As I stated in an earlier post, our backyard is in a state of flux. We're considering a retaining wall (because our back lotline is higher than the house foundation and otherwise the lawn would slope pretty steeply down towards the house). We can't put the retaining wall right on the lotline because electric and gas lines are buried (3 feet underground) 3 feet from the lotline on our side, and therefore the land still needs to be the "high" elevation til about 5-6 feet away from the lotline.

So, to put the "wasted" flat ground on the far side of the retaining wall to good use, I was going to site my "permanent" (for next year) vegetable garden on the soil on top of (on the far side of) the retaining wall. But, I've read that foundations can leach stuff into the soil that increases alkalinity. Would having a perhaps 5-foot wide garden along a retaining wall be a problem due to material from the concrete block leaching into the soil? Or, would it only be a problem for things like blueberries that need acidic soil?

Besides blueberries, are there any other food-plants that need acidic soil?

Ugh, I'm so new at this and know so little! I only know that after 8 years of apartment living, I'm dying to have a nice prolific garden and fresh vegetables without pesticides.

Thanks,

zuzu :)