Top products from r/OrganicGardening

I posted this a while back, but it's relevant.

I have many tools, and each of them gets used every season. Your situation may not be similar to mine, but hopefully this is helpful.

I have four 4x8 raised beds, three 3x4 beds and a 2x10 bed. The 2x10 is 10 inches deep on top of bare Phoenix clay, the others are 8 inches deep and were put in (unfortunately) on top of a Bermuda grass yard. I use garden mix similar to Mel's Mix for Square Foot Gardening: peat moss, vermiculite, and compost. The beds have been in for two years, so there is a growing percentage of native soil (sandy clay). I also have a compost bin made of lumber and hardware cloth with two 4x4x4 bins.

Tools:

• Garden forks: I have several of these because I keep breaking the cheapo plastic D-ring handles trying to dig my native soil. One day I will have a tool repair shop attach new handles with proper steel D-rings and rivets. Best used for compost (although a manure fork would be better) or light garden soil.
  
• Trenching spade (the kind with the long rectangular blade, not a square garden spade) - this is the proper tool to use to dig down into native soil here. It is also useful for breaking up my garden beds in the summer when the bastard Bermuda grass has woven its underground runners into thick sod. AKA a drain spade.
  
• Scoop shovel/grain shovel: Used when transporting soil or compost from one bed to another, etc.
  
• Garden rakes (steel tines): Excellent for raking and smoothing loose dirt, or applying even layers of mulch. Not so good with cleanup tasks.
  
• Leaf rake (plastic tines): Excellent for raking stems, branches, and leaves. Not so good for moving dirt or heavy mulch. Also makes the parts of my yard where grass does not grow look clean and tidy.
  
• Transplanting trowel (small composite blade; Fiskars): Good for small transplants
  
• Garden trowel (large steel blade): Good for large transplants
  
• Hand cultivator: Three-prong hand cultivator
  
• Standard Hoe: Makes me sandwiches and brings me beer (not really...I kid, I kid!)
  
• Action hoe: good for cutting off weeds below soil level
  
• Wheelbarrow: carries 200 pounds of compost without breaking my spine.
  
• Dandelion digger/weeder: Cuts taproots on recalcitrant weeds.
  
• Electric tiller (http://www.amazon.com/Earthwise-TC70001-11-Inch-Electric-Cultivator/dp/B004H4X6Z6/ref=sr_1_1 ): This is a luxury. It accomplishes nothing more than I could do with a spade, fork, or rake, but it does it in a quarter of the time. Light enough to lift into a raised bed, heavy enough to keep the tines in the soil mix. Optional, but useful.
  
  
• Finger: Was born with a 10-pack. Pokes holes at appropriate spacing for seeds. Optional, but only just barely.
  
  
• Mattock: I did not buy this but inherited from a friend who moved into an apartment. This was a godsend & lifesaver when I had to remove the stump from a bush I tore out and installed one of my garden beds. Optional unless mining for gold.
  
  
• 4-way hose splitter: I only have one spigot and multiple watering needs.
  
  
• Hoses, trigger sprayer, water wand, watering can
  
  
• Hose timer: Useful for keeping my time investment alive in summer when I was out of town.
  
  TL;DR: I like me some gardening and my shed is well-stocked. The manual cultivators are not worth it; you can accomplish the same thing with other multiple-purpose tools, or a cheaper hand cultivator.

I recommend this book; it is not that long but is very thorough and will teach you almost everything you need to know to get started.

https://www.amazon.com/Rodales-Basic-Organic-Gardening-Beginners/dp/1609619838

For cheap fertilizer it depends how much you are growing. Fish fertilizer is relatively cheap because you only mix about 2 tablespoons of it per gallon of water; one bottle could last years if you just have normal medium sized garden. Also big bags of granular fertilizer can be cheap and last a while but it really depends how big your garden it. The best advice i have read, which is actually from that book, is that organic gardening is more about taking care of the soil and “guiding” nature to do its thing as opposed to taking control and forcing your garden to produce by using lots of products. For example, there are flowers you can plant that attract good bugs that eat the bad bugs which effectively gets rid of pests. Good compost with lots of worms and light applications of balanced organic fertilizers, and understanding the practical things like soil aeration and drainage and plant spacing is really all it takes to get going

I've collected many books on gardening from second-hand stores like goodwill. The Rodale's and the Home and Garden books are thorough, currently I'm using "The New Victory Garden" by Bob Thompson to plan my garden which organizes the chapters by tasks for each month. I'm also interested in edible perennial gardening; my favorite book is "Creating a Forest Garden" by Martin Crawford which has a great plant encyclopedia with ratings and guides for design and planting. If you have a little extra room and want to incorporate beautiful landscapes while growing food, it's well worth a look.

Tell us more about the soil and what kinds of crops it was used for, how often it was left fallow, and so on.

Failing that, my $0.02:
Personally, I'd go for a soil analysis for the ten bucks it'd cost you. Aiming for a nutrient-balanced soil at this point might be more valuable than adding horse poop. Knowing what the soil is deficient in will give you a much better sense of what to add, and how much.

I highly recommend Steve Solomon's book, The Intelligent Gardener if you're at all interested in balancing your soil.

If you're looking for a personal spray, try Lemon Eucalyptus. It's as effective as Deet, but it does wear off pretty quickly (esp if you sweat or get wet). My wife also isn't crazy about the smell. But for something that doesn't have toxins in it, it's a great choice.

While I have sprayed pyrethrum on my furniture and at entry points, I wouldn't indiscriminately spray it for all the reasons you mention.

Mother's Day is coming up, so this is timely too!

My top wish list item: Fiskars stand-up weeder.

My favorite buy so far: Worm bins, for worm poo, aka gardener's black gold.

I got the special setup. I was thinking if building my own but didn't want to mess with it eventually since I don't get enough time to do projects. Also the kit buckets are easier to store and less ugly.
The other difference is the screen stopping solids from clogging your drain spout.
You'll need to buy the bran anyway, which most kids include.
There are many options online.
My kit also included a compost bin to keep on a counter top, a smasher, and the bran. This kit buys me enough time to learn it, improve it, and eventually modify it build my own some day.

Edit: link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004GY0C0Y/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_16I1Ab7GBE1XA

The NOFA guides are pretty good.
http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/1603583599/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I've used these products from this company:


https://www.amazon.com/Ecological-Laboratories-Pond-Dechlorinator-Gallon/dp/B00176CHP2

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Similar products will help you.

I would recommend Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.

That's what I used in the last few years: Lfs Glove Bellingham C5301M Bamboo Liner Palm, Green, Medium https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B003UO2218/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_1ye4Db30H71ZQ

This is the book that got me into gardening way back in the early 90s. Probably quite a bit updated by now. Steve Solomon is the guy that started Territorial Seed Company.

This worked in my worm bin and all my potted plants inside the house. It kills the larva in the soil before they become breeders breaking the life cycle.

I bubble some in a container for a couple hours then strain out the bits and water my plants with it. Get some yellow sticky traps for the adults flying around and you are set.

Mosquito Dunks 116-12 8-Ounce Quick Kill Mosquito Bits https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0001LE1VC/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_Y9Utxb7FEJXFZ