Some clay soils will allow you to put compost on top and, over time, the Soil Food Web will work that into the soil for you. Other clay soils will not do that and the organic matter will never get mixed into the soil until you do that. The only way to find out which you have is to plunk the organic matter on top of the soil and see what happens. Unless you have a real need to use that bed this year putting OM on the soil and letting it sit for a year will not be much of a problem.

g'day nancy,

we use no-till raised garden beds and also like the lazy composting method where we add our rottable material straight into the beds where it can do its job from the word go.

you can do a clay test by putting a dessert spoon size ball of clay in enough water to well cover it for 24 hours if it starts to or dissolves then you have the clay nearly all of us have the other kind is less common.

using raised beds i wouldn't bother, just throw down a good cover of gypsum then start building the bed on top sooner or later the earth worms will come and they will mix the organic matter into the original soil.

anyhow got pic's and descriptions on our web site, might be some ideas there for you?

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

Hi Nancy, Are they actual railroad ties that you will be using? Because those are generally soaked in creosote and other weird crud to keep them from rotting. As far as I know, it is considered unwise/unsafe to grow food surrounded by railroad ties.

As for laziness, I am that kind of gardener as well. In any event, I would advise that you put down a layer of cardboard over whatever ground you have, put your framework up, fill it with whatever you have. Viola'. If your back bothers you, that is really an excellent reason to avoid digging. My back is pretty good and I still avoid digging and make more raised lasagna beds every year. Good luck.

Marcia

I used railroad ties for my first raised bed. I threw the leaves and stuff right in there from day one and let it compost there. It was easy to flip because I used the tie as leverage. My second bed I just layered and did not flip it worked just as well. Anyway, before I started putting anything in the railroad tie bed I lined the interior sides and the bottom of the ties with extra pond liner I had to keep the creosote from seeping into the soil. It worked for me everything is growing well and I like the rustic look in the back yard.