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Post by Granny Smith on Jun 8, 2010 13:46:07 GMT -5
Considering that I've only had to pull out a couple of small clovers, while my regular garden is full of bindweed, I'm loving SFG! I need some deeper beds for tomatoes and I can't figure out how I'd grow potatoes and corn this way.
Of course, it's still early. We haven't hit our hot season yet, so I don't know how they'll do then. If I need to water them, that won't be good.
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Post by Valerie on Jun 8, 2010 17:39:49 GMT -5
In the old SFG he recommended that you make smaller boxes for potatoes and then, in stead of hilling dirt, add another box and fill 'er up. I don't think it would be feasible for a lot of potatoes though. Corn you plant by the box full, one to a square so it's close enough to get good pollination.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jun 8, 2010 17:59:44 GMT -5
You'd need a whole lot of boxes to grow corn and potatoes, at least enough to put up for the winter. Sounds like those are best grown in a traditional garden. Might be good to grow some new potatoes for eating fresh, though. They'd be easy to harvest.
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Post by michelle on Jun 9, 2010 13:02:56 GMT -5
I'm praying mine doesn't drown. We are getting so much rain lately.
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Post by susan on Jun 9, 2010 17:47:15 GMT -5
I got most of my garden cleared of the weeds after Timmy tilled it, then we got woke up to a nasty storm at 4:00AM. There's still puddles of water in the driveway, so I know the garden is too muddy to work in. We've got more rain coming too.
Susan
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Post by Valerie on Jun 9, 2010 20:24:08 GMT -5
You'd need a whole lot of boxes to grow corn and potatoes, at least enough to put up for the winter. Sounds like those are best grown in a traditional garden. Might be good to grow some new potatoes for eating fresh, though. They'd be easy to harvest. I don't remember if he mentioned it in the new book, but in the original, Mel's whole premise was to grow what you can eat. He said a family of 4 didn't need more than 3 boxes total! I think it's a wonderful idea for herbs, a salad garden, some flowers, that kind of thing. But if you want to grow enough to last a year, you'd need acres of boxes. And tons of money for all that Mel's Mix!
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Post by eyeofthestorm on Jun 10, 2010 6:41:04 GMT -5
I don't remember if he mentioned it in the new book, but in the original, Mel's whole premise was to grow what you can eat. He said a family of 4 didn't need more than 3 boxes total! I think it's a wonderful idea for herbs, a salad garden, some flowers, that kind of thing. But if you want to grow enough to last a year, you'd need acres of boxes. And tons of money for all that Mel's Mix! He does say that, Valerie. And I was following his premise. In theory. I'm still having an awful time getting certain things to grow here (potatoes and pretty much any curcurbit - stupid borers). Last year, I read this (awesome) book called ]Fresh Food from Small Spaces. The guy grew up working on farms but has lived in urban settings since finishing school. He always looked for books on producing his own food in such a setting, and finally just wrote one for the rest of us. His premised is not grow what you'll eat; instead, it's eat what you can grow. He claims if you implement three chapters in his book, you can replace, I think it's, 15% of your family's food they buy. It's interesting - there are chapters on fermentation, sprouting, container gardening, growing mushrooms, bees & chickens in the city, growing plants vertically. It's very interesting, and for me, helpful because here at the BnB we have very limited space indoors. But anyway, I don't waste space or effort right now on things that have failed twice. I had space at my sister's for squash, so I planted some seed there. Squash already, but borers, too. Blech. I'll still be willing to stick with small experiments, but in the mean time, I'll put my emphasis where I get the most bang and we'll eat around that.
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Post by Valerie on Jun 10, 2010 8:22:54 GMT -5
Sandra, I put squash in buckets this year and haven't had a single borer yet. I actually harvested 2 squash for the first time in 3 years! No squash bugs, no borers. They are starting to get a bit of mildew, though, because it's been so humid. Can't fuss at God for making it rain in the evening, though; especially when we need the rain so bad.
I agree with you, too, on throwing more time and money on things that don't work for you. That's why the only action my tiller saw this year was prepping the ground to plant the peach trees. I drive by and see rows of corn in every conceivable space and wish I had planted some, but I've never harvested a single ear, so this year probably would have been no different. I like that idea. Grow what you can, and eat it! Some places just aren't suited to growing bushels of stuff, I guess.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jun 10, 2010 23:10:45 GMT -5
Valerie, I used Mel's Mix in the first 3 boxes, but it was expensive. For the rest of them, I used my own homemade compost mixed with an equal amount of peat moss ($9 a bale at Lowe's) One bale was enough for 2 beds. That brought the cost down considerably, the mix is just as soft, none have any weeds to speak of, and they all appear to be growing equally well.
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Post by Valerie on Jun 11, 2010 8:37:51 GMT -5
That's great! The whole point is to use compost, and using your own is tons better. I'm very excited about having homemade compost for the first time this year. I sure do hate spending money!
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Post by Granny Smith on Jun 11, 2010 15:00:39 GMT -5
Not me! I like spending money, but not on dirt and poo. I'd rather buy books or small appliances.
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Post by christy on Jun 12, 2010 10:48:41 GMT -5
My garden is still seedlings. But I love checking in on all of yours. BTW: Our lilacs haven't even bloomed yet.
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Post by Valerie on Jun 13, 2010 10:54:06 GMT -5
I have a little watermelon! It was about the size of a golf ball yesterday. Today it's about the size of a lemon. It's so cute! I counted 6 fuzzy little cantaloupe, too. I only count them once they turn on their stems and start growing, so I know they got pollinated.
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Post by Valerie on Jun 15, 2010 11:21:50 GMT -5
Put a white sheet over the cuke trellis today. Yesterday some of the leaves burned up in the hot sun. We don't usually get these temps until July or August. The tomatoes looked like they were trying to stew on the vines. I picked all that were close to ripe today. Some were getting black spots and starting to crack from the heat stress. Maybe next year I should relocate the buckets somewhere in the back yard, rather than right on the porch in the blazing sun.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jun 27, 2010 20:12:40 GMT -5
I took a few pictures of the raised beds today. This one shows how tall the bee balm is this year. It's nearly twice as tall as normal. It's up to the edge of the greenhouse roof! (Ignore the huge weeds in the background. Most of them are pokeweed. I'm trying to get a stand going there, so I can cut it in the spring without having to look so hard for it) This is the purple coneflower (echinacea). It's only about 3 feet from the clothesline pole, so this isn't a trick picture. The top of the pole is about 6 feet high. This is the SFG beds. Not the best picture. It was hard to get them all in because I couldn't back up enough - the stone benches were in my way. Next time I'll get a better angle. The yard is getting kind of jungle-y. We just cut that grass 2 days ago! We've had so much rain that I have yet to even have to water my hanging baskets!
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