I have a surplus of tomato seedlings so I decided to create a small vegetable patch near the curb to grow "free" tomatoes for passersby. The soil in my front yard is crap so I made kind of a mini Hügel. I dig a trench about 2 feet deep and threw in some birch logs and staves from an old rotted barrel planter, then added leaves and compost, back-filled it with the original soil, then covered it in a layer of cardboard and mulch. I made sure to leave a space in front equal to the deck on my lawnmower.