soil treatment question for fallow land

[meemee]

so i just moved into my new duplex and have a tiny spot of land to work on.

however it is completely shallow. i just dug it all up and there was not even an earthworm.

seeing the state of the land i have decided to lay off the planting for now.

what can i do to revive the land? i am going to add a lot of composted soil - is that what it is called that you get at the hardware store. i plan to get some earthworms too.

i am a complete novice. and yet : looking forward to experiment.

any help would be really appreciated. advice.

usda zone 9. sunset zone 8. northern california valley.

the land has been fallow for 3 years or more. it wasnt chemically treated.

[Rachel J.]

Earth worm seem to love newspaper. You could throw down several layers of newspaper to smother weeds/grass then add any kind of organic material you have or can find. Grass clippings, leaves, pine needles, composted manure, dirt, etc. Basically start a lasagna/layer garden. Adding worms would give the worm population a nice jump start. Basically any organic material that you add to it will decompose and create good soil. Eventually earthworms will (probably, I'm guessing) also move down into current "dead" dirt and bring some of the goodness with them.

[tankgirl73]

Are you looking to re-landscape the entire area, or do you just want to grow a small garden, like, a kitchen vegetable garden sort of thing?

If you're just looking to do a garden, I'd suggest just ignoring the soil and building raised beds with new soil -- like square foot gardening boxes and "Mel's Mix". Start with good stuff from the get-go rather than spending all that time and effort "improving" poor soil.

If you're looking to completely re-landscape, compost compost compost and till it in as deeply as you can. The worms are a good idea too. Hopefully it's not too full of rocks!