Organic matter is the lightest component of soil and it floats on the top of the water. Can't really tell from the picture what that is, but if it looks like organic matter then it probably is.

I have moved to TN from NW IL and now have horrible soil to start gardening in. I went from wonderful black (very deep) top soil to hard as a rock clay that doesn't drain. I am wondering if a raised bed is the best idea for this season so I can at least have tomatoes ---- we love gardening and this is depressing. Please send me instructions on the mason jar soil test ---- I had it many years ago but no longer needed that info.

typically if you are doing raised gardens it's because your soil has issues. I live in downtown Atlanta. Our native soil is old compressed red clay, concrete, bricks, glass and probably pretty toxic based on pollution over the years. When I pull my plants at the end of the year, it is rare that I ever have roots reach beyond the mix. Reason being, the mix is where all the nutrients are. Again, my comments are based on this forum. This is square foot gardening. The whole idea is about being able to have a garden in an area where you typically couldn't and then the whole maximizing space thing. Mel's claim is that you only need 6 inches of mels mix to produce an amazing garden. He runs a non profit that focuses on this in third world countries where as the soil would not typically allow for such a garden. I understand soil structure and non til, but those are not conversations for this style. If you just want a garden in the ground then save your money and dont build up. My old garden at my old country house was in ground. No reason for boxes. Bottom line, the idea of this is to grown in an extremely friable, no step, garden with only 6 inches of soil. Its very low maintenance, and requires no fertilizer or tilling because of the structure of mel's mix. Worms and insects make their way into the garden regardless of whether or not it touches the ground. You cannot plant a garden directly into the earth where I live though. They used to use agent orange to clear land in the 60's down here. That's why the EPA is in charge of clearing the belt line around Atlanta. The ground is extremely toxic.

Your top soil (and perhaps a lot more than that) was already moved and reworked and replaced anyway, so presumably if there are weed seeds in it, they are already mixed randomly. Don't worry about that. As far as the lawn, it's customary to get a lawn roller (rolling drum you can fill with water for weight) and use that to gently compact the soil after grading and amending. This will tell you where the low spots are and you can fill in any that you find. A pitchfork may be fine depending on the type of soil, but if it digs up in clumps and clods, you won't be mixing in your compost evenly. This can actually cause more uneven settling than tilling which at least makes it more homogenous. As for amending large areas vs. individual holes, this is a matter of debate and evolving science. They recommend nowadays that you avoid amending tree and shrub planting holes especially in heavy clay, so the roots don't get stuck in there. I have clay soil and I make more of a wide dish for a hole so the roots can spread out. Back to your original question of the permit and inspection: You could either put down all your soil and get the inspection done and passed and THEN amend any large areas or beds, OR do it first and as long as it drains OK the inspector is probably going to be fine with it. If they think anything is too high, it's going to re-compact. But I'm betting if you don't change the drainage pattern too much it's going to be fine. Excess water will not pool where you have amended soil, any more than it would in unamended soil. Pooling has more to do with elevations and drainage than with soil type. Having said that, if you rototill in a low area, it's going to get soft and muddy when it's wet, at least for awhile until it settles in and recompacts back to a firm surface. Don't walk on spots like that when they're soaking wet.