In this video I set up and Review abd plant up Vego Garden’s Jumbo Elevated raised bed. I share an economical and cost-saving ways to fill it up with nutrient dense soil.
I also provide an update on my compost setup, particularly the progress on the Vego Garden Modern Composter that I filled around 6 months ago. Very fast conversion of yard waste to gorgeous black gold compost.
I also discuss BioChar as a soil amendment.
I love using organic material that I have collected from my yard to fill my beds and I make a very concerted effort to collect and store leaves during Fall, and wood chips etc that neighbors give away for free sometimes. Chipdrop is also a great service that I use repeatedly. With soil getting more and more expensive and quality degrading, it makes me feel good to use material that I can trust from my garden to fill up particularly the beds that I use to grow food to feed my family.
If you choose to buy any any products from the Potting Bench Series (or any Vego Garden Product), kindly use the link below – and the discount codes
Vego Garden homepage: https://glnk.io/vzw5/5ix
💸 Discount Codes
$10 OFF code for entire order: GREENLOVE
Special code available until mid-June 2026
🌱$40 Off Orders Over $550: GREENLOVE40OFF
Amazon Affiliate Links
Gorilla Cart (6 cu ft)
https://amzn.to/4vAhyFM
Wakefield Biochar:
https://amzn.to/4thEE2L
Perlite:
https://amzn.to/4vzbSfi
Vermiculite
https://amzn.to/4tOKok2
Azomite
https://amzn.to/4cOJDlm
Peat Moss:
https://amzn.to/4dSkebK
Coco Coir (alternative to Peat moss)
https://amzn.to/42af4R1
Note: As an Amazon affiliate I may make a small commission on qualifying products at NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. Thank you for supporting my channel!
Table of contents
0:00 Introduction and Overview: Tara introduces the new, large elevated bed and explains the benefits of the height for gardening.
2:05 Soil Filling Strategy: Learn how to fill a deep raised bed economically using organic materials like decomposed wood chips, leaves, and compost.
13:37 Soil Amendments: Details on using compost, peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, and azomite (mineral-rich rock dust) to create a nutrient-dense growing medium. Tara stresses the importance of wearing a mask during this process.
23:17 Biochar Experiment: An introduction to biochar as a soil amendment to improve nutrient retention and moisture, and how she plans to use it in her experiment.
24:30 What is Biochar?
25:15 Properties of Biochar that make it beneficial to soil
28:02 Planting the Kitchen Garden: A walk-through of the layout, including trellising, and specific plants such as tomatoes (including dwarf varieties), bitter melon, cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants.
36:27 Progress Updates on Other Planters: An update on the Vego Garden self-watering planters and the growth of various plants, including a tamarillo tree and future plans for a moringa tree.
Happy Gardening!
💚💚💚
Tara
@vego_garden #VegoGarden #VegoElevatedGardens
21 Comments
With soil getting more and more expensive and quality degrading, it makes me feel good to use material that I can trust from my garden to fill up particularly the beds that I use to grow food to feed my family.
If you choose to buy any any products from the Potting Bench Series (or any Vego Garden Product), kindly use the link below – and the discount codes
Vego Garden homepage: https://glnk.io/vzw5/5ix
💸 Discount Codes
$10 OFF code for entire order: GREENLOVE
Special code available until mid-June 2026
🌱$40 Off Orders Over $550: GREENLOVE40OFF
Amazon Affiliate Links
Gorilla Cart (6 cu ft)
https://amzn.to/4vAhyFM
Wakefield Biochar:
https://amzn.to/4thEE2L
Perlite:
https://amzn.to/4vzbSfi
Vermiculite
https://amzn.to/4tOKok2
Azomite
https://amzn.to/4cOJDlm
Peat Moss:
https://amzn.to/4dSkebK
Coco Coir (alternative to Peat moss)
https://amzn.to/42af4R1
Note: As an Amazon affiliate I may make a small commission on qualifying products at NO EXTRA COST TO YOU. Thank you for supporting my channel!
Happy Gardening!
💚💚💚
Tara
Tara, Thanks for walking us through the process of setting up this Vego raised bed planter. I’m using BioChar this season too.
Please send your son and hubby to our homes to set up our planters! 😂
This was fun to watch 🤩 Please never apologize for teaching us and nerding out about soil life and positive and negative ions! Lol ❤ I learn so much from you and love the way you articulate everything gardening related.
Also so cool of your son to come help you with that XL elevated rolling bed! That thing is a beast! Can't wait to see how it does.
Great morning to you ❤
From DD,,PA
You can also water it with watered down exhaust fluid to break down the wood chips, works really well on hay bales
Hi Tara, thanks for sharing.
Love your videos.
Question, I have one of
Vego’s
Self-Watering Elevated Garden Bed.
Can I fill it the same way?
Great idea, use what you have! You obviously thought everything out!
I’m curious, why the topsoil? Why not just plant in the compost/peat mixture? Thanks for sharing this, I learned a ton!
Great job making your own soil, I loved watching the process. Special thank you to your son for his assistance because it was very helpful decreasing the time and effort of the sweat equity needed to get such a large raised bed into working order. Thank you Sir.
I learn so much every time you make one of these videos it’s like auditing a master gardener class… Thank you Tara. ❤
❤ Thanks for sharing your gardening tips. Congratulations on your new raised bed. Also, you can get large bags of biochar or natural wood char at some grocery stores. It's really inexpensive for a 20-40 pound bag. Just look for the red bag.😊
Tara, is it true Coconut coir should be RINSED for salt? I like to bring home biochar after our camping trips! 🎉im trying a new pepper this year, not Spicy, Brazilian Biquinho, let you know in few months how it does…
I have a large raised bed that I use for my composting: leafs, sticks, grass clippings, veggie stems and peels…
Great information video. I love that large Vego raised bed. It’s huge. I saw your snail marigolds seed snail. It did great too. I’m looking forward to seeing how that Wakefield Bio? Stuff works. I’ve never seen that before. Your family is so helpful and I am glad they help you. Thanks again for sharing your experiences with us 👏👍⭐️💗😁🌼🌸🌺🙏
Try inoculating your woodchips with Wine Cap mushrooms – North Spore and others sell starters. It breaks down the woodchips and can live in sunny or shady areas (also edible!).
👍👍👍
I LOVE wood chips! I put it out in my pathways and I have very few weeds which are so easy to pull up. I use it in the bottom of all my fairly big containers to take up space and it turns into wonderful soil over time.
Glad I found your channel
Be careful with biochar. It can change the PH of your soil
Research it for your soil mix before adding it.
I’ve read that the biochar needs soaked in worm tea or some other rich fertilizer or it will initially suck the nutrients out of your soil. It’s great once it’s activated with compost tea but can initially suck the nutrients if not done right. Btw I love your channel!
Great job making your compost and soil! Think about using coco coir instead of peat moss because it’s better for the environment and more sustainable.
Look up Robert Pavlis for soil health and he was the developer of Aspen Botanical Gardens. He writes about the garden soil chemistry.