On Tue, 06 Sep 2016 09:56:25 -0700, Oren wrote:

Your local county extension office may test the soil for you and state
what is needed to amend the soil.

Some plants grow better when planted together; tomatoes / bell peppers
and basil. Helps with controlling insects, too.

Hi my huckleberry friend,

You understood the quest.
The quest is to learn, so I appreciate the advice that maybe the local
(something) will help with testing the soil.

That's my first quest - which is to *assess* scientifically (as cheaply as
possible, of course) the soil.

My first assessment was to ask you guys for an informal assessment based on
the pictures. DO you think this stuff is sufficient to grow huckleberries?

As for the plants growing together - that's interesting. Very interesting.
We'll limit the plants to whatever the kids or we adults eat, but both
basil and peppers and tomatoes too are in the mix.

In fact, the wife grows basil and peppers all the time (but she uses
potting soil).

The goal here is to figure out if the soil is good to start with.
- I need to figure out its ability to hold moisture - but how?
- I need to figure out its current NPK values - but how?
- I need to figure out its level of organic material - but how?

Then I need to figure out what to add to compensate for deficiencies.

How does the soil in the OP look (from the pictures) compared to yours?