I have some animal activity in my garden. Cats from the neighbour, a squirrel, and a mouse or vole (have holes in the ground). Also last time I checked the soil it was alkaline 7.5-8 (i need to check again) and the area that i want to plant on is full of grass, weeds and moss. So I will need to get rid of them fast.

I thought that a raised bed could help solve these issues. I thought about adding a net below it and around it to protect from these animals.

Also the soil the clay type which I don't think will fit very well the tomatoes and other vegetables. That's the reason I asked about soil and comspost.

I'm vermicomposting but it will take some time until I have enough for planting.

I'm serious with gardening and once my wife tastes our grown vegetables she will be happier than me.

That pH is slightly alkaline but will grow most vegetables. You can cultivate in ground beds simply by digging over the area and removing the weeds, etc. Clay soil does not preclude vegetable growing if you can apply (ordinary) compost regularly. (Vermicompost is very rich and not a suitable planting medium. It's more a fertiliser.) As to animals they'll get into a raised bed as easily as an in ground bed unless you fence it.

I'm just concerned that, as a self confessed newbie, you could end up spending money when you don't need to and making life excessively complicated. Raised beds seem to be an ever-growing fad. They are fine if there is good reason for using them, not just fashion.

Many newbies assume they need to buy in soil and it just isn't the case unless there is something definitely wrong with what you have.

The main comment was about the clay soil. I read that vegetals prefer loamy soil and clay one.

Besides that what should I look for the compost? I would need to buy for sure.

Also, from the tests The soil has low phosporus and very low potassium. Nitrogen was high

A raised bed won't deter a cat or most any critter if they want to eat what you are growing. I would do some research on how to repel them. When I lived in KY, my back yard was 100% red clay. I kept adding bagged compost (with no access to other materials). The first year went well for the space I had then I kept adding compost and sometimes bagged manure year after year. It was a fabulous garden. In buying or making a raised bed, make sure you can reach the middle from either side. The length is up to you. When picking veggies to grow, keep in mind their adult size and space requirements. The squash you mentioned is a vining type and may take over the entire space you have unless it and the cucumbers you want to grow specifically say "bush" type and there are those types. I'm sure others may chime in to suggest ways to grow those types of veggies in raised beds. Delicata is a small, delicious squash that does come in a bush type. It tastes a lot like sweet potato to me. It still takes up some space but won't vine out like most winter types.

I've seen some beds made of cinder blocks which also had those two holes per block and people put flowers in those or lettuce, etc. I'm not sure that is your style, it's not for everyone but something to google. Good luck! Lori

Thanks for the comments. The squash is indeed a vine type.

So what I should look for in the compost and how do I get rid of the moss/weeds/grass in the floor?

If your soil is alkaline, that could explain your low phosphorus and potassium. Acidification, which is largely what adding a lot of organic matter will do, may cure those deficiencies. I'd agree with others that just amending the native soil may be the right tack to take, unless burrowing varmints are going to be a problem. In principle, it might be good to just amend the native soil in that, to the extent you need a buried screen and a raised bed, you could always put that on top later.

Moss won't do any harm. Just bury it. I suspect by importing lots of compost, you're probably going to be importing plenty of weed and grass seeds so it may not make it worse to just chop and bury what you have.

Do be careful about sun. In that northern climate, sun hours are especially important. If you're not sure if there is enough sun, it might not be wise to invest in a raised bed. An unraised bed can be looked at as a soil development plot, with high quality soil that can always be trucked over to a raised bed if you decide you need one.

In the main location I should have sun from early in the morning to afternoon or even more. I plan to plant the tomatoes, and cucumbers there. I'm still not sure about the vining squash because of its size. I have an area of about 15ft by 8ft for planting. I'm not planning more than 1 plant of squash because we won't eat it that much. I prefer the tomatoes and bell peppers, and to a less extent the peas.

I have another location in the garden that it is completely unused, and I wanted to grow something. However, I think that it will receive low quantities of sun light during summer.

This is the main area that I want to convert to a veggie garden (about 20ft by 12ft, plan to use less). How do I remove all the grass, moss and weeds and start planting?

Also, this is the location with less sun light. What can I plant here? It will have maybe 2 or 3 hours of sunlight at most during summer.

If it isn't vining grass, just turn it over and in-situ compost it. You're in a bit of a race right now, to get it suitably composted by the time your summer starts. If it is vining grass, you'll need to remove it. That will take some time, and a good garden rake. As to weeds, your problem won't be with weeds that are alive right now, but with the seeds that they've spread in previous seasons. Wish we could point you at some decent fumigants, but they really don't exist anymore for commercial use.

When I start a new raised bed (we have gophers and clay, so have to have them), I fork or loosen the soil as much as possible while it is moveable (we have about a 2 week period in the spring and the fall for digging, then it's either concrete or muck!)

We add what ever manure (organic if possible) is available, water in....water in again and again. Then build our bed with hardware cloth for the gophers. We get a good garden mix from an organic landscape place and add/water add/water until the bed is full. Due to the organic matter in the mix, it will settle. Then I use my home made compost after that. It seems to work pretty well. Nancy

I also have clay soil, and after amending with lots of compost and chicken manure, and digging to loosen it up, I have had good luck most years with tomatoes and other veggies. This year, I'm putting in raised beds because I haven't had a garden in a few years and don't want to have to dig in that hard clay soil that has been ignored for 4 years, plus I want to try a spot with more direct sun. Anyway, clay soil can be amended to work fine, but if you want raised beds, I got mine inexpensively from Costco (on their website) and they seem fine, though I haven't planted in them yet.

I wonder if greens--spinach, kale, lettuce would grow in your area with little direct sun? Others might know better. I know they like cooler weather, but not sure how much sun they require.