In Hampton Roads, raised bed gardening is best because we are in a large flood zone. If you have constant water on your crops, your crops will suffer. When creating such beds, we need to mimic the soil profile of what should be in the ground beneath your feet. If you were to probe the soil, this is what you will find.
Our bedrock is close to our surface area because we are coastal. The parent material is just broken down bedrock over time. The subsoil is parent material that has broken down further into sand and clay. Topsoil is soil (sand and clay) mixed with organic material. If you are buying topsoil in a bag, this is what you are getting. If you are buying potting soil, you are actually getting organic material that has not fully broken down. Potting soil is more expensive than potting soil. In our ground beneath our feet, we have very little organic material on our property. The reason for this is because we tend to mulch our grass and leaves, then bag them, and put them out with the trash. We do not allow nature to take its course and make our yards rich in nutrients.
Topsoil is very important in our raised beds as all topsoil must maintain at least 50% micropores in which hold water and air. Without these micropores, plants will die. If we get too much water, there is no air for the roots. And this is the reason why raised beds do much better than beds in the ground. It is very important not to press topsoil down very hard. In our yards and especially in parks, we do not need to drive over the grass, as it will deplete the micropores, thus killing all the vegetation.
But even with raised beds, we need to have layered soil like the soil profile. We need the rocks and sand at the bottom of our beds. This allows for better drainage. Then we need to have top soil, organic manure (if the crop needs rich soil) or potting soil if it does not. Organic material is a must as it acts as a mulch as it breaks down into our topsoil.
The posts here will be dedicated to raised beds, hydroponic, and planting in buckets, and recyclables material that can add a garden to any urban landscape.
Gardening with Recyclables: https://elementalemergent.org/gardening-with-recyclables/
Composting: https://elementalemergent.org/composting-101/