1. Why more raised beds with all that space? Why not an in ground bed instead?

2 &3. Dig as much as you can out and then followup with #3 if you don't do in ground bed..

Your list of what all you want to plant is quite big for the limited space you have - another reason for a big in ground bed. Plus you can get away from the house shadow back closer to the fence an an inground bed eliminates many of the slope problems too.

Dave

I would do 4ft x (as long as possible) raised beds with 2.5 feet between them. Definitely dig up all the grass and weeds first no matter what you do, then add a load of compost, till it up, add about a yard of peat per 4ftx4ft area, till it up again, soak it, let it soak in, repeat till its a good moisture level (like a damp sponge that if you squeeze it good water will come out) and start planting. Some composted chicken manure wouldn't hurt either. Get a soil test done and adjust as needed.

If your going organic you can buy a bunch of red worms (pretty cheap in bulk) and distribute then in the raised beds. They will multiply on their own and in 2 years or so you will have a really active beds if you keep adding compost each year.

In my opinion you can't beat the output of raised beds but they are certainly more money and work getting setup in the beginning. You can always do one long one a year. I grew up with a large in the ground bed. When I got my own place first thing I did was build raised beds and kept adding to them. Ultimately both are satisfying but I prefer raised beds. You want your soil to be fluffy so the roots can spread easily and their is plenty of air there with the moisture.

Here is a list of plants that bring in the good bugs. I can vouch at least in my area the ladybugs do like dill.

http://www.farmerfred.com/plants_that_attract_benefi.html

Thanks for all the suggestions! Will let it sink in and come up with a plan. Had some more questions.

Looks like it will be helpful to dig out existing grass bed and mulch irrespective of in-ground or raised beds, will do that. Are there any tools/devices I can use to make this task easier other than a spade and a wet ground?

I also like in-ground as it will mean more planting area, but we have used lawn care in the past, almost 10 years but past 3 years have only used fertilizer and spot weed control. Will that have damaged the soil a lot?

Red worms is a great idea, will it be useful for in-ground and pots too?

We are in Zone 7b. Soil we have is red clay. I plan to plant a sub set of the veggies I have listed and do a rotation every year. Any suggestions on how to get soil tested and how to use the results?

The backyard gets a lot of sun, with sun rising along the fence edge (where the back and side fences meet) in the picture. The house shadow seen is at 4 in the afternoon. Any suggestions on where to setup trellis for beans and other creeper vegetables which can block the sun for the smaller plants? I know I have work to do before I get to that stage, but just to have an idea. Btw, I plan to remove that small tree on the side of the plots.

Also the soil in our existing beds has become very weedy ( side effect of using horse manure, looks like it had ingested lot of seeds) with harmful soil bugs like grubs, gnats etc. Should the soil be replaced or can I still salvage it? One of the beds has wild mint which grows back ferociously every year, how much ever I try to remove.

Thanks again!

You can rent a sod stripper to get a good head start on the grass. And no, the lawn care products won't hurt anything. Even herbicides lose effect after that long a time.

Red worms can't survive in containers. Soil tests are available via your local county ag extension office. The soil does not need to be replaced.

Dave

That Bermuda grass is going to haunt your garden beds as long as it is around. The sooner you get rid of those rhizomes in the ground the easier your life will be.

You may be right that the manure introduced weed seeds - but then weed seeds are everywhere the wind blows.

The primary reason for weeds is bare earth. Anywhere there is bare earth weeds will sprout - it's nature way of healing what it thinks are scars in the earth. Mulch is your friend. Chopped leaves, straw, or shredded wood chips will make the ground inaccessible to whatever blows in, and cut off light for seeds already in the soil. You will still get the occasional straggler, but mix some mulch material with some compost and you will be protecting and feeding your soil at the same time.