Temporary "raised bed"

Yes it doesn't look that great, so this is something to consider if you have the space and are focusing on just growing something.

Collecting mulch, creating a "dug out" area down the center, where I placed soil and then planted seeds.

Everything is coming up great and it is allowing me to grow a few things in a space where the native soil is more compacted / challenged.

Squash time soon!! 😋

You say compacted native soil and I have nightmare flashbacks to when I first joined my local community garden it was a rock-hard sand pit 😂😭 raised bed would def get things going way faster in a situation like that.

I like the idea of filling a bed or container with mulch and then just digging out holes for compost where you're actually planting something. 'Cause then you don't need to stress about filling the whole thing with great compost from day 1, just enough to get something and then add more later. I never thought of that, great idea! 💡

What kinda squash you got there, are those butternuts?

Squash is being harvested this week for me 😁

Ugh, yes the native soil can be a nightmare. In my case, not compacted too much, just poisoned from years of chemicals, along with various layers of landscape plastic and then sand/rocks. Honestly there was not much "soil" when I started.

That is what I did with the few real raised container beds that I have, the classic of putting down a lot of mulch and then putting in compost / soil to fill the rest of the way. Things have been breaking down and looking good. This is just pilling up the mulch and carving out the center for some soil, which again I know is "ugly" but it's the area that has the most "toxic" ground and I need to help improve the area.

No, one is zucchini and the other is marque (which I haven't tried before).

Sheesh, I keep hearing about folks with soil that has too many chemicals in it to grow in 😥 that really stinks!

I don't even know what you do about it, I guess some stuff dissipates and breaks down over time, but it seems like other toxins stay around for such a long time 😫

Are you going to use raised beds in that area forever, or do you have ideas for remediating what's below? Curious if bioaccumulators like maybe sunflowers would help pull toxins out 🤔 or if adding enough organic matter over time helps to dilute toxins down. I guess it depends on what kind of herbicides/pesticides/synthetics/heavy metals are there from the previous owner(s)?

You'll have to let me know how the Marque is, I've never seen that one!

I'm having good success experimenting with an Italian zucchini variety called Caserta this season. They seem more compact than Black Beauty, and very prolific. Firmer fruits might hold up better in soups/stews more like a Mexican grey squash. Very tasty! 😋

Yes, it's rather shocking how chemicals can build up in a space. Not sure what people were doing before my grandparents purchased this house, and while I know my grandpa was not the most organic, he certainly would not have poisoned the ground as he liked growing a vegetable garden (always had tomatoes at least).

I'm working on the space. Currently have sunflowers and I'm adding some compost tea (good bacteria) along with mulch. All of this will help with time and the sunflowers should remove most of the heavy metals…etc that built up (I'm sure over-spray from neighbors are not helping certain areas).

I'll be trying the Marque this week, so I'll let you know.

Those do look similar to the Mexican grey - which does hold up great in various dishes. I've generally stuck with that variety and it's been doing well in my space.

Not really related but it just reminds me of my situation with the back yard. Whomever owned my house before me, seems to have buried their trash in the back yard. So that's been fun. I am doing little sections at a time and it feels never ending.