Our Resources

• VIDEO: Making Raised Beds and Using Containers (below)
• VIDEO: Soil and Bed Preparation (below)

• GARDENS FOR LEARNING: Chapter 7 - Planting Your School Garden, pp. 56-59
• CSYSG TRAINING HANDOUTS: Download on bottom of the page.

More Information
 

Building Healthy Soil

• Download the whole story on healthy soil, preparing beds, and making compost from Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS), UC Santa Cruz
• OrganicGardening.com articles on building healthy soil and related topics
• Try Cover Crops, crops you can plant outside the growing season that build up your soil, also from CASFS, UC Santa Cruz
• More Cover Crop Basics from OrganicGardening.com

Making Raised Beds & Preparing the Ground

• Sunset's take on making raised garden beds in the ground and making planting boxes
• Annie's Guide to Five Types of Children's Gardens share tips for range of garden bed types
• Videos on making raised beds and prepping the soil from GrowOrganic.Com and from National Gardening Association

Calculate how much soil you need to fill planting boxes:

• • Gardener's Supply Company;
  • Soil Buildings Systems (adjusts for settling);
  • Soil Direct (for different sized and shaped beds);
  • Convert from cubic feet to cubic yards.
     

• Gardens for Learning, Chapter 7 reviews double digging, a technique for improving your soil deep down, especially when you are breaking new ground.

Also Related: Making Compost and Amendments

• CSGN's Videos on Making compost bins and Worm bins
• Vermicomposting, or letting worms do the work, from CASFS

Raised Beds and Containers

Soil and Bed Preparation

Go Back to Creating and Sustaining Your School Garden Agenda

Downloads

Basic GardenTools Garden Bed Types Nitty Gritty_Determing Your Soil Texture Soil and Bed Preparation