As granny flats and secondary dwellings claim more backyard space, Melbourne landscape supplier Soilworx says the soil in a small veggie patch now matters more than its size.
Spring planting season is here, and for many households the backyard looks very different from a few years ago. A granny flat, studio or second dwelling often takes the space where a lawn and garden once sat. What remains is a narrow strip, a courtyard or a corner by the fence.
You might also like
That smaller footprint is changing how people grow food at home. Instead of digging up a large patch, more gardeners are building one or two compact raised beds and filling them with a purpose blended veggie mix soil. The aim is simple: get more produce out of less ground.
The timing suits it. October and November are the main planting window in Melbourne for warm season crops such as tomatoes, capsicum, zucchini and beans, and a bed set up now is ready to plant within weeks.
Why the Soil Matters More in a Small Bed
Interest in growing food at home is high, but space is the main thing holding people back. The Australia Institute’s national survey of August 2024 found 45% of Australians grow some of their own food, with Victorians leading the country at 48%. Among those who do not grow food, 64% would like to, and 61% named lack of space as the biggest barrier.
The case for growing at home has also shifted. ABS figures reported by AUSVEG in July 2026 show vegetable retail prices fell 4.1% in the year to July, while overall inflation ran at 3.5%. Homegrown vegetables are no longer mainly about beating supermarket prices. They are about freshness, flavour and time outdoors, which puts the focus on how well a small bed performs.
In a large garden, poor soil can be improved slowly over several seasons. In a compact raised bed, every litre of soil has to work from day one. Heavy clay holds too much water, while sandy fill drains too fast and holds few nutrients. A veggie mix soil is blended to sit between the two, holding moisture and feeding plants gently as they grow.
Inside a Veggie Mix Soil
Soilworx, which supplies sands, soils, gravels, mulches and pebbles from yards in Deer Park, Pakenham and Werribee and has almost 40 years in the industry, sells its Veggie Mix Soil under the EcoActiv brand. The blend is two thirds garden soil and one third mushroom compost, giving it a solid nutrient content and good water holding capacity for vegetables and annual plants.
The company recommends it for veggie patches and wicking beds, where water stored at the base of the bed is drawn up through the soil. That makes it a practical match for a busy household with a small bed and limited time to water.
There are two points buyers should know before ordering. Soilworx advises waiting at least 30 days after filling a bed before planting for the best natural results. It also does not recommend this mix for pots or planters, so balcony growers working only with containers should ask for a potting product instead.
Setting Up a Compact Veggie Bed
For a shared block, one well placed raised bed is often enough to start. Pick the sunniest spot left after the dwelling footprint, keep clear of drainage and service runs, and allow easy access for both households if the garden is shared.
Ordering the right amount is the next step. As an example, a raised bed 2.4 metres long, 1.2 metres wide and filled to 30 centimetres holds just under 0.9 cubic metres of soil. At Soilworx prices checked on 7 October 2026, that is about $80 of veggie mix soil in bulk at $92 per cubic metre, or around $392 as 35 bags at $11.20 each, before delivery. Soilworx also notes that orders of 30 bags or more attract an additional delivery fee.
For anything bigger than a few pots’ worth, bulk is far cheaper per litre. Soilworx offers a free volume calculator on its website for working out exact quantities, including circular and triangular beds and several areas combined.
Once the bed is filled, Soilworx suggests topping it with pea straw or sugar cane mulch to hold moisture and add organic matter, then planting once the recommended 30 day wait is up.
A Smaller Garden, Planned Properly
Adding a second dwelling does not have to mean giving up on homegrown food. A single raised bed, filled with the right soil and planted this spring, can keep a household in salad greens, herbs and tomatoes through summer.
Soilworx sells its veggie mix soil in bulk by the cubic metre or in 25 litre bags, with tracked delivery across Victoria from its Deer Park, Pakenham and Werribee yards.
