Are there any gardeners out there that can share some info ?

Well last year we made boxes to put soil in for our garden and that made a very big difference in how good we did. I like to plant sturdy plants that vines can grow on such as corn with gourds. I also but basil with the tomatoes. I was given this tip by our local Garden gnome (a gentleman who gardens and sells his produce at the town square who looks like a gnome) and it was great I had basil plants as big as my tomatoes!

Garden Web (http://www.gardenweb.com) is the best, in my opinion. Register for the forums there and you can ask whatever questions you have. You might be interested in companion planting, too. There's a list on this page of what grows best next to what: http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/complant.html There are several places to find similar lists. Do you make compost? That's probably the most important thing to getting and keeping the soil in good condition.

In addition to reading online, you can go to your library and read issues of Organic gardening. Where I live now was at one time several apartments and the ground was mostly gravel just under the soil. It has taken me many years to get a garden spot built up. On the other hand,our neighbor put in a new fence and we built up a narrow bed along side of it with cinder blocks. I bought a lot of good soil to put into it, and have grown tomatoes there twice now, and some peppers and basil. It is important to rotate your crops, so this year I put peas in that narrow bed, as they are an early crop and they affix nitrogen to the soil. I will probably put cucumbers in when I take them out as I can put fencing up for them. With such poor soil, raised beds and composting are the two things I would suggest to you. I noticed someone mentioned corn with another plant, and that is actually a Native American concept called the three sisters. You plant corn, and pole beans to climb it, then plant squash or pumpkins at its base to shade the weeds out and cool the roots. The beans are also a crop that adds nitrogen to your soil. I would say if you put sawdust on the soil you needed to add some green waste as well such as grass clippings to make it decompose. Some people like to bury banana peels with their tomatoes, I have never tried that but I do put some Epsom salts in the soil with the tomatoes.

If your soil is poor, probably the easiest and cheapest way to have a vegetable garden is to make some raised beds. There are lots of good ideas on how to make them (with pictures) online. Imade a couple of raised beds last year basically because it´s easier for my back as I don´t have to bend so much. I mixed garden soil with compost, some coarse sand and some good vegetable soil from the market.

did you try planting on buckets? i saw this video on youtube where they plant tomatoes, eggplants and other vegetables on buckets, even potatoes, garlic and onions too. in that way, you dont have to worry having a hard and rocky soil in your garden. all you have to do is buy a good planting soil, put it in the buckets or even drums that has been cut in halves, and then plant your vegetables there. you can even transfer it to one place to another. i even try planting at styro boxes, its also handy =)

My husband is the gardener at our house. We have poor soil here so he makes his vegetable garden in beds like you would for flowers. Each year he adds top soil and compost and manure to make rich soil. He puts a wooden frame around each, tomatoes and onions in one box and cucumbers and carrots in another, maybe string beans and corn in another.