recommendation on manure (free!):
get in touch with Ryan at southern star alpacas -- he & his wife run an
alpaca farm and are usually more than happy to get rid of manure -- as he
says, the alpacas do the composting for you and the stuff doesn't stink.
i've had really good results with it. and since it's so non-toxic, you can
carry more than you need & let it sit somewhere before using it, it'll
just compost more.
southernstaralpacas.com

arwen



On Thu, 30 Dec 2004, Patskywriter wrote:

dwayne, great suggestions! i definitely plan to do much of the "structural"
stuff this winter. because the dirt that was trucked in is so bad, i'm going to
build raised beds for my fruits and veggies and add composted manure and good
topsoil. i'm hoping that the "new" pressure-treated wood is OK. for the
tropical garden, bird/butterfly garden, dwarf fruit tree mini-orchard, etc i'll
have to improve the soil area by area. i can't afford to bring in good topsoil
and compost for the entire yard at one time.

i've actually planned the layout although i haven't committed it to a grid yet.
i should probably do that. i have also compiled a list of all the plants i want
to get--many i'll start from seeds.

thanks again for the great suggestions!

pat