Tilling up an area of turf once won't work at all. I've seen many folks try to start a garden this way. If you till once and then plant by July your weeds will be taller than your corn and by fall you'll be mowing the "garden" with the rest of the lawn once again. The best thing to do is to strip the sod first (1" deep) and let the exposed ground dry over several weeks, then turn to at least 10" (which most tillers won't do but any shovel will) and let dry again. You're killing all the weeds by letting their roots dry out. The new germinating weeds are not the problem, those can be controlled by mulch and cultivation, its the established turf that will grow right up through the mulch. If this sounds like too much work (and you believe that chemical engineers are infallible and that chemical companies have your interests in mind and are trustworthy) you could also just spray the area with roundup and then turn under once the weeds are good and dead. This requires good heat and strong growth before spraying which might mean spring planting would be out of the question.

Hi rmawhorter, I'm not super experienced or a landscape designer but your post got my eye because we are in a similar situation. My new house (ok, 2 years new) has a perfect spot for planting, in terms of sun and southern exposure, but it is an area that is all pea gravel, to a depth of 6 inches at least. We built raised beds - 18 inches high (I want to grow potatoes and carrots or I would have just made them 12 inches) by 3'X3' and I just dropped them on the gravel, with a layer of newspaper underneath. But first I hoed out the weeds; and weeds were a good thing really. I know that the soil under the gravel has *some* fertility because weeds were growing there all on their own! You suggest getting a load of manure, but you don't want manure if you hope to plant your vegetable garden this year; manure will burn your plants and if you are lucky enough to manage lots of leafy green growth from the nitrogen, you'll end up with almost no flowering. Instead call (or google) around to your local compost dealers and find a blend of compost and topsoil that is recommended for raised beds. Locally here in northern CA I bought enough for my 4 beds for $120 and then bought 4 bags of really rich compost to blend in just for good measure. I hope this is helpful, good luck!

If you have cedar or redwood in your area, you can use that, and they will prevent bugs. Or you could use that composite stuff that is a mix of plastic and sawdust ? it?s expensive, but it will problem last longer than you. You can use fir or pine, but it won?t last more than a few years. Or, like Gardenman said, concrete blocks. If you can get free compost, mix it with your soil. The plants need the minerals in the soil, as well as the compost. That?s a small bed for all those plants. Again, Gardenman has a good idea about using buckets (with drain holes), or make smaller beds just for the larger plants, so they can stick their roots into the ground if they want to. The cat litter buckets might be okay (only one plant per bucket), but don?t forget to make several drainage holes (about ?" diameter), and fill them with the same compost/soil mix. Insert a tomato cage into the buckets while the plants are still small. If you live near a Harbor Freight tool store, get a small electric soldering iron (about $5) (see link below ? push it in so it makes the larger hole, not the little one). They are GREAT for melting drainage holes in plastic! But do it outdoors, as the stink will knock you down (and burning plastic isn?t good to inhale, either). Keep away from children -- they're HOT! I would trellis the cucumbers (?cukes?) on the north side of the bed, both to save space and to keep them off the ground, which will produce straighter, less damaged fruits. Then you can plant the lettuce and carrots in front of them (on the sunny side). I would start the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers inside, but sow the carrots and lettuce directly where you want them to grow. The carrots should grow about 2" apart from each other, so be sure to thin them when they?re a few inches tall, or you won't have a crop. Water the carrot bed first, then sow the seeds and cover, then cover the bed with cardboard. Check under it every few days, so you'll know when the carrots sprout, then remove the cardboard. They usually take about 2 or 3 weeks to stick their heads out (look closely, they're hard to see). Note: it's hard to believe a forum like this doesn't understand what an apostrophe or quotation marks are, but that is what goes in all those places that show a ? Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Small soldering iron

Most of these types of containers come with recommendations for filler but if yours didn't then the norm is any quality soil-less potting mix. There are many brands available but the key is no soil, no dirt. Most contain peat, vermiculite or perlite, some bark fines, some lime to balance the pH, and some mild form of fertilizer (either organic or slo-release synthetics). You'll find more info on fillers for containers over on the Container Gardening forum here. I agree with all Lisa said, especially that your list is a big one for such a small container unless you only want a few of each with limited production. I'd suggest you find other containers for your strawberries and herbs and save the space for the plants that require more room. Plus they have very different nutrient needs. If this Rustic Elevated Bed is what you are talking about then about all it is going to hold is about 4-5 bush bean plants, a short 2 foot row of green onions, a couple of heads of lettuce, 1 jalapeno pepper plant (they aren't small plants), and even that is going to be crowded. You can plant your lettuce and onions from seed if you wish and in your location should get at least 1 crop of lettuce (use leaf rather than head lettuce as it needs much less room) and some onions but they need to be planted ASAP. Better yet buy transplants for both. Good luck and enjoy your new project. Just don't try to over-crowd everything as you'll end up with little production. Sometimes planting less = getting more. :-) Dave