You could always build the bed on top of the existing gravelly soil. The drainage would be possibly better and you can have the soil you want not the soil you got..

* * * *

The secret is the soil.

heres a small briefing on raised bed building. though you could do a google search for building raised garden bed. It's fairly quite simple if your any-what soever mechanically inclined.
Garden Raised Bed Info

I do suggest the raised bed method, i've seen pictures and i'm dying to build myself one next year!!! I put one in the ground, and i'm tired of bending over/kneeling down to tend to ma plants! 5 gal bucket & beer and gimme a garden to pick at!

Feel free to email me @ walldiv1@sbcglobal.net. I'd be happy to help you in design/plans for this raised bed. few 2-10's & some 4x4 posts with some weed netting and your good as gold man! (might wanna pick up some screws or nails too

found what i was looking for! Weezie has these at her house. these are exactly what i'll be putting in next year! Take a look. . its REALLY easy to build!

Don't forget the other two beds...
These two were first, before those other 3 were
put in..
*the 3 are perpendictular to the two..

and I am desperately tryin' to get 2 more, on either side, one 4'w x 20'l and the other 4'w x 30' l

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Danno,
Do you know what the real shame is....
I still don't have enough room to garden in those..
I need about 10 more...
HONESTLY!!!
Between what my mom and I each like to grow,
there still isn't enough room..

We grow like way too many things....
*Several varieties of tomatoes *8*, pumpkins, acorn squash, butternut squash, several varieties of cucumber's *6*, corn, radishes, several kinds of lettuces' and peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, rhubarb, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, okra, oh geesh, I loose count...

Companion planting and crop rotation...
And alot of figurin' out, what goes where, and where it can't go this year/next year..

*****Carl's post reminded me very much of this garden actually..and that's why I posted...

The people that owned the house before my mom, used to have a small garden there, but it was always getting flooded out, so that's why, when my mom bought it and we put in the raised beds for her, it was to improve the drainage.. cause it just sits there when there's a hard, long rain.

It was also on the heavy clay big rocks and hard pan where an old barn was...
and garbage area for the house too, from what we can figure out..

I do enjoy it sooooo much better now...

Although, I am finding out, I am going to have to
pull out/dig down deep to replace compost and such under it, or deep, cause it's getting compact under it...
Top layers are great....

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/

Rough cut LARCH...
The landscape fabric was the kind I was talking
about that didn't let water thru..
And I put that under the dirt and wood when first made, in my idea of keeping out weeds..
*mostly that grass that grows with runners...*
It brand worked on the first two..

It does hold moisture on the inside..
We do see signs of some problems..
but hoping we can change out one panel or so,
at a time...*Theoretically*

* * * *
Weezie

Don't forget to be kind to strangers. For some who have
done this have entertained angels without realizing it.
- Bible - Hebrews 13:2





http://photobucket.com/albums/y250/weezie13/