A few thoughts on soil:

 

If the land has not been used before find a competent grower to check it out. Such people are usually available in any community.

In case that such a person is not possible, take a look around. If there is grass growing it will be alright for growing vegetables. Dig a few holes, if you come up with a few old tins and broken glass, it is not safe for growing. If you find that the top soil is thin, like no more than a couple of inches, then it will be no good for growing. 

  Good top soil should be dark in colour due to the presents of humus and at least eight inches in depth.

You do not want any large stones or to be over looked by a rocky ledge.

A good idea to test the soil for lime, you want to aim for 6.5 or there about.

Best to apply lime in the autumn. The soil will need lime because it makes plant foods soluble. Never let lime come in contact with cow manure because it could make ammonia in the form of gas which will cause the fertility to be lost.

Braking up the soil to a good depth will give the soil a greater water holding  ability. This is a very point because of the fact that plants have to take all of the food substances that they obtain from the soil in solution. It provides a greater bulk of soil in which the plant roots may ramify in search of food. The less fertile the soil the greater is the necessity  of digging deep, because the looser the soil the further down the roots can go making them less likely to succumb during a dry spell.

Do not dig during hard frost.

If it is a new bit of land that you are working, begin by removing large stones and rubbish that may be on the surface.

Get the land as-fine as you can by raking.

Double digging is a great way to open up new land: A trench should first be dug a foot or eighteen inches wide and a foot deep, provided that the topsoil goes down that far. 

The soil from this trench should be placed on one side so as to be accessible for filling in the last trench when digging is finished. 

When you opened the first trench, proceed with the digging, turning each spadeful of soil bottom up in the trench. The soil can be turned over with greater ease and more efficiently by always maintaining a trench when digging. It is the only way by which sods, manure, and weeds may be properly buried so that they may decay and form plant food.