I'm in the same 'boat' as you are. We have sand, sand and more sand. Heck...we couldn't even grow grass until we had topsoil brought in...ughh!!! Assuming that your container soil is basically peat with some perlite and vermiculite, why not try layering that in the area that you will growing in next year with some newspapers, manure, leaves, compost...anything that will breakdown over the winter. In the gardening book, "Lasagna Gardening", this is precisely what the author does. She 'creates' good soil, by adding organics and then letting the whole pile just decompose. Come Spring, she just pokes holes in the now compacted pile and puts in the plants or seeds. As far as the bugs go, unless you have brutal winters that can kill them, they'll probably just overwinter and reappear next year. Sorry... I'm not an expert by any means, but your post reminded me of why I choose container gardening over in-ground gardening. Well...that and the fact that my entire property is on a slope ;-) I hope others will be along to help you. Donna H.

Moss most often grows in soil lacking adequate amounts of organic matter. While some will maintaqin, vigorously, that moss grows on acidic, compacted soils in the shade I have moss growing on crushed dolomitic lime in my driveway in full sun as well as loose sand, again in full sun, out back where the rains drain so quickly nothing else will grow. Once you get the soil well amended with organic matter the moss will disappear as it does for me. In addition to a good, reliable soil test (your state universities Cooperative Extension Service can help with that) you may want to dig in with these simple soil tests, 1) Soil test for organic matter. 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. For example, 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 how you are doing.

I put down cardboard (or newspaper at least 6 sheets thick and overlapping) and then mulch over that anytime during the year before the ground freezes. Then in the spring it is good for digging into. I have been doing this for years. I till pretty much the whole garden once a year, usually in spring to incorporate whatever grew and whatever I want to add (not much, usually). I only till about 3" deep, max. I have not had a big problem with weeds because a) I plant rather closely, kind of pushing the envelope in terms of spacing because I want the plants to shade out weeds and lessen the need for mulching and b) I hoe. Hoeing is not at all bad if you have a good hoe. I use a stirrup hoe. I actually enjoy cutting their little heads off.:) I don't use raised beds, either. To me that is just extra work and money. I use regular 4' wide rows with 18" between, each row having a double length of soaker hose. Works good for me, especially because my beds can follow the curves of the sun in my yard instead of being straight, but lots of people love those raised beds. Some people would object to my practice because I don't use a lot of mulch once the stuff is planted. I hoe instead ('dust mulch'). It depends on how much water is in the soil and what is growing there. I have a bed that is pretty dry with no mulch that works well because the plants there like that--they're mostly Artemisias, although I also have a bunch of peppers there that are doing well. Those I have mulched with composted manure. Then I have most of the veggies in beds very thickly planted that get a lot of water and no mulch because they don't need mulch--they create their own shade. I keep the space in between rows very small, like 12"-18". I have also tried living mulches, like letting wild portulaca grow and weeding out everything else in between my tomatoes. This worked pretty well, but I think it was actually more labor intensive than having no mulch at all, because I had to hand pull the weeds instead of hoeing. For watering, I use soaker hoses and water only in the early morning, so it has time to soak in before it gets hot and is wasted in evaporation. Yes, people say you have to cover them. I have never covered them and in my highest watering months I think my water bill has increased maybe five bucks. Covering them for me just gets in the way of hoeing.:) I have clay and I think it is great for growing. Everyone complains about it, but I have gardened in sand and I would take clay any day. Clay has tons of nutrients in it. As long as it doesn't get sopping or get hard on top, it is good to grow in, in my experience. I guess what you can use the city compost for would depend on what it was made of. It must be grass and yard waste, no? It might have broadleaf herbicides in it, which wouldn't be good for your garden. I usually get composted manure instead, although the local prison has a program where they give away compost made out of food scraps. I haven't gotten around to trying that yet, but you might see if your local prison, if you have one, has such a program. I think that would be quite safe and you sure can't beat the price. I know what you mean about next year. I am already planning my next-year garden. Definitely going to be more peppers!

Hi, Lisa, First year, just buy plants, and enjoy them. Now, until next spring- each time you cut the grass, dump the clippings in one place. When you prepare vegetables and fruit, dump them in the same place. Cover this pile-very simply and cheaply- with a black plastic "yard" garbage bag. Pile on your autumn leaves, and get your neighbor's leaves, too- the key is to cover with the plastic. This composts your discards so fast that you won't believe it! If you have clay soil, go to your local home improvement store and buy a 10 pound bag of "contractors", or even "play" sand. Mix it in well with your clay soil, and especially your composted veg discards. Possibly, your community gives away composted leaves that they pick up each autumn. It's important to cover this with plastic and let it sit for a year- covering is EXTREMELY important, to kill the weed seeds. The manure thing is great- if you have access to straw to mix with it, (well "rotted") even better. The important thing is to mix organic material- and the sand if you have clay soil. Best thing is that the organic stuff is free- save all of the "vegetable refuse" you would normally throw away-potato peelings, vegetable "trimmings", the unattractive outer leaves of lettuce and cabbage- soft tomatoes, bad radishes, eggshells. Pretty much any vegetable discards will do. Just make sure that it hasn't been cooked, or contain salt or vinegar. And after many years, I learned that covering the "pile" is the key. If you have REALLY heavy clay soil, I have friends who did this- their soil wasn't only heavy clay, but marshy and wet- they collected old matresses- not with springs- tilled up, dug down about 3 feet, laid the matresses down and covered them back up with soil. This gave them incredibly good drainage, and they had one of the best vegetable gardens I've ever seen. I wish you luck, hope I've been of help. I live in Delaware, 3 miles from the beach, and have spent 8 years amending the soil here, making it so good! ( I be proud) Don't hesitate to contact me directly (shellywilley@juno.com)- I'd love to hear how you make out, and I have lots of agriculturally adept friends who will be more than happy to share with you. Hope to hear from you, Lisa- we'll all be happy to be made to feel knowledgeable and important by having the opportunity to share with you! Shelly ps- I meant to spell it all correctly....and did you get that covering it all with plastic is important?