Please allow me to explain some facts about the different types of sand. As a contractor and someone who has worked in a concrete plant you better know what type of snd you need for the job you are doing. With that said lets began. Sand is either dug up in a quarry or dredged from a pond, lake or a sand quarry that they hit a spring in and filled with water. All commercial sand is washed so it can be graded for size and type. You have to go out and dig up your own if you want to get unwashed sand ( which is not recommended for landscaping ) to be used as fill sand or what we call sandbox sand. First thing to fall out of the washer is mason sand. Next is concrete sand followed by fill sand which contains some clay. Next is gravel base and is made-up of lots of clay and small gravel.This is what you typically find on ball diamonds and clay tennis courts or as a base for a gravel driveway or path through your garden. It can be packed down so hard you would think it was concrete with a colored dye in it untill it rains. Dogs, cats, kids and husbands get in quite a bit of trouble when it rains because of this stuff. Next is pea gravel. This can be used to cover the gravel base or partly fill holes like lateral lines where you need good drainage or placed under downspouts to keep the water from making a canyon of you lawn and it gives it a decorative look. Just remember to use something to keep the gravel in place or your mower becomes a machine gun when you mow around It. A lot of people use it in flower beds and around the base of trees too for decorative look. Rock gardens look neat and pea gravel mixed with river rock works well for this. Next comes river rock. Used as I just mentioned in place of the pea gravel ecept not on lateral lines or sewer pipes or any other underground lines and pipes. Although it does work well for drip irrigation or soaker hose. Then the last is river stone. Good for decorative landscaping and filling in wash outs or anywhere you need the water not to erode the ground beneath them.

Count me as another who has had no luck with the lasagna beds. I find it extremely impractical for any sort of large-scale gardening. Unless you have a massive property to collect the materials from its nearly impossible to get the shredded leaves and the grass clippings (free stuff that you don't have to hunt down and import), together in the same place at the same time to fill more than a small bed. If you don't make it several feet tall so as to get good composting action going it takes forever to decompose -- especially on sandy soil where it doesn't stay moist or in cold climates where its frozen (and thus not decomposing), for much of the winter. I suppose it works OK for people who meet a fairly narrow set of criteria -- right climate, right soil, convenient availability of free greens and browns in the correct proportions, who need only a small amount of garden space as opposed to those trying to produce a significant amount of the produce for a family for a full year, and who are content to wait several years before even attempting to direct seed small-seeded crops -- or for people who can substitute money for some or all of the above. But my experience is that its nowhere near the miracle method its frequently claimed to be. Some elements of the technique are adaptable to my gardening needs though. Newspaper and cardboard are EXCELLENT sod-smotherer. And I make use of my half-composted, cold piles by growing squash, melons, sweetpotatoes, and such other items that tolerate ultra-coarse soil on them as they finish. But making an entire garden of nothing but partially-finished, cold-compost piles presents major challenges in accumulating the materials and the willingness to wait a long time before seeing any real return on the investment of time and energy (and money if you had to buy materials).

I don't think you have to worry AT ALL about (possible) contaminants from the treated wood in your fence posts traveling laterally several feet through your native soil and underneath your raised beds where you'd need to use landscape fabric to prevent it from further traveling up into your beds or prevent your veggies roots from growing down into it. I expect the zone of (possible) contamination around your fence posts would extend only a few inches out from the post, but maybe toxcrusadr can speak from experience there. ~emmers

Thanks for the prompt response. The first one on that page is using a metal border. The second one is with the paved border. I want to go with the paved border as it looks more beautiful. It is not clay soil we have. I talked to the neighbors and we have the regular soil like in most of Texas. Drainage shouldn't be an issue with the regular soil that we have here. The gardener at Home Depot suggested that vegetables be in the back where there is shade for the latter part of the day and any flowers that require light throughout the day in front. So, I will have to dig deeper for planting shrubs than the rest of them? Which vegetables (plants) would be shrubs? I didn't understand what you mean by the soil not coming in contact with the fence? Why would I have soil on the fence? Because the bed might still be a little raised? In the article, the pavers are half inch above the lawn but the trench itself is going to be 4 inches deep with landscape fabric and sand at the bottom to separate the lawn from the bed. No, I am not going to put in a raised bed. i will try to get it as level with the lawn as possible but it might still be a little higher with the soil put in. I am open to suggestions on how to keep the pavers in place. I wanted to curve the border but given the difficulty, I am thinking one gradual curve would be good enough along the length of the bed. I was thinking a barrier against the fence so that the grass and weeds from the neighbors side doesn't get through the gaps in the wooden fence into the bed. Now, should I also use a steel barrier and the paved border or just the paved border since you think the paved border won't be enough to stop the weeds and grass runners. What is the composition of soil I should use in the bed? How many types in how many layers? Also, where would be a good place to go to, if there is any, other than Home Depot and Lowes for good soil, etc. Local nurseries? I am attaching a link where you can see the photos of my yard(the first 3 are of the backyard where I want to put in the bed) and the fence along which I want to put the bed in. I have also included photos of the side of the house where I want to eventually put in a bed but not sure if I should do it as it is not much space plus I can't easily do it by the fence on the side as it is right now designed to carry water outward away from between our home and the neighbor's. Here is a link that might be useful: Photos of my yard