planting in a a small space

[hartlanders]

Hello everyone my wife and I are thinking of making a container
out of 2x12 boards.We live in a manufactured home community
and want to grow tomatoes.The ground is mostly clay where it is going to be,and was thinking of adding some mi.peat to loosen soil.We will be getting dirt to fill in the box when built.There are places nearby that I can get horse manure,is this a good to use?We miss good homegrown tomatoes.Any suggestions will be appreciated!
hartlanders

[cynthia_h]

Horse manure "fresh from the source" is NOT good for your plants. Please be sure that it has been fully composted first. A complete composting process will kill the weed seeds and any pathogens before you rely on that material to grow food.

I have no idea where you live, but there's bound to be a Freecycle list serving your area. Look up www.freecycle.org to find one near you. People offer and ask for the most amazing and varied things; you can probably get more horse manure than you can use.

What the heck: ask for composted horse manure while you're at it; maybe you'll get lucky!

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[hartlanders]

Thanks for the fast reply!I will check for compost
and if I can't should I just add black dirt or should
compost be mixed in?
hartlanders

[The Helpful Gardener]

We sure like compost as it adds a lot of biology to the mix which is great for any plants; if you can get it you should...

HG