What can I do to help out the organic garden that I will be growing?

United States
December 25, 2011 9:32pm CST
I will be putting in an organic garden this spring (I am in the process of buying a house and should be in by early February) and want to have a good start to a great garden. What can you suggest that I do to lhave a garden that is organic and produces. I have decided to put plenty of horse manure (there is a school nearby that raises horses and mostly grain feeds them). I will be putting in a compost pile for the garden and raises worms both for the garden/compost and feeding my tropical fishes. I will hope to have up to 100 small to medium aquariums on cental filtration systems of which I will use the water for watering the garden when I do water changes. Next fall (after the crops have been harvested, I plan on growing green manure for turning over in the spring time. I am also hoping to start putting in raised beds for the future because my wife is having trouble with her legs. These will be up to two feet tall so that if she is in a wheel chair, she can still enjoy going out to work in them. What other suggestions can you give me to help me make good choises in getting this organic garden started and having is sustainable?
1 person likes this
2 responses
marguicha
@marguicha (230349)
• Chile
13 Feb 12
Garden with a raised bed. - I use raised beds for my veggies. It yields a lot more.
I made raised beds in my garden for the same reason. My back and knees hurt too much as I have had back surgery. As for the horse manure, my daughter did not have a good experience. It seems that the horses did not chew well the grain so that when she put the manure, she had loads of horse grass instead of her plants. I suggest you do something so that the manure rots before using it. Take care!
pergammano
@pergammano (7682)
• Canada
12 Jan 12
Seems to me, that you are totally on the right path, and have done your research! With the horse manure, I would be inclined to ask if they are regularly feeding antibiotics? Make sure that your horsemanure is composted and aged..as you will note in the manure (if not from a hot pile)grain seeds and weed seeds sometimes remain undigested and your garden will be plagued. Get a small test kit for pH levels..and modify your soil according to what you are growing there. Remember, too much nitrogen (manure)will give you lots of growth and greenery, but seldom produces product! Altho it lasts longer...do NOT use treated lumber for your raised beds, leeching will contaminate your soil. If using Cedar (for longevity)you will probably want to often test your soil, as it will become acidic...I adjust mine with ashes from my wood stove (I do no burn any plastics or colored paper)! A big help...would be to know your growing zone & season! Happy Gardening...and looking forward to your posts of your progress!