Hi all,

I just bought a house and want to start vegetable beds in the backyard. The previous tenants apparently had an above-ground pool, and there is a layer of sand over presumably packed soil in the spot where we'd like the beds to go.

Do you all think it would be feasible just to start layering lots of mulch and kitchen scraps and clippings and leaves etc on top of the sand and grass this fall, let it sit all winter, and start planting in the spring? Basically sheet mulch it, and hope the sand gets balanced out by the organic stuff.

Or do you think I need to remove the sand and grass first, and maybe get a tiller in there? Then I could do the sheet mulching to improve the soil.

The soil is a bit sticky and clayey here, so I was imagining that the sand might help, but that might be wishful thinking.

As an added bonus, the previous tenants seem to have thrown glass bottles against a nearby wall while they were lounging in their pool, so there's broken glass that keeps emerging from the soil. Any thoughts on that? Maybe I'll just mulch over the pathways really well too and forget about it. Just get the kids to wear shoes.

Thanks for your insights.