An exercise in gardening futility?

[rgG]

Raised beds are the way to go. If you have clay soil, mix gypsum in with it to help break it up. You can even use scrap drywall if you have any lying around. Living in Georgia, I know all too well what trying to garden in heavy red clay is like. Just consider it about the same as concrete. Anyway, I would break up that stuff you have to a depth of 5-6 inches and amend it, then I would build a raised bed on top and fill it with good dirt/compost. If you have access to cross ties, they make a nice raised bed.