A raised bed? Raised beds are very forgiving, and the physics and biology are very different from that of containers. There are other forums that will help you out a lot more than this one. Is the horse manure / cow manure fresh? Most kinds of manure, and especially horse manure, needs to be composted with "brown" material before it can be used by plants.. otherwise it will burn them. You can get away with small amounts mixed in. The compost and pine bark fines are great soil amendments for raised beds, but you may want to get some cheap topsoil to form the bulk of the mix if you don't have enough to mix into. There is an approach to raised bed gardening that uses completely new material - like mel's mix - but that will require yearly replacement and inorganic components like vermiculite. I think its kind of silly to be honest, but it obviously works in certain situations.

Hi Naomi! Glad you took the plunge and joined in on the action. This is a great bunch here and you won't regret it. I think there are a few forum regulars in your neck of the woods. My name is Betsy and I live north of you in Palm Coast. Near the east coast - south of St. Augustine. I currently work fulltime but am losing my job on May 2nd due to a corporate buyout/downsizing whatever they want to call it. I wish I could stay home but unfortunately that cannot happen just yet. I like all that nature has to offer. ~Betsy

Good to know, but I hope more Northern NV folks join in. We have the heat in common (at least during the summer months,LOL) but the climate in the high desert/ Eastern Sierra is a whole different thing. (6 months of snow and ice, anyone?)

Like Claire, I would love to see your work, Lou. I do remember some blue jay carvings you put in a post awhile back, awesome! Today was surely a bittersweet day for you. I hope the good memories got you through okay. Rusty