Soil types are a representation of slope %, and physical makeup of the actual soil particles. Clay soils consist of very fine, very small particles, so the soil tends to be very dense and holds onto water very well - too well. For gardening, it is hard for vegetables' roots to penetrate clay to the proper depth.

Sand soils are the opposite of clay, the particles are so big you can see each one with the naked eye, and they retain almost no water.

The best soils are what we call a loam, they have a little bit of clay, a little bit of sand, and a decent amount of silty rich black matter, you sort of get the best of all worlds in a loam. No matter if you start with clay or sand, you can always mix in amendments to change how well your soil holds onto water.

The easiest way I can explain an introduction to gardening:

Growing vegetables requires only a little bit of effort, a little bit of knowledge, and a ton of patience. There are 3 big factors that go into how well your backyard dirt will grow veggies -

1) Fertility levels - which is almost an immediate fix, you can use miracle grow* (disclaimer - a lot of people will say that gardening is better if you use organic methods, but if you just want to grow veggies, there is nothing wrong with instant release fertilizers) or any balanced garden fertilizer on your garden plot and be right about in the ballpark. The pH levels of your soil plays a role in fertilizer availability to plants, but I won't go there right now.

2) Daily sunlight - Vegetable producing plants require at least 8 hours of sunlight per day, and they will produce more fruit the more sunlight they get. If your backyard is shaded by trees, make sure you actually count the hours of sunlight your plot gets.

In my backyard next to my house, the sun doesn't clear the east tree until 11am, and it gets shaded by the west trees around 4pm. Insufficient, I have to garden far from my house.

3) Moisture - Water management is one of the more critical aspects of gardening. If soil fertility is adequate and sunlight is sufficient, moisture levels make up the difference between success and failure. Does your garden plot drain well? If you get a 3 Inch rain will your garden plot stay soggy or underwater for days? Does your plot slope at all? Does it dry out too quickly after a rain?

The key behind moisture management is keeping things even keeled, not too wet, and not too dry. Generally what you see is heavier spring rains, when you want the water to drain away, roots cannot grow into sopping wet soils.

If your plant's roots don't grow in the spring, then they will not be deep enough to reach the moisture that is present further down in the soil profile - when the rains stop in the summer.

To sum it all up, If you have a balanced fertilizer, a plot that gets enough sunlight, and a sprinkler, you shouldn't have any problem gardening.

To directly answer you, Soil tests will tell you How much Nitrogen, Potassium, and Phosphorus is present in your soil. Those are the big 3 nutrients that plants need to grow well and produce heavy yields. Soil tests will also tell you what the pH is of your soil - which gardeners like to be around 6.5. If your pH is too high (above 8) or too low (below 6), then nutrients won't be available to your plants, and they will look stunted and unhealthy even with heavy amounts of fertilizer. Most soils are in the neighborhood of 7.0.

So no, soil tests are not necessary, you can figure that your soils will need some fertilizer, a balanced 10-10-10 (that's the ratio of Nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous present in the fertilizer, always in that order) and you can pretty much figure that your soil's pH is probably close enough.

Do you have any questions on how to prepare your plot or anything about gardening? We would all be more than willing to help.

~Chris

thank you so much for all the help :)

Compost is also full of nutrients, if you compost well enough (there is a certain way to do it) then you will have all of the nutrients that you will need to feed your plants.

Growing in pots is certainly doable, it just requires more fussing over the plants. Potted soils can dry out in a matter of hours, but they can also be over watered in the same amount of time. There is a specific forum on here for growing plants in pots, and someone more knowledgeable than I would be the one to talk about watering rates and how to monitor.

The best potting soil is a mix of regular soil and potting mix, I'm no expert on the ratio of what to add though. I just know that potting soil bought from the store itself tends to dry out quickly and isn't the most desirable growing medium.

On the other hand, backyard soil might be too heavy for your pots, they may drain too slowly, so a mix of the two would seem to be a good way to go. The biggest challenge to growing in pots is getting sufficient sunlight.

Also, growing in pots you have to beware of tap water. The chlorine in most tap water will build up in a pot and will damage the plant. I lost a winter tomato plant that way. be sure to let your water sit for several hours to let the chlorine volatilize.

I'll bet Philly has the same...here is the Penn Sate extension that will sell a kit with instructions for $10.