An exercise in gardening futility?

[wurm]

After very limited success growing tomatoes last year, I decided I'd try again this year. Only this time instead of growing them in big flower pots, I figured I'd attempt a small garden where I could grow a few other things as well.

Here's the problem. Our yard sucks. As you can see in the pics, we have mostly sand, clay and rocks. Grass barely grows there. Moss and weeds don't have much of a problem, but that's about it. So I know I'm going to have to invest in some good soil, etc. wherever I do this. The thing I'm most clueless about is how far down I'll have to dig to make a workable place for something to grow. Is one foot deep deep enough to fill with good soil? Can I get away with six inches deep? I cleared an area about 12' by 5', and I still have a ways to go, but before I have a heart attack digging deeper than I have to, I figured I'd ask here. If I have to dig 6 feet deep, I might as well just lie down in there when I'm done and call it a day.

[Doc]

Damn, you know, I don't know how bad your local soil is, so I can't be definitive.

If it's really really loaded with clay then this is how I'd do it, but you should consult with somebody at your local garden store for best advice...

2-feet down.

4 inches of gravel. 8 inches of composted soil mixed with a bit of sand. 12 inches of topsoil mixed with manure-fertilizer and a little sand.

You can build up if you can't dig down. Add a wall of bricks around the periphery.

With clay soil, it's often helpful to add some PVC drainage as well.

[Lee3]

Too much work. I would use a raised bed over what you have dug up. Or put many bags of Amend in there and rototill it
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

[Black]

A foot is fine.
I'd move about the top 6" of that stuff somewhere else, then cut in a bunch of peat moss to lighten up the consistency, and some composted manure or mushroom compost for enrichment. Or you can take it all out and fill with a commercial mixture like this:
http://www.premierhort.com/eProMix/

[mikebw]

I don't have much experience gardening- what kind of stuff can you plant right now and expect to yield anything? I thinking about herbs and small vegetables.

[freeradical]

If you had limited success growing tomatoes, it might (likely) have been poor growing medium. Here's a good mix for outdoor container plants that I have used:

2 parts Fir Bark
2 parts Peat Moss - pre-moistened with a wetting agent at the rate of one tablespoon per gallon of water
1 Part Vemiculite

1 part = 4.5 cubic feet

Also add this to the mix:

Lime: 8 cups - to counteract the acidity of the organic matter which will have a ph of around 4
Superphosphate (0-20-0) 3 cups
Controlled release fertilizer (20-4-8) 16 cups

Scale it to whatever you need.

[mattkime]

where do you live??

[wurm]

Thanks for the tips. I'm liking that square foot gardening idea and web site. Guess I should have done more research before digging.

[iaJim]

Another vote for making a raised bed on that site. I'd still till in some sphagnum moss in the existing soil and build a raised bed from 2x12's and fill that with potting mix.

[Jem]

Another vote for raised beds...