I get goose bumps of admiration when I see this kind of beautiful and motivated work. I also live/grow in an urban backyard. After putting in 10 big raised beds I started noticing that there were these kind of ‘bad soil’ areas which turned out to be highly toxic coal-ash deposits with 8x the toxic levels of arsenic as determined by the DEP. Also, the usual lead, mercury, etc. I am wondering if you have done soil testing? Also did you use treated lumber for your raised beds? Your plants are growing like crazy! Also your fence design is lovely and generous to the neighborhood and all who see it. Congratulations on all fronts. Really beautiful what you have done there.
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Naomi,
Welcome to the forum, and thank you! Sorry to hear about your troubles. Did you use native soil in your raised beds? What’s your plan of action - to replace the soil?
I have not done any testing. The native soil was mostly clay with some rubble mixed in. The neighborhood is very hilly, and I am guessing there was a lot of grading involved when the houses were built in the 40s ans 50s. So, the raised beds were backfilled with store-bought organic raised bed soil.
For the fruit trees I excavated at least 2’ deep by 2’ in diameter, loosened the clay at the bottom of the pit and backfilled it with good dirt. I know this is frowned upon - it basically discourages the tree roots from growing outside the comfort zone of the pit - but the native soil was just too poor.
I did use treated lumber after doing some research and coming to a conclusion that it is fairly safe. I know this cannot be considered strictly organic gardening.
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I did bring in truckloads of compost/topsoil mix, and I am hoping that 12in. raised beds is sufficient for most veggies. I also know what areas now to avoid. (A clue: if grass won’t grow there, it’s good indication that it’s pretty bad!)
Also: because of studies done in Australia it sounds like heavy metals are not picked up in fruit, I feel ok about planting fruit trees. I excavated out 12" down , 4’ across (giant craters) and worked in compost mix with a broad fork. It sounds like that might be a good tool for you for breaking up the clay hardpan? Anyway, keep up the good work and your ongoing photos are appreciated! (I will post pictures of my place once i have the “after” scene going on 
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This is outstanding!!! Looks very Buck-town.
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Thank you, Colleen!
Here’s an update on the sunken patio progress.
January 10:
March 18 - most of the retaining wall is in place:
March 28 - the retaining wall and the steps completed:
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WOW! Great work and very good looking. Congratulations! 
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Hey Alex, I missed this thread before but just went through all your pics. Great job, and impressive use of all the space you have! It is always impressive what one motivated individual can accomplish. Keep up the good work.
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Great! Please keep posting new photos of your progress!
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Did you do all this work yourself? Looks like a huge project. Awesome result at the end though.
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Aww, good name for a wise old tree. Love Miyazaki!
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You should be super proud such great work and fun to watch all your progress. Love what you are creating here, Great job!
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Yep, just the two of us. Thank you!
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Ok, you need a hgtv show!!! Outstanding! Love it.
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Bravo. Nice work. Really impressive
This makes me feel guilty. My land is already flat with good soil so my level of needed effort makes me feel spoiled
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It looked even better when I briefly stopped by to see it in person! I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it is finished, although I’m sure when finished it will be time for more projects! That’s how it always seems to go for me at least.
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Thanks Ryan. You’re right - the projects never end. Here are some updates.
The sunken patio is still in the works. Some herbs were added to break up the wall of lumber:
And here they are more recently:
The steps were seeded with grass and are greening up nicely:
And the view from above:
We also added a side raised bed which is pretty shaded. I don’t have a more recent picture but it’s now filled with currants, gooseberries and wild rocket.
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The driveway got a new herb trench and trellises with roses and clematis.
Before:
The trench is dug:
I planted a hedge of Arp rosemary and two kinds of thyme. Clematis plants are in. Still waiting for roses. Cardinal basil was also added later.
William’s Pride was a last minute attempt to utilize this nice west-facing bit of space. It’s going to be espaliered around the hurricane glass and up the wall.
Here are some more recent pictures:
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Lawn to meadow conversion out front:
It’s filling in nicely. New species of flowers popping up every day. Pollinators are loving it.
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