You may not even have to dig up the lawn. Alot of people used raised boxes. I looked around in some previous conversations and found something that might be helpful for you.

Raised veggie bed, type soil needed?

If you go above and click on forum search and then type in "raised beds" and search all open forums (in the settings on the page).

If you don't want to do raised beds, I'm sure someone will be able to help you. I, too, am experimenting with putting in a new veggie garden. So far, I'm using land that was previously used for growing potatoes, but I pulled all of them up. I'm going to start by turning the soil and rotating the soil and then I'll be putting in some compost that I've been cooking in the backyard. I started to grow some of the seeds for a longer growing season. If you buy seeds, usually on the packet, it will tell you how long it needs to grow before you can transplant it. If you start seeds, make sure you read up on hardening the plants before you transplant them so that they don't go into shock. That's about all that I can tell you....thats all that I know enough to help anyone. I'm sure someone else will be able to help you more. Weezie? Bill? Phil and Laura???

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Hello PERPLEXED
Glad you found us!!! Glad to have you here!!!

Okay, got some questions for you!!!

You said you'd like to do a veggie/flower garden for your children?

#1. Are you set on a certain area, size, or type of garden (ie; has to in the ground garden, raised bed garden, big, non~container garden..???)
Would you be unopposed to doing something temporary until you can get a big garden going??

#2. Are you doing the work by yourself or someone (big with muscles') helping you???

#3. What do you like to grow/eat???

#4. How is the irragation set up??
I have never had one, so I am clueless,
you can have an area without distrubing the ground.

Well, if you can answer some of those questions,
that would be great..
Lot's of great things out there to do with kids!

Bill has some good reading on some things here at the Garden Helper Children in the garden

A child's guide to gardening

There's some really good reading in there,
Take a bit of time to read those, answer some more questions for us, and glad to help you!!

Weezie

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Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

my daughter picked forget-me-not seeds to plant, they came up in about 2 days she was thrilled.. i would suggest those to any one gardening with children because as we all know they are very impatient.

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PERPLEXED
Here's a phamplet/catalog
of things to do with kids, kits, how to's
etc. Gardening with KIDS
It has some wonderful things (or at least ideas)
of something you might want to do..

Weezie

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

PERPLEXED,
I will try to get a long post in tonight for
you, I'm off to go get the oldest from school
right now,
So, check back in a bit!!!

And keep reading!!!
Weezie

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Perplexed, shoot, 6x6 is easy, remove the sod(use it in low spots and bare spots around the yard,and, water,water,water.) Either till, or loosen up the soil with a spade, get yourself four 6ft.2x12(untreated)yeah I know, P.M. me and I'll tell ya why(instead of preachin'-leachin' here!!) and a few wooden stakes 2 ft. long, pounded into the ground to hold it all together!! Then Fill with your soil/ammendments, One thing That I have noticed though is to keep your soil mix more like GREAT garden soil and not so much like Bagged potting soil. Water well and wait till the next day so the dirt has time to settle. Phil

ellie, I was reffering to bags of prepared POTTING SOIL, like the stuff you use for house plants. These are too light a mix, you want your garden soil to have better consistancey, or you will spend all your time watering. Top soil, compost,sand and peat mixed to the preferance of the desired plants will be a GREAT garden soil, and you are right, these can all come in bags.Compost, beware of city municipal compost heaps, inquire as to how long this compost has been cooking, a year or less, look somewhere else, homemade is best, or buy BAGGED compost
Same for top soil, sand you won't need much and peat, use sparingly, I won't preach the mix either, because I regulate this by what it is I am planting i.e. melons like sandy soil

thank you for clarifying! i appreciate the help.

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rellie

I have been wanting to get back to this post!!
I am sooooooo slow some days,
(heck who am I kidding, weeks!!) LOL!

Anyhow,

PERPLEXED,
What Phil said about the making a raised bed is right on the money, it's not really too hard, just take your time, lifting the sod, nothing has to be done in one day or one weekend!

My only other suggestion was, that I too, do alot of my own work in the back yard, and I have to do it so that I'm not killing myself with back breaking tasks, and I am slow and short on money, so I do things, oh, maybe not the fastest or as
"crisp and clean" as my poor husband would like me to, but I get the job done and it's nice dirt when, key word there, WHEN, it's great to work in too! I have kids too (and a mom next door) that kinda side track me every now and again!
Darn kids! Just Kidding! They were and have been my salvation! But with that said,

If you go and read the post where Jennifer linked the link to go to "Raised Beds" There's some info there about the beds and soil......

There's also another technique I use, with the layering of cardboard, leaves, etc. and preparing a bed in the years to come, by letting the critters underneath do alot of my work for me!!!
It's not the fastest process... so if you're the type that has to do it, all, NOW this won't be the method for you... it's for as I mentioned above.
But Then, I personally take card board. (go to your local appliance store and ask for all their large boxes.)
Put them down on top of the area (first maybe pull some weeds, the tall stuff and/or stuff with runners, if you can. Water first, easier to pull)

Throw down a bag or two or get a delivery from your local nursery some compost. Layer that down first. That gives your worms so stuff to eat. Then after you've laid the cardboard, wet it down, pretty good/so it softens up.

Aagin, compost on top of the cardboard. The compost will entice the card board to stay flat and the worms to have something to more to eat..... Then put a layer of chopped up leaves (in fall time/I personally feel that's the best route of items to use. Or should I say, that's what I would use to do my own beds.)
If no leaves are available, put very fine mulch. Not the chips, shredded. Cover it reasonably well, 3 or 4". It will render down.

(I again, personally would let that sit....at least one full year......it takes time to kill the weeds, especially the strong ones, also to
decompose the cardboard, and for the worms and critters to do a good job......)

If you're really antsy to garden, maybe the route to go is pots and planter boxes on top of all that. And a couple of cute statues and such, like a bird bath/butterfly bath, a couple pieces of stumps (to give heighth and to put stuff on top to cascade down to soften the stump. Nothing to poke through the cardboard. A few knick~knack's of something you collect. I collect frogs, so that's what I would do.
And leave it on till next spring........
It takes time to kill those buggers, any crack in the card board they seem to find. The crawlers and or runners. But because you've filled it with such good stuff for the ground, time comes, when you want to plant, the worms will have done most of your work for you by "tilling" from underneath. And if you still want to plant in the dirt, the weeds that might be tenatous enough to survive, would then be so weak from being under the cardboard and weight of the compost, that they would just more than likely to rip right out........

*Another point, when rototilling, that brings up all the dormant weed seeds underneath, that will then get a new chance to sprout..
After tilling, and planting, you should cover the top of the soil with something...Just to keep the weeds from grabbing ahold of the soil again.
I have used several methods in the veggie garden..
*I've used freshly mowed grass clippings, shaken over and given a flat mulch like (*this can create a hard crust layering as the green grass dries, so be aware of water and watering practices.
*I've used newspapers and compost, but with that, the weed seeds in the air can then have a nice place to germinate. (*but easily pulled out)
*I've used landscape fabric and wood planks to get about through the rows. ***I am very funny about walking on my dirt after tilled up and planted, I really, really dislike flattening the dirt...so I never walk in the part where I've planted, hence the woodboards to walk on***
It was very workable compared to some of the ways I've used..)

*****I have since switched to 2 1/2ft high raised beds... My husband and Father~in~law built for me.
Everything is planted in the beds and landscaped fabric layed down, no one walks in the dirt now,
except my little wee~one everynow and again if I don't catch him fast enough, or some trucks at the end of one part, oh, yeah, if you got kids, you better leave a small portion just to play in the dirt....they even have a seperate dirt pile, but that doesn't matter, that "other dirt" always looks better

Anyways, I hope I haven't put you to sleep or board you, or confused you more.....

Any part that needs more clearification, let me know, I have a hard time explaining things sometime and parts might get left out, but always happy to clarify!

Weezie

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/