I'm kind of a novice gardener

[suckafoo]

I currently have an area in my yard where I would like to plant a vegetable garden but I'm not sure if its a good spot. I think it does receive at least 6 hours of sunlight a day. That is on days when we have sun. I live near Portland Oregon where we do tend to get a lot of rain but we have summers that are warm and usually dry. Anyway I was wanting to plant corn but I'm not sure if I made it in time. I still have grass where I would like to have a garden so I'll need to kill that grass and til up the soil. I was wondering what should I use for compost and pete moss? and btw what is pete moss anyway?

[Chris]

peat moss isn't something you need to use.

You're fine still for planting corn, though corn is not an easy crop for beginners, or people with virgin soil.

It is a challenge to turn grass into garden. That soil is covered with turf and has been compacted for years probably. I would not recommend it, it is easier to build a raised bed over the grass.

http://www.backyardgardening.net/article/raised-wood-bed/

If you are insistent on just tilling up the grass, rent some equipment and prepare to put some work in. You need to remove the grass entirely, add in some new soil, and till it all up to loosen it.

Corn, specifically, is wind pollinated so it doesn't do well in small gardens, for best production you need at least 4 rows of it (a bigger area than your average raised bed for sure). On the other hand, with a really small garden, you can hand pollinate it by removing some of the flowers from the top and brushing them on the silks coming out of the top of the ears. But like an 8 foot by 8 foot patch would be more or less the minimum for corn. It also is a heavy feeder (fertilizer, water) and does need loose soil.

I personally try to avoid sod busting whenever possible.

As for the sun issue, "at least 6 hours" is a minimum amount. The ideal spot will get sun from dawn to dusk. Any shade will reduce production. Vegetables really need as much sun as you can provide.

[Bernie_P]

Solid advice from Chris there. I would just like to add that if your land is “virgin” corn growth would probably not be optimal especially if you don’t get much sunlight.

[LIcenter]

Your growing season is so short, i'm not sure it would be worth it to try. If i'm not mistaken that latitude even has problems growing tomatoes. Cool weather crops would be where I would set my sights on, unless you have a green house to get things started early on.