The chemicals they sprayed are most likely fertilizer and broadleaf herbicides. I may be wrong, but I think the herbicides only work through contact with the leaves of the weeds. Since they spray them all at the same time, the fertilizers probably work that way as well (which is part of why they need to come back so often--it's a temporary solution).

I don't think the soil will have much if anything in the way of residual chemicals. There may not be many earthworms or microorganisms, but with your raised bed plan, you'll go a long way toward correcting that.

Don't worry about the soil, but you might want to rethink what you're planning to grow in a 4x4 bed.

"pole beans and some tomatoes and herbs and such" is a lot to grow in such a small space. You'd do much better making it 2x8, or 1x16. Otherwise, the 'maters and beans are going to be competing for sunlight, and there won't be any room for herbs and such.

Time to visit the container and vertical gardening forums.

Thanks for not yelling at me. I SO knew better! I used to come to this forum all the time and even have lovely compost piles, that are sitting with just leaves because Chemlawn told me I couldn't used the grass clippings for a couple of years! However, it had to have been a topical application, because they told me to keep my little dogs off the grass until it was dry and that after that it wouldn't be harmful. (They go out on leashes so they don't eat it or roll in it.)

The garden may be bigger than that, that was a guess, I'll know more when I lay it out. I don't have much space (shady lawn) and I'm looking at doing a "square-foot" type garden.

I'm going to assume that the herbacide isn't too long-lasting for growing things though, as it sure didn't kill any of the weeds that I can see. What a waste! I've just got to find some way to control these darn weeds in the lawn though, WITHOUT dumping a ton of chemicals on it!

"I've just got to find some way to control these darn weeds in the lawn though, WITHOUT dumping a ton of chemicals on it!"

A weed hound does the job for me.

Depending upon when you put the weed and feed down, direct sown seeds are likely to be affected by the pre-emergent.

You can find out from the Chem lawn people what they sprayed on your lawn. Keeping accurate records is required.

Check out the organic lawn care FAQ for some help. There's a lot more there than you may want to get into, but for weeds, pay particular attention to the cultural practices of mowing your grass as tall as it can stand and watering deeply and infrequently.

Tall grass outcompetes the weeds for sun and by letting your lawn dry out between waterings, the shallow-rooted weeds will die off while your deep rooted grass will survive, and hopefully develop even deeper roots.

Here is a link that might be useful: Organic Lawn Care FAQ

The weed and feed was put down about three weeks ago. I guess I didn't realize it was a pre-emergent, as it says to put it on when the lawn is wet so it will stick to the leaves. It will be May before veggies go in I'd say. I'll make sure hubby skips that area if he puts down any more.

I had a weed hound (or maybe a knock-off, can't remember for sure) once and returned the thing. Don't know if it was me or my clay soil, but I never got a single dandilion up without breaking off the tap root. For dandilions, I dig them on my hands and knees with a foot-long screwdriver, which is the best digging tool I've found. The henbit and chickweed is just way too thick for that I think. We've been taking a few minutes every time we go outside and just plopping down on the yard and pulling up what we can, taking the tops of it off if nothing else.

I have clay soil, too. The trick for getting a weed hound to work in heavy clay is to use it after a rain or after you've watered. If the soil is moist, the roots pull right out. If it's dry, they break off almost at the top.

Alys
Yes you can manage 2 tomato plants and beans, plus the herbs in a 4x4 bed. Head over to the square foot gardening boards and the website also to see how to do it. If you don't access to the square foot gardening book you local library will probably carry it. I've been gardening this way for many years now, and it works. Get the best soil possible, add alot of organic matter. You DO NOT have to use peat moss if you don't want to, nor do you really NEED the vermiculite. All you need is healthy soil, and add orgainc matter to it as often as possible.
Alberta

Thanks Alberta! That's what I was planning/hoping to do!