YerbaBuena's Playhouse garden

The Playhouse is the tool and potting shed/getaway (wired for sound and video). It is at the far end of the patio area and has two beds in front. I am struggling to get the soil right. We brought dirt from the top of the acequia (irrigation ditch) after it was cleaned in spring. This dirt is rich, but it is heavy and sticky! Think “clay canal.” If you put a shovel in you bring up a large brick! I have been amending and amending – sand, Soil Menders Plus, and sphagnum peat. Everything I planted last year struggled. Strawberries and roses are in front of the Playhouse so I am also doing everything I can to acidify our alkaline soil. I have not had a soil test done, but this is the Southwest. Waiting patiently.