My wife & I have recently moved into a new house which has a very large yard & several established flower beds. I have started the task of digging a 20x10 plot which will be used extensively for vegetables. I am digging by hand as "The Boss" has shot down my requests to purchase a tiller. So far I have been digging down about a foot & throwing the shovelful into a sifting screen (made of 2x4's & chicken wire) to separate the soil from the sod & rocks. I have also been running into a ton of worms & white grubs (similar, but not quite the same as the ones in the FAQ's). Worms have been going into the sod pile & back into my garden, while the grubs have been going with the rocks. The former owners left a black compost bin half full of wonderful compost (& half full of other "stuff" which did not belong!)as well as two piles of shredded lawn clippings & leaves (one that is very decomposed& one that I have been adding the sod to).

So, should I be adding this decomposed pile of leaves & grass clippings as well as the soil from the compost bin into my garden, or not because who knows what could be in them??

Is it safe to use them, because the entire point of this garden is to grow vegetable to eat & I do not want to add anything to it that could jeopardize this. Thanks for the help & if you have any tips or tricks it would be greatly appreciated.