How do you choose soil for a raise bed garden

my husband mixed top soil, mulch that we had made and perlite so that it made a pretty loose soil. Lowe’s sells soil for raised beds also. It is on sell this week. In the fall add leaves and other mulch.

Your local garden center may supply appropriate soil delivered by truck. That may be a good choice depending on the size of your raised garden and access.

I just finished building a 4x8 box for a friend and we used bagged soil from the home center. Calculate the size of your box in cubic feet and use that number to determine how many bags you will need. For hers bags were actually less expensive and less work than bringing in a truckload and hauling it to the back yard by wheelbarrow.

I use half and half top soil and compost, add in some coffee grounds, Edson salt and crushed egg shells for nourishment for your plants. Has worked for me for 4 years, so far, so good.

My sons built a raised garden for me last year and I absolutely love it. We used one-third soil, one-third manure and one-third sand. The sand is for water retention. I also use a deep root watering method. (Which is really just a soaker hose with pin prick holes down it's entire length.) I water the soil and not the plant. What a difference that made. Wishing you all the best.

A mixture of top soil, compost, and peat moss. All available at garden centers, Home Depot, Lowes, or Menards.

Do not use top soil, it is just dirt and clay with no nutritional value and will also have lots of weeds from my experience when that was all that was available. The compost and peat moss added to garden soil, potting soil or raised garden soil (saw this at home depot last summer) Sand does not aid water retention, but it does help in draining heavy soil.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/best-soil-raised-garden-beds.htm

If you're buying soil then choose a nice organic mix from the nursery. If you plan to amend your own use natural ingredients to create a loam. You may find this tutorial helpful. http://www.gardenupgreen.com/2017/11/how-to-quickly-amend-clay-soil.html