Speaking of Lead Part 3: the Solution (or, What to Do About Lead in Your Soil)

Now that the shock of the lead discovery has worn off and we have come to understand that a leaden raspberry patch is unlikely to kill anyone, I feel bound to tell you about my response to the lead contamination in the soil next to the garage, i.e., the designated raspberry site. 

After the various stages of tooth-gnashing, hand-wringing, and consternation gave way to disillusionment, fatigue, and finally a sense that this was not in fact the end of the world or even my career as an edible gardener, I built a raised bed for the raspberries. Actually I hired someone to build it for me, since it required  heavier cutting tools than I have or like to use. I had the timbers already (hand-me-downs from my next-door neighbor), which were the perfect size, and I had a few other projects that my landscaper, Roberto Sanchez, was more than happy to undertake.

So Roberto and his guys showed up one day in August with the tools and a truckload of dirt. I had cleared the ground for them and stacked the timbers suggestively: