Hi, I'm new to these forums. I just found this site tonight. I like what I see.

I am building raised beds for my vegetable garden out of concrete blocks. I have already purchased the blocks and have them sitting in my yard near my garden. My soil is poor, lots of clay and not much drainage. This horrid wet spring has pushed me into making the beds. I've improved the soil the previous 3 years I've been here, but it's still not what I want and do not want to pour any more money and effort into the ground.

I have a good plan for the beds. The problem is that my soil is still quite wet. We are supposed to get a whole week with no rain, so I can get the bed done on Tuesday when my son comes to help.

My son is a mechanical engineer and construction major. So we're having a rather large debate about how best to put in the blocks. He wants to do this huge level foundation of the whole garden, trying to compact and level the entire area. I want to basically level the garden, but not put a layer of rock or sand on it. I want to dig shallow trenches 2-3 inches deep and fill with sand to lay down the blocks and level them.

I'm using 8 x 16 blocks, 2 high, so my beds are about 16 inches high. If they're 1-2 inches below ground, I'll still have a nice 12-14 inch depth of good soil to plant. I'm not using any mortar. Blocks 2 high should be heavy enough to hold the soil without falling over.

Tell me what you think.