NEW SFGer in Santa Ana CA

Hello all. My name is Eric Lingo and got the SFG book a few days ago and fell in love with it. now to try and implement it but my biggest hurdle atm is either getting my own soil parts or getting mel's mix in sufficient quanities..16cu ft

Eric, Welcome to the Forum from Fresno, CA!   

Hopefully some of the So Cal folks can direct you to the 5 different composts. Lowes has been carrying Mel's Mix this spring. There's another recent Topic discussing adding a little manure compost to the pre-made MM in case the mfg was a little off in making it. I'll see if I can find the Topic.

There is so much information on this Forum. Make use of the Search box and keep active on this site. You will learn so much in your first year SFG. Ask questions, we are here to help. Oh, and keep a journal and take lots of photos of your journey. We love photos!

Eric, welcome!    

I lived in Southern California for 40 years and am quite familiar with the difficulty of finding those five different composts!

On the bright side, you could order coarse vermiculite from U-Line and pick it up from the warehouse in, I believe, Ontario, Calif., thus saving shipping costs.  There's a two-bag minimum, though.  

Peat moss should be available at any Big Box store or nursery.

For composts, two I'd recommend that are widely available are chicken and the compost they sell at Whole Foods.  Some people also use Eco Scraps.  

Although it's expensive, one can sometimes find oak leaf mold at Japanese nurseries.  

Harvest Supreme by Gardner & Bloom is a good blended compost.  

You may well find sources of free or inexpensive compost or manure on Craig's List. I'm sure others will chime in with additional ideas.

Please keep us posted (pun intended) on your progress, and don't hesitate to ask questions.

If a plant is 1 plant per 2 square feet and I have my 4x4 box w my lattice dividing up the garden where do I plant it?  For example watermelon...I have my trellis up but not sure where to plant the seed. Under the lattice between two squares?

Most people say that's the toughest part, Eric. But sooner or later they get what they need.

It's worth the effort. Take heed from the many stories you can find here about people who couldn't put together much variety in their compost and found out their soil wasn't as good as they'd hoped. Amending what you've got later is tougher and more expensive than getting it right the first time. On the other hand, take heed of the many people who did get their Mel's Mix soil right the first time and had great gardening success immediately.

With all the water problems in California, a soil like Mel's Mix, which is heavy on the peat and the vermiculite and therefore retains water so easily even though it doesn't hold so much it rots the plants -- is ideal. Welcome to the forum, and may you save many costly gallons of water this year!

Mooreaot wrote:If a plant is 1 plant per 2 square feet and I have my 4x4 box w my lattice dividing up the garden where do I plant it?  For example watermelon...I have my trellis up but not sure where to plant the seed. Under the lattice between two squares?

-so

Welcome to the forum Mooreaot! I would advise planting the seed on one side or the other of your lattice, as you do not want the little seedling to have to struggle to grow up around a lattice topper. Are you trying full-sized watermelons or icebox size like Sugar Baby?

GG