When planting for our garden, most of us just use pre-purchased potting soil to make sure our plants have enough nutrients to grow. However, this is honestly a waste of money- especially since you have your own yard full of (free) dirt. Check out this post by Jessica at 104 Homestead for how to turn your ordinary dirt into rich soil:
-Create as much compost as you can, then layer it with animal manure in a lasagna style.
-Start with a layer of newspaper or cardboard, wet it down, and add a thin layer of compost or manure. Then, add a 6-8 inch thick layer of straw or chopped dry leaves, and top with a final thick layer of compost or manure. The next step in repairing damaged soil is to make sure all the lovely nutrients you added don’t get washed away by erosion. Use mulch in between your plants so the soil stays put.