So we finished our new raised vegetable beds and thought I would update this thread. We ended up having only enough soil from our old beds to fill two of the new raised beds. We also used all of our store of organic matter, which wasn't a lot and compost dug out of a passive compost pile that had been there for over a year which we used to fill the bottom half of those two beds with the soil from the old vegetable beds for the top half. Then we had three beds still to fill! I seriously considered making up a mix using pine bark fines etc., but reading along, what jumped out at me was the percentage of organic matter that is recommended in your native soil. In our old vegetable beds, I added a lot more organic matter, maybe up to 50% and the soil would shrink back and I'd have to keep adding more every year. So, in the end I decided to at least check to see if I could find some 'organic' native soil to purchase. I called around for recommendations and someone did direct me to someone who might have what I needed. And they did. They also added a small percentage of organic compost and had amended the soil with organic amendments, like alfalfa meal and worm castings etc. It sounded like just what I wanted. So we had them deliver it and filled the remaining beds. I will be interested to see how the produce does this year and compare the old soil we had, with the new soil. The new soil is also clay soil, and it doesn't drain as well as my own soil or the soil from the old vegetable beds with all the organic matter, that water just runs through. This new soil, the water puddles on the top for a little bit, but a layer of mulch slows it down enough. I hope to amend the new soil, either with cover crops or mixed lawn clippings and chopped leaves in the fall. So that's the end of that story. Thank you all for all the help and answering so many questions. :-) The last bed filled with new soil.

The trouble with sitting to garden is that you're 'side-on' to the work and cannot use your body fully. The problem with 12" high is that it doesn't come at a useful bendy bit of your body. Other than that - boulders do sink over time as you raise the soil level. They make lovely habitats for nibbling insects. Perennial weeds wiggle underneath and snigger as you try to root them out. If you were to think about a 'double wall' of rocks - even like a dry stone wall with a gap between for a soil infill, set so the inside space is about 3' across and set to catch the sun. About as high as where your legs join your body. That way you can lean against it while working. Table top gardening using something like glasshouse staging for growing the smaller versions of vegies. I've noticed that many of my senior gardener friends are growing more of the gourmet foods than the bulk 'feed the family' crops. Many of them don't need the sheer space required for crops such as potatoes. Cut and come again crops don't need vast space - just good soil, warmth and reliable water. Aside: if you think about installing a covered area and hard paths now you'll be willing to go out to garden for much longer, even when less agile than now. A glasshouse, or protected area, is wonderful for pottering and thinking and tinkering. Just be sure it's big enough to allow for a walking frame or seat. It probably won't need heating if you have it set to catch much of the winter sun. As soon as you're comfortable with the notion - look for ways to do your vegie gardening in 'unconventional' ways to get the crops you use the most. And, if you're planning to have fruit trees - think dwarf and espallier - and making them part of your landscaping layout as attractive, airy space dividers. Much easier to care for and harvest from.

teeweeone: I think you're being rude. > Pretending to be a step parent is not the same as BEING one. Rosie: I am not married to my partner. Yet I wipe my SS's behind when he poops, all my paycheck goes to the family, I spend *at least* half the time I'm not at work with the boy, I help him make cards for his BD, I'm teaching him to read, etc ad nauseum. If I'm not a step parent, I'm either doing a very good impression or insane. Possibly both. True, my legal status is somewhat hazy. However, the BD hasn't seen his kid in 20 months, hasn't lived with him in 2 years -- since he was 19 months old -- calls once or twice a month. I've been here, constantly and consistently for 2 years. In the boy's eyes, I'm *at least* a step parent, if not a dad-replacement. And as far as morals go...enh. I think I'm pretty ok. Perhaps even safe to walk the streets among the general populace. :) In less flip terms, I think that I'm raising my child -- yes, *my child* -- in a way that he'll turn out nice, think helping other people is a good thing to do, and thinking that cleaning up his own messes is a spiffy way to spend an evening. Dah-doo-run-run.

Rocks would seem to be fine unless you got them from a uranium mine! How are you going to keep them in place?