Karen From Delaware

Congratulations on getting the beds made. I am looking forward to your photos.

Do you want this to be your thread? Several of us have a thread to which we keep posting, sort of like a journal.
"Karen From Delaware" and move it to the Mid Atlantic subforum. Would you like this?

Well… the beds are filled, perennial herbs are planted, back hurts and I’m excited for next season (and comforted that I won’t have to do this again or 10 years!!). Will try to plant some lettuce, etc… and see if I can get something before frost. Thank you EVERYONE for your generosity in answering all of my questions. I think I got a pretty good variety of compost - we’ll see how the plants like it. Time will tell! Is it possible to post photos on this site?

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t21775-update-2017-how-to-post-a-picture-located-on-your-computer

Do you want me to change the name of this thread to Karen From Delaware?

@ Sanderson. Thank you!! That would be great. I apologize for the delayed response. Was out of town and then was prepping for company visiting!!

KarenSB wrote:Hi Scorpio Rising,
I'm reading his book now and just found this forum. Yes, this year was my first "real garden" (I've done container herbs/tomatoes before). As for the size - the boxes are there so I'd like to use them if possible. I could always plant them with flowers (Love cut flowers) during the "learning stage".  Any thoughts on creating Mels Mix economically? A friend of my son, who has a small commercial organic farm, gave me the name of someone who sells organic compost for a reasonable cost. I think I read I can use 100% compost? Thanks for your reply!!

Hi, Karen.  I wasn't watching when you joined in August.  I'm a first year SFGer (North Alabama, 7b as well), and your questions are a lot like mine last Jan or Feb when I joined.  You've made a good start...  maybe you'll not make my mistakes.

As far as economics and savings for MM, I suggest you get onto the compost creation immediately asap.

If so, you could have a good bit of homemade compost set aside by next Spring when you will need it as you start the planting, and by late Fall or next Summer when you will need compost again to refurbish as you pull plants from squares.  We are trying to "up our game" with compost-making, really going to focus on it this Fall.   Also build our own worm bin and let that work for us as much as possible.

Looking back over the past 3/4year...  

--- Compost (along with the worm castings), these ingredients are at the heart of SFG'ing and without it there's just no success, I think. 

--- HOMEMADE compost  (and HOMEMADE worm castings) are at the heart of economical SFG'ing - it appears to me.  My beginning MM would have been so much less if I had my own compost.

I hate to say it but have met several local newbie gardeners over the Summer who are trying the SFG method of planting but using just their garden soil instead of the compost, just out of failure to read carefully -- and they have all done better this first year with yields and health of plants than we did with our expensive but flawed  MM.  The same with friends who have weed-overgrown row gardens, some of them have gotten better produce than I did with my expensive mix, despite pests.  I hope yours does well.  Don't make the mistakes I did if you can.

( The first time 40 yrs ago or more that I tried SFG, I made the mistake of using only garden soil, sifted.  BIG failure because the soil I used was around the foundation of my house and nutrient deprived terrible stuff, I just didn't know the diff. So I gave up.  This time, I read carefully, understood the diff, but as it was Feb and March here, I had trouble sourcing the good ingredients.  For instance the garden and feed stores had already sold out of all worm castings.  I bought:
1. some mushroom compost from Lowe's - Black Velvet; 
2. some Black Kow from Lowe's; 
3. some of my own old compost but afraid it had leached out sitting; 
4.  some from a farmer but dunno if he let his leach as well; and
5.  some of his worm castings which I think were ok, surely? 
And I have had problems with my MM, only with some veg - it's definitely not where we needed it to be.    Broccoli and cabbages did well;  cherry tomatoes, we've got some.  Other items, just wrong.   I paid an arm and a leg for MM in our 9 3x4 beds and some more tubs.  )

I can only hope that it will correct now that we're refurbishing with our own compost mix, which we've been trying to make this Spring.  I was really upset when my son dumped some finished compost out into a cart, rain piled up to fill the cart, and then -- wait for it -- my husband dumped all that leached good liquid out onto the ground instead of watering the beds with it.    Sigh. 

Anyway, I hope you get the point -- start learning to make volumes of compost and worm castings asap!

[  Let me find a good video I saw on worm castings in an earth type cooler box.  I'll send it along if you're interested.  They say it solves several probs with worms and I am planning to do their method.]

Ohiogardener here seems to make  lots of compost quickly. He has said he goes and collects juice pulp from juice stores, and coffee grounds from coffee houses.  So his volume is amazing to me.  I hope when he sees this that he will consider creating a video or series of little videos on his Youtube channel showing the stages of his process and talking over the steps, for creating quick compost.   How bout it, OG?  I've been meaning to ask recently.

Since we're in the same zone, I'll pass along one of our first lessons.  When planting the brassicas, broc/cabbages,  the very day you put them out, go ahead and cover the plants with tulle down to the ground, to keep out the cabbage worms.  (Or if it's like our area, they will be seen the very next day likely as little white butterflies, flitting around and laying eggs on the plants.) 

I bought several bolts of tulle, then bought another batch for stocking up,  from ebay.  Saw the link on a youtube gardener's video. 

I see the individual bolts I bought (54" x 40yds) are not $8.99 anymore but $12.99.  I didn't look to see if another listing has a better price.  Some people like the wider width for rows.  YMMV. 

Oh, I see a 5bolt listing for $10/bolt, and a 10bolt listing for a $8.99/bolt.  Talking to friends, I figure I'll be using this stuff many yrs but need a lot of it to cover my stuff.

This company: Gifts International, Inc?
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_dkr=1&iconV2Request=true&_ssn=organzabag&store_cat=0&store_name=giftsinternationalinc&_oac=1&_nkw=54%22%20bolt%20tulle

I like the 108" width only so I don't have to piece it together. Joann's fabrics has a 25% off coupon.


https://www.joann.com/matte-tulle-fabric-108-white/481374.html