I thought it might be fun to bump this thread.

I was rooting through this thread to find the name of a tree that I've since forgotten. There were some awesome gardens here a couple of years ago - how are they doing now??

I really wanted a real garden, so last year I painstakingly turned a neglected part of the back area of my workplace into a garden. It was full of ivy, blackberry bushes, and rocks. It was also contaminated with oil (it's in the maintenance shop area where fire trucks are repaired). The soil donated by the parks board was completely sterile and I doubt there was even bad bacteria in there. My beets and radishes just grew leaves and that was it. Zucchini just grew long and nothing fruited. Runner beans and herbs (rosemary, thyme, parsley, oregano, chives) were the only things that grew much.

So I over-wintered the garden with hairy vetch and decided to limit this year's crop to potatoes and beans. So far they are both thriving and am hopeful that by next year the soil will have more nutrients in it to support more vegetables. Still probably isn't the healthiest with so much exhaust nearby...