Soil for vegetables in raised

What would be wrong in using Miracle Gro Potting soil in a small Raised Bed (like 4x6 area)? I use it for all my tomatoes as they are in large pots. I know this may be a dumb question so I apologize in advance if it is. This is my first time setting up a raised bed and wanted to plant just a few things like carrot, radish, cucumbers. I have a bag of Scotts Garden soil though you have to mix it with other soil which I would only have top soil available from HD or other and I didn't know if that would be a good idea or not either. If anyone can suggest what I should do thanks in advance. I am trying to steer away from having to mix multiple things like (manure,pearlite,spagum) I hear alot of you speak about but will if I have to.

You can fill the raised bed with Scott's garden soil, Miracle Grow Potting soil or other such types. I would not buy the "topsoil" bags sold at home improvement centers. It is mostly sand anyway. If you want, mix 1 large bale of peatmoss sphagnum plus a couple of bags of Scott's garden soil together. That should give a good result.

Thank you for the info for the raised bed.
Kind of off my topic but..
I recently used part top soil from Walmart and part miracle grow soil to repot my japanese maples that are one year old and after it rained here last week the soil in the pots are hard. I am going to have to repot them once again, lesson learned on that one. Why I got it at walmart I will never know what came over me as If I buy top soil it has always been from lowes as I have used it before with success for tree potting or planting. I was trying to ween the maples off of miracle gro soil so I can plant them in the ground later this fall.

Why don't you amend the planting area and get away from potting soil. It will diminish in its nutrients and the soil will grow in nutrients. Your Jap Maples are anxious to jump out of the pots and stretch out in you native soil to be happy forever. they like lots of leaf and compost so buy some and mix it in the hole you plant. They will need a covering of compost every year if you soil is sandy. They don't thrive at all in sand.

The raised bed was for veggies. Just needed some soil ideas for that actually.
The japanese maples are only 1 1/4 year old, I have like 60 of them. They have been in my greenhouse over winter and they are now (just re-potted) in 6 inch pots. I am leaving them in there untill they are a bit stronger before I plant them this early fall. I like being able to put them back in the greenhouse when strong storms come as the last 2 have been slammers lately here. I will of course not be planting all of them in my yard. I was just trying to mix the soil in the pots so that they were not just in miracle gro soil. I was trying to get them used to regular ground/top soil a little at a time and used the wrong top soil.
I actually use a top soil to plant all my japanese maple that is semi sandy and they seem to do well here. I transplanted a 20+ yr old laceleaf from my old home to my new one last year and it is doing well. I think I better take this over to the japanese maple forum.....
thanks
rkipper

What landscapers sell as "topsoil" is usually just clay or subsoil that has been pushed through a mesh seive and wetted down to look black and crumbly. It dries to a hardpan.

For filling raised beds I'd recommend you get some triple-mix-- sometimes called 3-way mix. It will contain three of the following: compost, sand, peat, and "loam". The "loam" will be the clay sh** I mentioned above. Mixes that include peat are unusual, and you may not want to use it for environmental reasons. It will also make the mix slightly acidic. To get the aeration and moisture retention benefits of peat, you could use coir, or vermiculite. You can add shredded leaves (compensate with additional N in amendements) as well.

Four by six feet is a big area to fill with bagged product. A reputable garden center or landscaper will deliver the appropriate amount of 3-way if you tell them the dimensions of your bed. Or you can find the number of cubic feet by multiplying the length by the width by the height, in feet. If you have a 6' x 4' x 1' bed, you'll need 24 cubic feet. Soil is sold by the cubic yard (landscapers just call them "yards") so you should buy a yard. The extra is to compensate for settling that will occur naturally.

After you fill the raised beds with your "soil" you should mix in some slow-release organic amendments and, ideally, let the whole thing settle for a few weeks before planting out.

Good luck.

I found a man out here that buys yard waste and composts it with cow dung. You can buy the finished compost by the cubic yard (something like $18). It is such gorgeous stuff! I don't have a truck, so I lined the trunk of my car with a tarp and shoveled it in there. He laughed at me and only charged me half price! I was considering doing the same thing you were untill I found the sign posted in the highway near his house.

Look in the phone book in your area or ask around. There is bound to be someone who will let you have a load of black gold!

Thanks for all your help!