Nicole Johnsey Burke fills a 4x4 raised bed using straw, grass clippings, leaves, and drawer compost, then tops it with topsoil and mushroom compost. The soil settles over time but costs far less than buying it all new.
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Here's how I saved money and avoided waste when filling this brand new 4x4 raised bed kitchen garden. After sealing the inside of the beds and letting it completely dry, I filled the first few inches with straw left from autumn decorations. Next, I emptied out some bags of grass clippings and leaves left over from my husband's mowing. Then I emptied out both sides of my drawer composter. This ended up being about 3 tarp fulls into the bed. At this point, I had filled up 2/3 of the bed, so I started to use some locally made topsoil, some mushroom compost, and a little bit of coarse sand. My 103 blend. When I had a few more inches left to go, I put in the obelisk trellis to be sure it was secure, and then I finished off the top of the bed with a few more bags of mushroom compost. The soil level will definitely go down with using all these natural materials underneath the soil, but it gives me a great start to a brand new kitchen garden.