Start by contacting you counties office of the Alabama Cooperative Extension service (supported by Alabama A & M and Auburn Universities) about having a good, reliable soil test to find out the pH of that soil and the amounts of the major nutrients in that soil. You might also want to use these simple soil tests, 1) Structure. From that soil sample put enough of the rest to make a 4 inch level in a clear 1 quart jar, with a tight fitting lid. Fill that jar with water and replace the lid, tightly. Shake the jar vigorously and then let it stand for 24 hours. Your soil will settle out according to soil particle size and weight. A good loam will have about 1-3/4 inch (about 45%) of sand on the bottom. about 1 inch (about 25%) of silt next, about 1 inch (25%) of clay above that, and about 1/4 inch (about 5%) of organic matter on the top. 2) Drainage. Dig a hole 1 foot square and 1 foot deep and fill that with water. After that water drains away refill the hole with more water and time how long it takes that to drain away. Anything less than 2 hours and your soil drains� too quickly and needs more organic matter to slow that drainage down. Anything over 6 hours and the soil drains too slowly and needs lots of organic matter to speed it up. 3) Tilth. Take a handful of your slightly damp soil and squeeze it tightly. When the pressure is released the soil should hold together in that clump, but when poked with a finger that clump should fall apart. 4) Smell. What does your soil smell like? A pleasant, rich earthy odor? Putrid, offensive, repugnant odor? The more organic matter in your soil the more active the soil bacteria will be and the nicer your soil will smell. 5) Life. How many earthworms per shovel full were there? 5 or more indicates a pretty healthy soil. Fewer than 5, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, indicates a soil that is not healthy. to see what you have now and help you determine what you may need to do. Your plants could be having problems with nutrients because 1. they are not available, 2. nutrients are not available because of the soils pH, 3. the Soil Food Web is not yet working and feeding your plants. Spraying pesticides without identifying the pest problem is not organic. Keep in mind that Neem products are pretty broad spectrum poison just an most other organic pesticides and the synthetic ones.

Sorry Linda....you heard from da'Boss.....I agree the RED sure brightens the garden Jane.....I know you worry about chemicals.....The Oil paint bonds tight to the wood, dries hard and stays in place.....I like it better than the ACQ treatment (copper) on the inside of the bed next to my plants....Food Safe ?????? HiYa Silvia........Thanks for the kind words and well wishes......Busy means less chance of getting in trouble :-) Let me add a photo of Mark and Judy's..... Jewel Orchids .....from the last spring swap

Oh wow... thanks everyone for all the generous feedbacks and input. I think I came to the right place. I am taking this project slow and plan to spend this Spring gathering knowledge and info ... and you guys are helping a lot. I'll probably start "breaking ground" this summer and hopefully have my first bed built by fall... with my first grow season in Spring of 2016. If I'm lucky enough, plant some cooler season variety before the end of this year. I'm also hoping to grow some seedlings inside later this year in prep for Spring 2016. I want to start small, but I want a "big picture" already drawn out so I can expand in phases and hopefully - if I'm lucky - full realize the full plan. At some point, I want to draw it all out and have an overall plan for this "addition" to the yard... and have it in a way that maintains, or even enhance, aesthetics of the yard. So though I want to start small, I'm gathering as much as I can so I can plan for the rest of the garden. I'll start off in one area and build from there in subsequent years following the plan. Again - thank you for all the responses. Skybird... I get the point of making sure to get all the weeds out of the lawn (where I will place the beds). I'll have to google it a bit to see what's the best way to exterminate weeds, including their roots once I clear the area of grass. I've got an area in the backyard that I think is a good candidate to be carved out for the garden. I haven't measured, but I'm pretty sure it gets at least 6 hours of sun. Mix in some of the topsoil into the subsoil - dully noted! Thanks for that tip! Dan... turfgrass rhizomes. I assume you mean rhizomes shooting under my bed walls and surfacing inside my bed. The plan I have is to have the garden completely sectioned off from the rest of the yard - fence, paths, and all. At the turf edge, I'll like install edging to keep the lawn at bay. My initial recon has gotten me some good ideas on how to install plastic sheeting as to extend my growing season - using PVC pipes as my wall support and hoops placed into the pipes, etc etc. I definitely plan on having plans for that. Maxin... Yes... irrigation will be a big factor in the plans. Based on what I've read and watched, drip systems seems to the the ideal and overhead irrigation is discouraged. I definitely have some specific questions around this topic, but I think I'll save them for another thread. But at this point, I think much of my initial leg work will be setting up the new irrigation lines, but also re-routing/displacing the existing lawn sprinkler heads. Anyway... I'll post my initial plans/layout soon and have you guys critic it. Lastly, I wanted to share a video I found in youtube where I'm getting a bunch of my initial information. It seems to be a video made in the 80's by a gardening author/expert name Jeff Ball - seems to know what he's talking about. 53 minutes long - he take the beginner from start to finish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cO2CLU-O6mU

The tree trimmings appeared to be very well composted. The consistency was very nice but the 90' temperature of the material would lead me to believe gardengal48 that you could be correct and it was a nitrogen shortage. Idaho_Gardener I would like to read more about the short and long chain acids so please post a link. Honestly you are speaking about my knowledge at this point. He did add some fertilizer and has seen an improvement. He kept a sample of unfertilized soil to get tested. Gumby all plants were purchased or started from seeds planted in the garden. It wasn't a transplant or hardening off issue. He is an experienced gardener and some of the plants from the same source grew in his traditional in-ground row garden just fine. Toxcrusadr- He recently added some fertilizer Wayne- These beds are 18" tall on flat ground. They drain well and drowning isn't an issue. The beds are in a spot had has gardened for years. They really aren't wood chips but instead compost made and sold by a company that operates a tree trimming service. They also sell topsoil and a garden mix. There were no discernible wood pieces or parts in this compost. It was very dark and crumbly like all other composts I've made or purchased. Magic Bean Compost Product Description I will find out exactly what he fertilized with and post and update. I haven't see the plants since he applied the fertilizer but he did tell me everything is doing much better. Thanks for the help