I don't have any animals due to sensitivities. However, I think it is similar to how many kids should you have. With all animals (4 legged, 2 legged, etc.) I think it should be based on a combination of how many do you want and how many can you take care of in terms of time, money, space and so on. You might want to have lots of cats, but if you live in a studio apartment, that won't work. Maybe you'd like to have a dozen children, but you can't afford more than 2 or 3 or the kids and the dog will be eating kibbles and bits out of the same bowls. I'm a big believer in rescuing animals, but some people who start out as rescuers end up as hoarders. We all need to know our limits in terms of time and money and space. Because I can't have animals, I donate to my local no kill shelter as well as to various animal welfare groups.

Greyfox -- When I bought my current home, the yard was a field of weeds and invasive plants, and was dotted with a bunch of diseased and dead shrubs and trees. So I get your pain, and desire to get started. Like you, I started with demo and was anxious to start landscaping. Despite the fact that I've been gardening for many years, I still made quite a few costly mistakes that I later had to fix. Six years in, it's still a work in progress. Unless you REALLY know what you're doing, take your time figuring out a design. An alternative is to hire a garden designer to do that for you, which is always a great option if you can afford it. Perhaps you can pay a designer for an overall design, then you can make it come to life as time and money allow. Or if you just can't wait go for broke and pay a landscape company to do the whole darn thing! My next door neighbor just had her weed-infested yard torn out (yay!) and beautifully landscaped -- patios, plants, boulders, irrigation$!$! Presto change-o, a gorgeous new outdoor space! So jealous! You're making great progress. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

@gardengal: 1. "you can customize the soil for specific crops" - I can't see why it couldn't be done without building raised beds. 2. "ease of usage for those with accessibility issues" - Don't argue on that, although I believe it should be left to the person with a disability to decide. From my real life observation it doesn't work that way. I have seen raised beds garden built for people living in the long care facility and the beds were empty, except for some unhappy weeds sparsely growing there. It was evidently too difficult for the people living there to take care of the beds. 3. "extended growing season" . . . - This reverses to the soil problem. Clayey soils, because of bad drainage, remain excessively wet for a long time in spring and because of that warm up much slower. Elevated soil will dry up and warm up faster, so people with clayey, bad-drained soils can start cold season crops earlier in raised beds. Raised beds don't facilitate earlier planting of warm weather crops. Warm weather crops need the air temperatures that never drop below freezing point and by the last frost date the soil is sufficiently warm for them as well. Unfortunately, the raised bed soils heat up and dry out faster not only in spring. The same takes place, even to grater degree, in summer, what you have forgotten to mention (or may be to notice). And it is exactly where the problem with raised beds lies in. The soil in raised beds becomes very hot in the summer and it dries much faster than it otherwise would, due to both, the soil and air temperature, and the increased by elevation drainage, Increased fluctuations in soil temperature and moisture levels in raised beds - excessive heating during hot sunny days followed by rapid cooling during cold nights, and quick, rather drastic changes in the soil moisture, all create unfavorable conditions for plant development in and above the ground level, and for the soil organisms that make the soil fertile, what is of utmost importance especially to those of us who grow our gardens naturally, or at least organically. The soil organisms find such environment hostile, and if possible, retreat somewhere else, or die. Greatly increased need for very frequent but shallow watering additionally diminishes soil fertility in the raised bed by leaching. It is also well known to the intelligent gardeners that plant roots like cool environment, too. It is, after all, why we mulch our plants - to create cool, relatively stable temperature, and consistent moisture levels for both: plant roots and for the soil organisms as well. Constantly changing temperature and moisture levels, decreased availability of nutrients, cumulative effect of all that, results in stunted unhealthy grow. No wonder plants (cultivated as well as those non-cultivated - commonly called weeds) not readily grow in this kind of environment. 4. "easier to control weeds" - I agree, weeds like other plants do not grow well in raised beds, so it is easier to control them there. 5. "less chance of compaction" . . . - Excuse me, could you elaborate? 6. "easier to keep slugs and snails at bay" - Yes, slugs ans snails don't like excessively hot and dry environment so they, like the other soil organisms (plants included) will not thrive there. 7. "they just look neat and tidy." - This a matter of taste. Personally, I like the view of healthy, lush vegetation better.

I'd like to share my experiences with growing corn transplants, I have successfully grown transplanted corn for 3 years. I've grown sweet corn and flint corn. This process requires 9 days and you will have field ready transplants. I plant on the weekends therefore I sow the seeds on a Wednesday. I am in zone 7/6 with a last frost date of May 15, I start planting 1st of June. 1 tray will take from 128 ft2 to 500 ft2 of garden space. For this method you will need: 128 cell 1020 trays greenhouse/sun-room potting mix mesh top table or similar Pre-germination: Flint corn and dent corn can be soaked for 24 h Sweet corn will absorb too much water and rot if soaked Sowing: Wednesday Fill tray with soil mix plant 1 seed per cell press seed 3/4" into cell cover with soil press soil water Germination: Sunday Keep out of direct sun for 3 day. move to sun once plant emerges Growing: Wednesday Monday - Friday Fertilize with water soluble 20-20-20 fertilizer when 1" tall (Tuesday) Fertilize again when 5" tall (Thursday) water every morning when temperatures above 77F and sunny are expected don't allow roots to extend out of tray. keep on mesh surface. Planting:Saturday in cultivated soil, using a dibber make a hole 2 inches deeper than the cell, seedling should be planted deeper than original soil height space plants in a grid 1'x1' 18"x18" 2'x2' depending on final height of corn Silver Queen Hybrid in August planted 1'x1' Any Questions Feel Free to Ask