Raised Bed Refresh: re-feed your beds

Why raised beds need re-feeding

Raised beds are the best way to grow a lot of food in a small space - great drainage, fewer weeds, and soil you control. But that same great drainage is the catch: every time you water or it rains, nutrients wash down and out, and the living biology that makes soil productive fades faster than it does in open ground. After a season or two, even a bed that started rich can run tired. The good news: you almost never need to dig it out and start over. You just put back what the season took.

How to use Raised Bed Refresh

Raised Bed Refresh is a dry, granular amendment you work into the soil you have - it puts the living biology and nutrition back, and its coarser pine-bark particles add depth and tilth as they feed.

• Spread Refresh evenly over the bed.
• Mix it into the top 4 to 6 inches.
• Water it in to settle it and wake up the biology.

Do this as a Season Reset at the start of each growing season, and again as a lighter fall reset after you pull spent plants. A light monthly top-dress through the season keeps the soil in top condition. For a brand-new bed, mix it into your fresh fill before planting. There is no real burn risk, so you don't have to be precise. A 2 cu ft bag covers about 48 sq ft; a 12 qt bag about 10 sq ft.

Troubleshooting

• Soil level dropping each year? Organic matter naturally breaks down and settles. A Season Reset with Refresh puts structure and biology back.
• Soil packed and hard? Loosen the top few inches, work in Refresh, and water it in to restore air and tilth.
• Outer edges drying out first? Bed walls wick moisture. Water a little more around the edges and keep the soil conditioned so it holds water better.

Refresh conditions the soil you have - do not plant directly into it.