I tried this two years ago – had two small raised beds to fill. I used coarse sawdust (from untreated oak planks that my husband had planed) in a layer of about 10cm, then topped it with another 10cm of compost and manure. Initially the strawberries I planted straight away did very well, but as the year progressed the level of soil dropped dramatically (as the sawdust composted?) and the strawberries languished (as the sawdust used up the nitrogen to decompose??)I kept topping up with compost, but ultimately took the strawberries out, mulched again with compost and left the bed empty until the following year. This year it was perfect! If I were to do it again, I would either make compost first as Kevin suggests or fill the beds and leave them for some time before planting.
Maybe Charles or others have had more success though?
