The dream garden: Day 0

I've been waiting for this garden for longer than I've had a house and yard. I've read, researched, scrapbooked magazine clippings, and researched some more. Raised garden beds so full of vegetables that I have to open a produce stand and/or learn to can, jar, and pickle.

Today was Day 0. The entire day was dedicated to cleaning up the yard a bit (raking leaves out from under by BEAUTIFUL blooming azaleas, removing rogue saplings from said azaleas, weeding) and my stepdad built the raised garden beds that I've been longing for. Thank goodness my mom recognized that I was too overwhelmed by my own dreams of veggies to do this on my own. Just going to the lumber store was overwhelming. There are too many options and everyone has their own opinion on what's "right" or even what's safe for a vegetable garden. (Not everyone cares about chemicals and toxins leaching into the veggies, but I sure do.)

The timing was perfect. Someone knew someone and some bartering happened and my brand new beds (two to be exact) are an ode to the "green" movement all by themselves. They're reclaimed redwood that were pickle barrels in their previous life. (Not little barrels -- huge vats used at a national chain pickle plant.) And except for the drywall my stepdad has to perform for a friend and the dinner I bought him, they were free.

I'm using the lasagna method of gardening -- instead of struggling to tear up the grass where the beds were placed, cardboard went down and was soaked with the hose. If I had done this in the fall, I'd have covered the cardboard with leaves and coffee grounds (I've heard Starbucks will give you them by the bagful!) and other compostables. But since it's time to plant now, I'll be having a truckload of soil and compost delivered.

Now the question is: do I pay someone to load all the dirt into the beds or do it myself?