[foster75]

new to all this but we have set aside a small bit of garden to grow some veg. i thought it would be fun for my 3 year old son and a way to get him to eat more veg. busy building a raised bed and need 1 tonne of top soil, how much should this cost and where can i get it (we are in the northeast). the bed is going on top of clay do i need to do any prep to the clay? we also have 4 bantam hens can we muck them out and add strate to the soil?

cheers
dave

i'll have loads more questions mind!

[Ice]

You don't need to fill raised beds to the top.  Clay is fertile but heavy going.  I have clay too and have several raised beds.  I dig over the clay and put in rotted manure and lots of sharp sand.  You can keep adding manure and compost as you go and the level will rise over time.  Mind you, where there are two gardeners there are three opinions on how to do things.