Also, when to plant might be good information to have and other tips and tricks as well.

The primary factors:

Have you determined whether the plot will get all-day sun from May-Oct?

Do you know what your soil composition is? Clayey, silty, sandy?

If you are on municipal water, get a rain barrel. Chlorine will prevent crops from thriving. Do not use municipal water unless you are certain it is not chlorinated.

If the soil is clayey, I would go buy a bag of gypsum now and scatter it on the sod now and spade it over to warm up for the next few weeks. If it is sandy, I would do the same but with a bag of quick-release lime. When you go to plant, use dehydrated chicken manure in the rows. Get a couple bales of hay to use as mulch when warm weather comes.

The soil is bags of topsoil(bed is raised) from the local home superstore. That area gets at least 8 hrs of full sun per day. I am on township water, but it is not chlorinated per my last water quality report.

The best thing I could tell you to is research! I would also start a big compost pile.. I highly doubt your municipal water isn't sanitized.. There's nothing wrong with using municipal water if you put a good water filter on.. Your on the right track,good sun, raised beds,etc..

Here's a link to a video on the bottom of the page about gardening.. It will cover everything and you will learn a lot! By the end of the video, you will have a good idea of growing your food..

Don't hesitate to ask questions, I'll be more than happy to help you.

Good luck,
Joe

Here is a link that might be useful: Starting gardening

Using rainwater over pumped or town groundwater makes a very big difference in crop vigor IME.

You can't use compost from yard waste unless it is certain there has been no weedkillers used in the areas materials are gathered from, unless the chance of killing sensitive crops isn't a concern. In suburban areas it's a crapshoot.

The plants will run out of vigor and health quickly in bought commercial "soils".

I've been watering with municipal water for 30 years with no filter with fine results....but maybe they would be truly incredible with a filter! I wouldn't stress over that detail for now unless your water is super high in chlorine. Rain barrels and watering cans set out ahead of time to out gas chlorine and warm up are fine ideas for watering a 4x8 bed though, but not required with my city water.

You can find good info for raised bed gardening in the square food forum linked below. I would go with spacings that weren't quite so tight as the square foot suggestions. Your soil should be okay, but it isn't the super specialized Mel's Mix on which the spacings are based.

Here's one possible layout with my sq. ft modifications:

3 tomatoes in a row a foot in from a four foot edge (preferably the north end) with large cages or a trellis for support. This 4x2 foot area for 3 plants allows you to let the plants grow without much need to remove side growth.
4 peppers in the next row...make this row 30 inches in from the starting edge. They have a 4x1 foot area to grow

The tomatoes and peppers can go in after your last frost date and will grow there all season til first frost. Buy young transplants at a local garden center. Save growing your own for another year. Pick varieties with short days to maturity. You will still wait till at least mid July for a harvest to start....maybe later.

Tomatoes and peppers do well in large containers with potting mix (not soil) Check the container gardening forum for info. One plant per large pot is best. Look for tomatoes recommended for containers as some varieties are HUGE. The pot grown tomatoes and peppers may ripen ahead of the others since the soil will warm faster.

Plant beans in the middle section and Spinach and lettuce on the other end. Adjust the amounts of each to suit your food preferences.

Plant bush or pole beans after your last frost date. Direct seeding is fine although you may see transplants for sale. I'd only put in a few transplants if any since direct seeding gives a harvest almost as quick. Most bush bean varieties will be ready to pick in 7-8 weeks or so and may keep producing if you keep them well picked. Pole varieties need a sturdy 8 foot pole to climb. They will take a bit longer to start producing but should continue until frost if kept well picked. Space them as described in the sq ft charts or a bit farther apart (4-9 seeds spaced out in one square foot). Bush beans can be planted in two or three plantings put in 2 weeks apart to have a longer harvest time. Later plantings could go in where spinach and lettuce grew in the spring.
Lettuce and spinach can go in early as seeds or transplants while we still have freezing nights. I'd go with seeds or else start my own transplants inside right now. Space out 4-9 seeds or plants per square foot and harvest some when young to keep the spacing okay. Harvest later pickings by removing the large outer leaves and letting the rest of the plant keep growing. Lettuce and spinach do not grow well in the heat of summer. They will send up a flower stalk (bolting) and the leaves will get bitter. Harvest them completely if this starts so you don't loose the crop to bitterness. Heat resistance varieties, shading and enough water can help, but figure on replanting later in the summer for a fall harvest. You may use the space where they grew for a mid June planting of bush beans. Perhaps remove an early bean planting for a late summer replant of spinach and lettuce. Starting them in the shade of other plants may help for the summer planting. Or grow transplants in a cooler area.

Your 4x8 bed should give you a manageable area for a new gardener and allow you to learn a lot without being overwhelmed.

Good luck. Hope you love it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Square foot gardening

Lovers of tomatoes and especially peppers are bound to be disappointed in Traverse City, where temperatures rarely top 80F, and nights are cool. It is not an area for those crops. But all manners of greens and root crops (except sweet potatoes), beans, squash and zucchini will do well. Approach your new garden with an open mind. The sweetness of my carrots, cabbage or turnips, compared to what you can find in stores, is unbelievable, and I am a former cabbage and root crop hater. Plus, if you plant lettuce now, and turnip in midsummer, you will get two crops from that area. And if you plant cabbage you will get the most food per square foot. You can still have pole beans on a trellis in the North side of the bed to feed you through the summer.

There is a book called Square Foot Gardening. Very informative. Happy Gardening!!