Dandelions are not a reliable indicator of soil pH - they'll grow anywhere. Ideally, it is best to have a professional soil test done (don't waste your money on home test kits) but if you are getting ready to plant, it's a bit late for that.

Raised beds might be the best way to go. Since one generally imports soil to fill the beds, you have the option of customizing your mix for your best growing conditions. It doesn't have to be elaborate - ordinary garden soil mixed with compost (at a 3:1 ratio) is perfectly adequate. Bagged compost and garden planting mixes are available at pretty much any home improvement store as are composted manures, which will work equally as well.

Seems you're suffering from information overload.

"I was naive enough to think that I could just dig in the soil and plant
the seedlings I started or bought at the farmer's market, but a few
Google searches have caused me to second-guess my lack of planning."

How big of a plot do you want? What do you want it to look like? Do you want individual beds? What kind of soil do you have? Is the site poorly draining and/or low-lying?

Assuming the soil drains okay, if you want an in ground garden then go ahead and dig out the grass/weeds, break up the soil, amend with compost and plant. With a new garden you will probably have to fertilize until the compost and beneficial microbes start to work. It's ultimately up to you whether you choose to do an in ground garden, raised beds, lasagna gardening, till, no-till, keyhole garden, potager garden, or whatever.

"Our yard is home to lots of dandelions which I have read means I have alkaline soil."

Don't read into that. Dandelions are dandelions. They grow anywhere. Only real way to know if your soil is alkaline is to get a professional soil test done. They will also tell you what your soil needs as far as nutrients.

Rodney

Edit: gardengal's comment wasn't there as I was typing. :)

Thank you, gardengal and Rodney for correcting my dandelion misconception! Info overload is right! Soil seems to drain ok but I'm not exactly an expert in soil. We have earthworms in the front yard plot where I planted some flowers so I'd guess we have them out back, too. Will decide between digging and 1-2 raised beds. I thought making a raised bed would be more work and very expensive due to having to buy a lot of soil but maybe that is not the case, especially since I can't really say whether our soil is good for growing vegetables or not. All I know is that many varieties of weeds and peonies grow well!

Thanks again for helping to narrow my options.

The time to start the garden was last fall with a good reliable soil test and a good in depth look at the soil to decide what might needed to be done to make a good healthy soil. Now raised beds may be your best option if you can get the right soil to fill the beds.

A soil mix of about 50 percent sand, 45 percent clay, and 5 percent organic matter (compost, shredded leaves, any vegetative waste) not something called "topsoil" of "garden mix" which could be anything, will work. To prepare that proposed garden area would take several weeks of work and then it may not grow plants well at all.. Plunk down some newspaper/cardboard over the Dandelions now growing there and put the soil mix on that. Not the best start but that will work.

You will find, on the internet, information that Dandelions evolved growing in acidic, compacted soils to that they grow best in fertile, alkaline soils. Dandelions did evolve growing in acidic compacted soils in their native Europe but have adapted quite well to any soil today. They do really well in my sandy but well amended soils with very good flavor not found in some growing in less healthy soils.

kimmq is kimmsr

Thank you for sharing this information. I will plan better for next year. For now, I at least have ready access to partially decomposed leaves as we live next to a little ravine-forest. Now just have to get the other materials. I want to make sure I understand your advice re: cardboard/newspaper. Do you mean I should line my raised bed with that?

Yes, you can layer the newspaper (or cardboard) in the base of your raised bed, then fill with soil and organic matter. I would however manually remove any dandelions in that location. These are perennial weeds with a persistent tap root and will eventually grow right through the newspapers and soil.

And forget about admonitions about the "right" soil for a raised bed. Any garden soil will work, as will anything labeled topsoil or garden planting mix as long as not filled with rocks, roots or weeds. This is just a mineral soil base, necessary for any inground gardening activity. You want to enrich this soil by adding organic matter (the leaf mulch, compost or composted manures, etc.)

I'm not sure why some responders think raised bed gardening or the soil used in raised bed gardening is such an esoteric subject that needs to be approached with all manner of tests and guidelines and carefully hatched recipes. It's all pretty darn basic - you just want soil that drains well (which raised beds provide) and that is nutrient rich (which the organic matter provides). Soil and OM - that's all there is to it!!

lots of great gardeners on youtube that share their experience. and they are fun to watch.

I would go ahead and plant now. You can do a raised bed next year. It's a learning experience every year for me and I've been growing plants for over 30 years now. We used dried grass for our mulch. The few weeds that grow are very easy to pluck.

Huge thanks to gardengal and zzackey for helping me to keep it simple! I asked a neighbor who I just learned grows veggies in the ground with success. He adds compost and suggested I do the same. I am glad we can use dried grass as mulch as we have plenty of that in addition to partially decomposed leaves from last fall. I will try to get the roots out of the soil -- fortunately there actually aren't many dandelions on the plot I'm going to use, although there are plenty nearby.

I started digging and aerating today and will mix in the OM tomorrow. Am excited to learn lessons from this first year of gardening! Even if it has a low yield I know I will enjoy making the effort to plant and maintain a garden. And already I am re-acquainted with some of my muscles after digging to plant bulbs last week. :-)

guanyu, I will check out YouTube as soon as I get some of my plants in the ground! In addition to tomatoes, peppers, parsley, and horseradish, I got some ground cherry transplants in the mail today that I hope will yield delicious fruit this Fall!

Thanks again to everyone for saving me from information overload.