Pigs have higher feed conversion ratios than ruminants, but lower ratios than poultry. The ratio depends on the quality of the feed, but I think it runs in the 3-5 lbs. of feed per pound of gain range. Because pigs aren't ruminants, they don't digest forages as completely as sheep and cattle or produce amino acids as in the rumen, and thus generally require higher quality feeds and have higher, more complete protein requirements. Be sure runoff from the pigs pens doesn't flow directly to surface water. Your plans would meet the requirements of an animal feeding operation, even with a couple pigs. An AFO that discharges to surface water is required to get a permit which will require you to eliminate the ability of untreated runoff to get to surface water, at which point you are no longer a regulated AFO and don't require a permit--so, just skip the regulatory process and make sure no runoff gets to surface water. Pig manure is high in nutrients, particularly phosphate and high in nitrogen when the liquids are retained. Because pigs don't normally consume high fiber diets (like humans they don't digest the cellulose), it isn't as high in organic matter compared to cow or sheep manure. They will heavily fertilize the garden and add organic matter, but they won't add the degree of organic matter that ruminants can. Biologically they are relatively close to humans. I would fallow the pens for a year before putting it back in garden to make sure there aren't any diseases or parasites passed to the garden produce. Good luck!

It's around 14.5 x 3.5 feet, wanted to go wider but ma wants it narrow for some reason. You don't want it any wider than four feet because your arms would not be long enough to allow your hands to get into the center for weed/mulch maintenance or to pick for harvest. I know folks say to rotate the 'crops' every year to keep pests at bay, but with only tomatoes and peppers going I'm not sure if I'll be able to do that. Even if you have a four by four bed, you can still rotate your crops. Tomatoes and peppers are tropical plants. You can start planning on a fall planting of beans, flowers, cold crops like broccoli, carrots, radishes, lettuce, beets, cabbages, spinach, etc. This will contribute to crop rotation. So long as your plants are healthy and not harboring any disease, then you should be fine. If your plants are diseased, pull up the entire plant including the roots and remove them from your property entirely. Better safe than sorry. Check with your state's Extension Service. Each county should have it's own Cooperative Extension Office which provides free publications and information for the asking. They will have valuable vegetable/gardening tables available specifically for your area determined by universities and horticultural research scientists who have collected data from growing those crops in your state. Your tax dollars are already paying for this service so you may as well get some use out of it. Vegetable Planting and Planning Calendar for Missouri (download the pdf) complete with spring and fall planting dates (underneath the spring planting dates for appropriate crops), how much to plant per person, etc. They can also tell you the average last frost date for your area and ideal planting times for specific crops and varieties in your area. See how detailed this example is:

Starting last year, I tried doing crop rotation. But after thinking about things this year, I've decided I'll make an effort, but not freak out about it too much, unless there is a special circumstance. My garden is only 200 sq. feet, not counting paths. (I wish it could be bigger, but I'm not willing to cut down forest.) I inter-crop, and with decent soil, roots go pretty far. I figure that roots of plants of various families could probably be found in most places in my garden. I would imagine that this makes the soil depletion issue not so much of an issue. To boot, I add lots of compost, turn in tons of compostables in the fall, use fish emulsion as a spot treatment, and use organic fertilizers. I live in southern New Hampshire, and here in New England late blight was pretty impossible to avoid last year. I held it off with compost tea, but eventually my toms got it like all my neighbors'. Since late blight overwinters, I did my best to move the toms for this year. The Extension told me a few feet away was probably enough because I didn't grow potatoes last year. Gardeningscomplicated, sounds like I should look at the Jeavons book. Sounds like it would make me feel better about my method.

Thanks for your thoughts. Doof, if you live in Long Beach, you can grown all kinds of greens come Oct--lettuce, cilantro, greens for stir-fry, snap peas, etc. They all get tired by Spring.I plant my toms and cukes around May. Yeah you got a point Spiced-Ham, crop rotation not only means planting different stuff, but also a rest. I'm thinking of only growing in those Earthboxes next year, or their equivalent, after buying one this year and seeing all the posts on how to build your own. It has worked quite well for me, and in the meantime I might use my raised beds as compost piles. Only problem I foresee is a rodent party fest, so I might not.