Veg table garden?

Question

I want to do a vegtable garden next spring but all the top soil has been removed from by property. How do I start to bring the soil back so as to grow some vegtables.

Answer 1

Who took the top soil? Doesn't your city require developers to replace the top soil in new houses?

If you truly have no top soil, you will have to buy some. I suggest building raised beds: outline the area where you want the veggie garden, then build up wooden or stone walls for it about 6 inches high. Then add topsoil, compost and well rotted manure to fill the beds.

Ongoing, build a compost pile and add more compost yearly.

Answer 2

Start with a soil test so you know what you are working with. The test will report on the N-P-K and pH of your soil telling you exactly how much to add. If you want to do it organically and can manage working with percentages here are explicit directions.
Calculating your own fertilizer:
http://pubs.caes.uga.edu/caespubs/pubcd/C853.htm
Healthy soil grows healthy plants. Doing it organically means it takes a bit more time for things to break down and beneficial soil communities, including actinomycetes and arbuscular mycorrhizae, need to recover if you till in any amendments. They are your partners in preparing the soil and growing the plants. Know your beneficial flora & fauna in the soil and on top. It seems like a lot to learn but it really will help.
To asses your soil's mineral content: sand, silt and clay ratio plus how much organic is in the soil. Here is one method to familiarize your self with the soil. Optimum soil percentages are: Sand - 30-50%, Silt - 30-50%, Clay - 20- 30%, Organic material - 5-10%.
You need 1 quart jar, 2 cups water, 1 T water softener OR three drops detergent. Add just enough to separate the minerals not to foam up.
Take a soil sample, excluding roots, rocks or other large object, from the top 12 inches in your garden beds. Since your soil may vary throughout your property, take samples from each area you plan to amend and test each one separately.
Place your soil sample, water and water softener in a quart jar. Cover with a tight fitting lid on the jar, shake vigorously until everything is floating in the water. (If it foams you used to much soap.) Set the jar aside for 24 hours.
What settles first is the sand, the next layer is the silt, followed by the clay, and frosting all the layers is the organic material on top. When everything has settled after 24 hours, measure each layer. Then divide the thickness of each layer by the total depth of all layers together. To get the percentages, multiply the answers by 100.
This site will help
http://www.pedosphere.com/resources/bulkdensity/
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/soilmgmt.html
http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/pages/g00164.asp

Answer 3

Unfortunately that is a growing trend in developments, builders scraping up the topsoil and then selling it. You are probably going to have to buy some. You can also start a compost pile, or get an earth maker (they kind of look like a big black R2D2) and it is something to put your food scraps in to create compost but keeps it out of site.