Should I be adding compost too?

[Pickle]

We've just built 3 raised beds and filled them with fruit and vegetable topsoil. Before I start planting in them should I also be adding compost to them? Or do you reckon that I'll be OK to go ahead and plant? Obviously in future years I'll be adding compost/manure/etc but suddenly thought tonight that maybe I should be doing it before I start too.

[snohare]

I'd say it depends partly on what you are growing, and partly on what sort of soil and compost you have. Sowing seeds directly, you want to put them into a fine tilth - nice loose, crumbly soil that has lots of little air gaps between the crumbs but holds moisture and will hide the seeds from the birds etc, without having stones get in the way of the roots and stems popping out. If your topsoil is sieved and not too sticky or sandy, it will do fine. (Beware of capping, where when watered the soil develops a skin of stuck together tiny particles that stop seeds germinating.) If your compost is too lumpy, then it will not make a tilth, and you shouldn't use it for sowing seeds into.
Seedling plug plants and fruit canes it just doesn't matter because they already have roots, and more particularly as fruit bushes (I'm thinking of rasp canes and the like here) are gross feeders, and the first thing you want to do with them is stick on some manure around the base. (Your topsoil may have said it was suitable for growing fruit and veg on the bag, but it was being economical with the truth - gross feeders need large amounts of raw nutrients, they are unlikely to do well in just topsoil.)

[digthatchick]

AS Snohare says it depends on what you are growing - plenty of organic matter for Brassicas and Legumes - very little for Carrots and Parsnips - not much for potatoes either but a top dress will help. Complicated stuff this growing your own lark isn't it ... but wait 'till you taste it!!!

[Two_Sheds]

I wouldn't worry about it.
I've had raspberries and strawberries on my plot for over 5 years and I've only just got around to giving them any compost this year (and I've never fed them).

I always get more fruit than I can eat

[Dottie]

I'd say you be ok, plants just love to grow.

It always feels good to add everything at the start of a new bed, but I didn't have enough available, so I just add a new layer when I have more available. I have 20 beds, so I've just fallen into a system of giving a really good 3-5 inch top up with new stuff, starting with the beds that didn't have much added when first prepared. Seems to work quite well, because the new layer fills the bed for the season, but by the time I get around to that bed again, the soil had sunk and the worms have mixed the top layer into the soil.

[SarzWix]

From what I've read about "Fruit and Vegetable topsoil", it already has organic matter added to it, so you shouldn't need to add lots of compost or manure this year, except where you want to grow pumpkins or anything else described as a 'heavy feeder'.

[Pickle]

Thank you for all your help. It suddenly dawned on me that I had 3 potato planters full of compost from last year so I have dug that in to the appropriate beds. I've also got an enormous tub full of compost from growing courgettes last year. But I have no idea where courgettes fit into a crop rotation system. Would this be OK to add to my roots bed?
I feel a little happier knowing that I have added some compost to my beds now and from what Sarzwix has said I should hopefully be OK

I just can't wait to reap the fruits of my labour

[SarzWix]

Courgettes are fairly neutral, the compost should be fine in your roots bed Just make sure you rootle through it to check for Vine Weevil etc which might be lurking in the bottom of the pot!

[Pickle]

What do they look like? Or are they really obvious? How should I get rid of them if I do come across them?
Thanks Sarz

[SarzWix]

It's the grubs of the Vine Weevil that cause problems - they eat the roots of plants , and they are sometimes in the bottom of pots. They look like a fat white maggot, and they're quite easy to see against the dark brown of the compost. If you find any, just put them somewhere that birds will find them, they'll be very grateful for the protein

[Pickle]

My chickens might be getting a tasty treat then if I find some