 cubic yard they were ready to sell. So I got the organic garden soil from miracle grow. I realize now that I can't just fill it up it needs to be mixed with native soil. The native soil isn't that good at depth and I was told the soil in our area is clay. Also the point was to have about 8 inch raised bed so the 50:50 or 1/6:1/3 ratio of native and garden soil isn't going to raise it to 8 inch. (the bed isn't much big - Just 4X3 or 4X2 adjacent to the fence)
So the question is, will it be useful to get some topsoil and some bagged compost and mix it all up, that is, topmost layer of native soil - aboutt 3-6 inch, garden soil and the bagged top soil and compost? Or is there a way to layer it? or is this all wrong and I need to start over?
If I use all garden soil is it going to retain too much water? It is also going to end up way too expensive but this season I will live with it may be.
For our area I was planning to put the plants out by June 1. Hopefully if I can get my raised bed together in a couple days, I can still keep up to my timetable.
Thanks for any help.
