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I’ve been wanting to try gardening, and like the idea of permaculture (it would be a lot of work so probably gonna wanna start small and well, start with the soil) but I don’t know much about how to check the soil for various contaminatinants. How do you guys usually test this sort of thing or research the history of your housing areas to see what the soil might have? I know some things like pots or raised gardens are a good choice since it negates that issue mostly allowing you to have control over the soil source, but i was curious because well, it seems like a waste to not do something with the dirt in my backyard, especially since i was hoping to grow stuff for actual use rather than just ornamentation, and work with a mix of flax species including some drought tolerant flax plants as well as eventually some native plant species that ideally would enjoy the nutrient poor desert soil here in Arizona and wouldn’t need tons of water.

If i wanna do anything related to growing stuff for use and eating especially, it is probably best to begin with getting an idea of the current soil situation in my backyard and what steps would need to be taken to prepare it. However, due to my only experience being helping mom pull weeds back when we lived in california, and growing herbs in an aeropod/hydroponics setup which is really just gardening on easy mode, i am very much lacking in knowledge and am hoping to find help and resources to look into.

I don’t know much about what sorts of tests would be best to do, or what spots to sample or how, so i really could use a nudge in the right direction.

I am in Arizona, from the gilbert area, if that helps give context for what to look out for in my soil. I also know i probably need to be mindful of the patches my dad has sprayed with weedkiller multiple times. Not that it ever worked, those weeds are still popping right back up. Maybe he accidentally created mutant weeds resistant to weed killer? Who knows? I probably want to also pay attention to the soil patches that border the outer walls of the house itself since those are usually treated with bug spray to keep scorpians and the like away.

Any help is appreciated, thanks.

Flame seedless grape, strawberry guava, Ruby supreme guava, sweet lime, prickly pear cacti

I have acquired some baby peach trees and potted them up to strengthen the roots for a while before I put them in the ground. How should I prune and care for the young trees? (The front 2 pots are baby’s breath cuttings, not peaches)

I trying to check some of my own seeds I saved from last year to see if they even germ before I waste my time trying to plant them all. Here’s what I’m trying if you see any red flags let me know please. I took some seeds placed them on a pretty damp paper towel that I used rain water for then put them in a little snack size ziplock bag squeezed almost all air out of it and sealed top completely. I did about 10-20 seeds a bag. I did sunflowers, cosmos, fennel, blanket flowers, false blue indigo. I figured I will wait about 2 weeks leave inside and see if any have germinated I’m not trying to transplant or grow these just looking to see if there even viable. Location Zone 5b-6a USA. Main concerns I have should I have left the ziplock bag open a little at top and anything else I’m not aware of. Or will this work. Thank you