Raised bed soil drains TOO easily

by JoAnn M
(Saint Louis, Missouri, USA)

I'm in a community garden and the raised beds that I have are draining too quickly. What can I add to slow the rate down. They were apparently filled with compost when first started and it looks like there was sand mixed in as well...thanks.

Doug says the only thing that will slow down the water from a raised bed is to add organic matter such as peat moss to the bed. Drainage is always faster in a raised bed than in ground-level beds but that's the best thing you can do to slow it down.