I will try the cabbage test, sounds interesting! Also might go ahead and do the soil test. The reason I have not done that previously is I have several beds - if you take just one soil sample from one place in one bed - that doesnt tell you anything about the rest of the beds. But it would be interesting to know about one spot anyway. I think what happened to this bed is that I started off well - things were growing and looked fabulous - but I dropped the ball for a couple of years [had a couple of knee surgeries] and the compost etc. I had the bed built up with worked itself into the soil - making it quite a bit lower. Most of the roses died last summer, daylilies, mini crepe myrtles, clematis are still alive. The bed is off to the side of my house - the hot west sun blasts down that side and the bed gets no shade at all during the day - with 105 degrees daily for nearly 3 months, and not enough mulch, that might have been enough to kill them. I dont think there is much wrong with the PH because previously, everything thrived in that bed, but I will do the tests just to make sure. It is 2 beds separated by an arbor with a gravel walkway and birdbath, and was simply gorgous a couple of years ago and I want to restore it to its former beauty. In case we have another horrendous summer - I want the bed and the roses I plan to replant in it to have plenty of mulch/protection from the heat/drought. I was thinking of making thin consecutive layers of the horse compost, mulched leaves, the mushroom/bark fines/sand mixture and starting over again, finishing with a fine bark mulch - is there anything you all would do differently? Since the bed is mostly cleared from everything except 2 large grasses and 2 mini crepe myrtles [am potting up the daylilies until I finish the bed] I have the opportunity to start over and do it properly. Thanks!

Go to STarbucks, Krystal, Waffle House, Cracker Barrel and ask them to save you coffee grounds and put a ton of coffee grounds in that soil after amending it with a top layer. The worms will come to the coffee grounds. There are basically three types of worms needed to irrigate the soil. If you do lots of coffee grounds after applying a top layer of soil and gypsum annually, you will see a definite improvement. I also used corn meal on mine which helped. Someone told me to use it for blackspot which is not worth the time it takes to put it out for blackspot but it did help with the coffee grounds and gypsum. We had to add a French drain on one side of the garden but subsequently we got the soil draining pretty good. The French drain is probably a breeding place for snakes or voles now. :)

I use bark as mulch in raised beds with no problems, however, when you apply it can make all the difference. I don't put it on until it starts to heat up and I need to water alot. If you put it on in the spring then the ground stays cooler and wetter and the plants don't grow as fast. Cooler and wetter is a good thing in the summer but not in the spring. Also don't mix the bark mulch with the soil. If you need to work the soil, then pull it back. Bark mulch does provide home for pill bugs and such but if you don't apply it until the plants are strong then the insects won't bother them.

Given the shallow depth-to-rock you are facing, I would strongly consider raised beds. Do you compost? If not, start a compost heap and start scavenging composting material from neighbors etc--that'd be the cheapest way to go, though it will take some time. Use compost to fill the beds. You probably don't need them that deep--depending on what you are growing. Maybe 6 to 10 inches? Also, have you heard of Lasagna Gardening? Check it out if not...it might be something you like. You might look around for fill dirt for sale in your area--sometimes people moving earth will sell the fill dirt cheaper by the truckload than by the bag at the graden store. Just be sure you don't get any more of that orange-red clay!! ;) Growing up, my folks used RR ties as fenceposts and for use in landscaping/raised beds. I probably wouldn't use them for a veggie garden, or any treated lumber, but for flowers you would be okay--amazondoc hit the nail on the head about the rail salvage places (don't know of any here though). They may be a cheaper & faster route than rock. IMO, I like rock better for looks & toxicity issues. And depending on where you are, you may have other resources to draw upon (downed timber, construction materials, etc). Patience will definitely be your biggest asset...The soil texture will change with your persistence and over time in planting. Too bad we can't change where top-of-rock is in parts of Middle TN without heavy equip or dynamite :)