I'm happy enough, though the only yardstick I have is what happened last year. Last year I planted grocery store bag russet potatoes, had erratic germination and harvested in late July or early August. I got 6 pounds of potatoes from about 25 square feet. This year I got 16 pounds from slightly less area. Plus this year I have enough time left in the season to plant beets and turnips and get another crop out of the same space. Space is a big deal for me, as my total garden is only about 250 square feet. The tops of the plants no longer had what looked like new growth to me. The leaves had turned dry and brown on the ends and the growing points no longer looked to be growing. I'm not sure they were done. I'm not totally sure what "done" potatoes look like. The plants had 15 pounds of good sized eating potatoes and a pound of what I call "tater tots" or "tiny taters". They range in size from a large pea up to a big marble. I'm eating those right now as I type. Last year I got a lot of those off the russets too, and those plants had all fallen down and turned yellow (though on the other hand, the russets were being heavily shaded by corn - I picked them because I figured they were done and even if not, their access to sunlight was ended). So would these tiny taters have matured into full sized tubers if I'd left them in the ground for another month or two? In Jim and Lois Hole's book, they give a very rough guideline of expected yield in kg/m^2 - 105 for irish potatoes. Now if my conversion is correct, it comes out to be 4.4 in lb/ft^2. So by their expectations, you'd get around 100 pounds of potatoes in the area I got 16. Now my "common sense" check tells me that maybe 30-50 pounds of potatoes could have come out of 20ish square feet under optimal conditions (and 105 kg/m^2 wasn't optimal, but "good"), but no way was 100 pounds coming out of there. At least not without some big secret I'm not privy too.

If it is sunny and you are willing to water, you can plant just about anything as long as you amend the soil first. Clear the area of debris, then till in 2-3 inches of compost. Roll it flat and then seed whatever grass you want. Grass will grow perfectly well in amended sandy soil as long as you water it. If you are patient, you can amend with coffee grounds. They are great organic matter and will encourage worms and other critters to improve the soil for you. For an area of any size, we're talking about thousands of lbs of organic material you are going to need, so you can stop at starbucks every day for a year or you can pay for a truck load of compost and renovate in a weekend.

Thanks for the help! It's funny I was reading more about Zinnias and many places said they like fertile soil. I also read how roses like well drained soil and mine are thriving in slightly amended clay, about6 of them. It just goes to show ya never really can go by what the "books'say. I will amend these area maybe this fall but they are just way to long to deal with it now and I already have my work cut out for what I have started and haven't finshed from last year. I just don't have the money to buy all that I need to to amend it all or buy the plants for and I like to get what I've started already looking lush before I go starting anymore beds. So with all that said I've got some combos that I think I'm going to try and work with and hope they do well enough. Anything is better then what I have now! So Cosmos, zinnias, poppies, and yarrows (have some I can transplant). I think those will do nice to fill in the area and give me the meadow look I'm wanting (for now).

I am going to respectfully disagree with Turtle on many points and hope I don't confuse you. I admire the enthusiasm, and wish you good luck with growing and learning. First, correct on the temp for basil, but peppers prefer a higher temp for germination. Outside at this time of year in Boston would not qualify for either most likely. Both can be started from seed indoors, but without some grow lights, you're just not going to have good success and end up with very leggy plants. However, once it warms up--past frost free dates, and when the night time temps will stay above 50, you should be able to direct seed basil in your window box. I would recommend that it is the only one you plant there, unless you let us know dimensions and if big enough, you may be able to do the pepper too. Basil seeds are small--you won't need many in a spot, but you'll surely have more than one. Without knowing the dimensions of your box, it's hard to help with spacing. Second, while it is theoretically true that you can have multiple herbs in one pot (and you see them sold that way all the time), in reality, most just don't mix. You bought three very different preference herbs. Basil and mint both like moist, but well draining. But, as Bardamu said--mint just doesn't play well with others and will rapidly crowd out other herbs. Also, most mints don't reproduce by seed, but by cuttings to retain the flavor characteristics of the mother plant. What type of mint seed did you buy? Thyme is not difficult to grow from seed if you have the right conditions. It is prone to dying from "damping off"--a fungal disease common to seed starting. Also, it is slower to grow, so if you're looking for harvestability this summer, you're better off starting with a transplant. It is also perennial, unlike basil--the leaves will die down in your winter, but it would come back. It likes it's soil to be very well draining--I add a bonsai or succulent soil in with my potting soil to help prevent root rot. Because it wants to dry out more and will not use as much water, it's a bad candidate for combining with basil or mint. I would put it in it's own pot. Also, it is better to water the potting mix first, or even better--find a bucket or empty tote to mix the soil with water prior to putting in the box. Some mixes straight out of the bag tend to be hydrophobic--they'll repel water. You can end up with the entire center of the box completely dry, even if water is running out the bottom. Then, seeds won't germinate due to no water. Now, if the mix is damp to start with out of the bag, this will likely not be a problem, but I find that it's better to wet first. It also helps with not as much compaction or sinking. You also want to make sure you get a soil-less potting mix and not garden soil. If we know what you'll put in the box, we can help with watering tips then. Again, the size of the box and location it's going will also help--south facing, etc. Shade from trees or buildings?