I agree with oldroser. Without knowing anything about your soil, I would guess it will grow veggies as is. Maybe they won't grow optimally, but I'll bet they will grow. As you gain experience each year, and learn what improvements are needed, you can amend the soil. It doesn't have to be done all at once before you start gardening. Don't think you have to buy the soil itself, or buy a lot of amendments, in order to have a garden. When leaf raking season arrives, start making compost. Just pile the leaves up and let them rot to make the best compost there is. It's free and gives you an incentive to rake. Jim

Oldpaddy saying,"I started a second pile yesterday. This one has three totes of manure and shavings, a bunch of fish guts from a seafood market, two large trash barrels (full) of coffee grounds/filters from a coffee shop, and topped off with four totes of manure and shavings. I'll probably add some seaweed to it this week. I'm really hoping for a great compost! I figure if I can get a huge pile in each corner I'll have enough for my garden. I've got two piles that are composting great and I think the third one is getting hot. Today I added lime, a bunch of seaweed and three totes of horse manure with shavings to the third pile. Maybe I'll remove the pallets for the fourth and fifth piles. Yeah josko, I've been hitting all the shops. I'm enjoying taking the garbage, it's kinda like the community is helping me with my garden. Though, I don't think my wife is quite as happy as I am about it..." You are going to have such a great garden. I remember when I had that much energy --- and not so much private supply of animal manures, as I have subsequently arranged to have. I would steal people's grass clippings!! Those were the days in the '70s when suburban people by the hundreds would rake, bag, and stack their grass clippings in bags by the road for the garbage trucks! I don't think you can do that now....our landfill won't take leafy matter of any kind in regular garbage pickup now. So I would drive around in a Datsun pickup and take the bags. Many interesting interactions occurred; one suspicious homeowner asked me what I was doing and then fell in a ditch. There was simply nothing to be said, so I went away from that place, as Mark Twain would say. I used the grass clippings for mulch between the rows and compost. That was great stuff, actually, it was a good idea. Full of nitrogen, quickly decayed, fine texture. I could think of more uses for it today. I suppose there are people quick to say, Oh, Oh, there might be chemicals on it, horrors! However, I personally was more concerned about the dog droppings raked up with the grass. And my garden liked the chemicals AND the droppings.

We grow under plastic cover during the winter(hoops).Should you need extra protection on very cold nights, you can use row covers that help a little too. We are still harvesting large amounts of carrots, lettuce, beets, turnips, onions, kale, mesclun, radishes and asian greens and will do so through February. Granted our mild winter has been a big help so far! A small tip, if one uses grass clippings or leaves as mulch from a neighbor's yard, be sure they do not use a lawn maintenance service or spray their lawns themselves, as they could have pesticide residue on them. I would suggest that you get your soil tested where you are growing your vegetables, so you will know if there are soil deficiencies and what kind, so you can amend your soil correctly. The basis for everything is good soil. If your soil is balanced, then your growing efforts will pay off! Hope this helps in some small way.

After trying for 2 and a half years to vegetable garden here in South Florida, I found out quite early that I was really at war with fire-ants instead. It didn't matter what vegetable it was, as all of the vegetable plants were covered over with these curious and nasty insects. What was insult over injury, was the fact that they would eat your vegetables, just before they ripened! You weren't even able to enjoy any of your hard earned efforts!! I had tried all of the above methods of control, with only having a small success with vinegar, but vinegar would also kill plants, so you had to be extra careful. I finally had to quit using vinegar. Finally I found my way to success..., when I read that using "ground cinnamon" straight out of my spice rack would work. By this time, I was a very wary in trying out new natural products, but it was inexpensive and on hand, so what did I have to loose? Well, was I ever so immediately surprised and stunned to see, that where ever I found ants, I would sprinkle a small amount of the spice "ground cinnamon," over them and it immediately repelled them!!! It was if they were afraid of it!! Well, I then began to sprinkle my head off with this spice, and the ants seemed to just run away and disappear!! It does repel the fire-ants! Fantastic! I am finally able to sprinkle some around each vegetable plant and the ants will stay away!! In potted plants, I lightly sprinkle directly into the pot. I would also recommend that you repeat your applications after a rain storm for best results!! :) Although this is still an experimental procedure, it really does seem to be working for me. My garden has now become enjoyable again! I sincerely hope that if you try this method, that you also reap such great rewards, as I have!!! I will continue to recheck the treated areas each day to see if the ants come back, but so far after eight (8) days I have no ants in those same areas, since applying the cinnamon! On the other hand, I just applied some cinnamon to an active fire-ant mound and will have to watch it to see the future results. But the vegetable garden seems to now be under control, at long last!