Sorry, no advice on the soil, but I have hired day laborers before. We usually hire a couple of people once or twice a year for big garden jobs (digging new beds, installing mulch). I'm in Middlesex county, but we found out where they gather in New Brunswick and drive up to the location on a Saturday morning. Sometimes there is someone there trying to keep things organized and they ask how many people you want to hire and what kind of work it is. Other times it is more chaotic. You negotiate a rate (I've paid $100 per person/per day), the workers get into your car and off you go. The people I've hired have always been very friendly. Their level of gardening skill varies, but I'm always working alongside them so that usually isn't an issue. We buy lunch for them and drop them off closer to their homes at the end of the day. In Monmouth county I know you can hire day laborers in Keyport and in Freehold, probably lots of other towns too.

Try Ryser's Landscape in Little Silver or Thomas Farrell on Shrewsbury Ave., Shrewsbury. I don't know the prices.

Day laborers congregate in the mornings in Red Bank at the Wawa or a block south of the Red Bank train station on Bridge Ave.

conrad smith tinton falls