Hello! I’m grateful for your considerable knowledge. I have been reading soil maps and such. Some seem to be saying the area has “clay-y loam”. When I dig in my yard there is a covering of weedy grasses growing in what appears to be just red clay, at least 2 feet deep.
More reading, there are some crops that will grow in clay. others will need highly amended soil or pots. I’ve tried to find info on the Roanoke Cooperative pages, not much, and they don’t seem as active as other Extensions in the larger area.
If this year wasn’t so fraught with unknowns and uncertainties I’d not be so nervous, and just try a small plot and see what happens. As is, I’ll just do the best I think I can and most of all, keep the dogs out of it.
Sounds like the top soil washed away over decades/centuries. Also, some developers/builders will remove the top soil because you’re not supposed to build on top soil. You build on subsoil. The good developers will bring the top soil back in after a house is built but some sell it or only bring back a couple of inches and sell the rest. A couple inches can wash away in a good rain session if there’s no roots to hold it in place yet.
I think raised beds, Square Foot Gardening or other is going to be your best bet. Top soil or garden soil can be purchased by the dump truck load or if you have a truck and trailer, they’ll load you up. It sells by the cubic yard and would be cheaper than multiple brand of compost in bags. Compost can also be bought by the cubic yard. You can buy a top soil/compost mix too.
http://www.thelandscapestore.net/soil.html
Delivery to the Roanoke Valley area. http://www.thelandscapestore.net/delivery.html
http://www.thelandscapestore.net/volume-calc.html
Calculator says 4’ x 4’ x 6” is 0.29630 Cu Yd so you could do three of those 4x4 Sq Ft Garden beds with one Cu Yd. Their pricing is by scoop. Enriched with compost, easier to work with - $49 a scoop (easier to work with than their un-screened, chunky top soil)
Home page; http://www.thelandscapestore.net/ says their scoop is 1.25 cu yd and will do a 10x10 area 3-4 inches deep.
http://rightmyer.com/index_files/page0007.htm (no prices)
http://www.mulchnmore.org/5622/11022.html (50/50 top soil/compost for raised beds, $55/cu yd.
Less than $20 per 4x4 bed going by the above prices and with a little added compost every year, you’ve got garden soil for life. Not including delivery if needed. Now if you have room can afford it and want to grow a lot of food, you could get dump truck load(s) delivered and spread it out 6-8” thick in the yard for a bonafide garden area. Depends on the slope and layout etc.
Corn is the one thing that’s better in a field than raised beds. They have anchor roots that sprawl out to the sides. Vines for melons, pumpkin, squash also sprawl but the root system isn’t that big so they could be allowed to sprawl outside of a raised bed.