Any square foot gardeners out there?

[dibbles]

We have kangaroos, rabbits and bandicoots in the backyard so we have to fence the veggie patch. Deep into the soil - to foil the rabbits and bandicoots and high enough to foil the kangaroos.
I am determined to make a more substantial fence that has an easy access gate this year before I plant a thing.

Sounds like here - only we have woodchuck, racoon and deer. We don't see many rabbits any more - fox and coyote have taken a toll :cry:

 

[Steve85569]

Jan's garden is 7 boxes that are 4' x 8' ( 1.3 x 2.6 metres) in raised beds. Caged to keep deer and raccoons out. I know it's not the smaller "square foot" gardening that we did in town but it's a much more controlled garden - and earlier - than mine out by the creek. Mine is about 1/3 acre and fenced the same way. We have strawberries in bloom out west and the cooler weather plants like peas and spinach are up and growing.

Steve

 

[navigator9]

Since we're on the subject of gardening and planting seeds, has anyone grown calendula and dried the petals?

They're in the marigold family, aren't they? They should be pretty easy to grow, I would think.

Sounds like here - only we have woodchuck, racoon and deer. We don't see many rabbits any more - fox and coyote have taken a toll :cry:

I've got deer, rabbits, chipmunks and a whole family of groundhogs, although they may not be back, since I filled in the tunnel they had dug right next to the foundation at the back of the house. The cats and I used to love to watch them. They're pretty amusing, although very destructive. I thought they had destroyed my peonies, after digging their tunnel right underneath them, but I noticed yesterday, that all the little peony shoots are coming up. It's funny, back when I did have my garden, the groundhogs never bothered it, they only seemed to munch on the lawn. This is a picture, taken through the screened window, of mama standing guard, while one of her babies has a snack. I hope they've moved on to greener pastures. But here is a video I watched about keeping deer out of the garden. Don't know how well it works, but it's easy and cheap enough. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_ySzNEuuKc[/ame]

 

[Chefmom]

I grow calendula, as well as a lot of other herbs, and I wildcraft them from my yard and surrounding area as well. I buy the seeds of the high resin medicinal variety of calendula from Fedco seeds, and I try to save my own along the way.

As for pests I have groundhogs, rabbits and deer. Groundhogs are dealt with quickly as they will do a lot of damage in a short amount of time and send out invites to all their relatives in the area to join them. The only true defense against deer is electric fences, unless you feel like building a 12 foot high fence or a double fence system. Whatever is growing outside of the fence will never be enough and they will mow down a garden even if they don't find the plants tasty...they will still taste. The bunnies are handled by keeping a good healthy clover growing in the lawn, they prefer clover and will not touch my garden if they have clover.

Except for the deer, my chickens are the worst for my garden, so they must be fenced out of anything I want to not be dug up or eaten.

I do love fresh tomatoes, and the last few growing seasons have been hell with rain and disease, even cherry tomatoes haven't produced anything. In the past I have grown large amounts of paste tomatoes (Roma and Amish Paste) and my favorite hybrid beefsteak type "Beefmaster" for making sauce etc, but this year I am scaling way back to keep tomatoes out of the garden and only growing in the greenhouse and maybe large pots. I am growing a few plants of a variety I saved seed from some years back called Mini Pearl(I'm surprised the seeds sprouted) I also have a cherry tomato called "Camp Joy" that reminds me of a variety my grandmother grew when I was little. They have full flavor and not just sugar like so many new tomatoes. I also am trying a new basic globe tomato, a French hybrid called "Crimson Carmello".

I'm growing more flowers this year, I've been adding perennials each year and I made a seed order from the Monticello gardens for some heritage varieties to try. I used to center my gardens around vegetables, but then I always wished I had more blooms, so this year I'm trying some new things, and mass plantings in my former veggie beds.

 

[navigator9]

My first post has a pic of my pepper sprouts. In this pic, you can see that more of them have emerged, but what I really want you to notice is on the other side of the window. SNOW!!! That's right. April snow. It's beginning to feel like spring will never get here. It helps a little to have these tiny green sprouts to look at, and remind me that soon enough, I'll be complaining about the heat!

 

[dixiedragon]

I have read about (not yet tried) people planting directly in the bag of potting soil. Buy a bag of soil, puncture the back of the bag, and lay it down. Slice a big X in the top and stick your plant in the center of the X. The bag keeps weeds from growing there, just like landscape cloth.

I have the fanciest mulch. My mom wood turns, and all of her sawdust goes on the garden. (Except walnut). So some of my mulch is from exotic Koa wood from Hawaii, curly maple, oak, pecan, etc.

 

[navigator9]

I have read about (not yet tried) people planting directly in the bag of potting soil. Buy a bag of soil, puncture the back of the bag, and lay it down. Slice a big X in the top and stick your plant in the center of the X. The bag keeps weeds from growing there, just like landscape cloth.

I have the fanciest mulch. My mom wood turns, and all of her sawdust goes on the garden. (Except walnut). So some of my mulch is from exotic Koa wood from Hawaii, curly maple, oak, pecan, etc.

Dixie, I worked in a hospital where this method was used to allow patients in wheelchairs to garden. The bags were placed on top of a wooden table capable of supporting the weight of the bags, and then patients were able to roll their wheelchairs right up to the table. These table top gardens were very popular, and you should have seen the tomatoes they grew! I've also read about square foot table top gardening, a life saver for people who love to garden but find it hard to get down to ground level. And back up again.

 

[JuneP]

I started square ft gardening three years ago and fell in love with it. For starters I have 2, 2 ft. deep beds, 4 ft. wide and 8 ft long. I filled them with high quality, organic potting mix and then used the recommended amt. of plants per square. I didn't use the potting blend they recommended. I also fertilized once a week with 1 tsp of appropriate organic fertlizer per square. For root veggies I used root vegetable fertilizer, and regular organic for the other veggies. I used only one square per tomato plant and had tons of tomatoes. They say you can't grow potatoes using this method, but I did!

I've moved since and have now built plain soil, raised beds. I don't know how well I'll do this season since I didn't have time to get my soil tested, so I just worked in several inches of mushroom compost and am using the same organic fertilizers I've used before. My veggie, Secret Garden only gets full sun on about 40% of it, so I'm putting those veggies that are supposed to do ok with only 3-6 hrs of sun and keeping my fingers crossed.

I also try to use the rules of companion planting as well.

QUOTE=navigator9;588222]When I first moved to this house, I had a garden, and loved it. Once I got busy with soaping, I just had a few tomato plants in pots and that was it. But this year, since I've retired, I want to have a garden again. Years ago, when I saw square foot gardening on TV, it piqued my interest, so I've looked into it again, and it's sounding really good. If our crazy weather here in New England would cooperate, I might be able to get started, but it's supposed to get down to around 19 degrees on Monday morning, yikes! So I was wondering if any of you soapers are also square foot gardeners, and what you think of it. It seems like you get a lot of produce in a small space, and not so many pesky weeds. I know I want tons of tomatoes, and some cukes, and sugar snap peas. I wasn't even thinking about peppers this year, until I saw some Thunderbolts in the Burpee catalog. My house is pretty cool, so they took their time germinating, but there are now four teeny weeny pepper seedlings on my kitchen window sill. I gaze at them while I'm washing dishes, thinking..."Grow, grow, faster, faster!" So far, they're not listening. I'm trying to be patient.[/QUOTE]

 

[navigator9]

I just ran across this idea, and it's really brilliant. I don't have a greenhouse, but I've got plastic tubs! I'll be doing this with my pepper plants when they get a little bigger. I thought it was too good not to pass along. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/68820700534466682/

 

[Chefmom]

I just ran across this idea, and it's really brilliant. I don't have a greenhouse, but I've got plastic tubs! I'll be doing this with my pepper plants when they get a little bigger. I thought it was too good not to pass along. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/68820700534466682/

That is a good idea for a small amount of plants. One word of advise, even on a cool day don't put the lid on top, it doesn't take much sun to cook those little babies. I would lay the lid on, but sideways to let air circulate. If you have a little thermometer to put in the tub to keep an eye on the temp is always good.

 

[Susie]

I am going to go one further and say to lay the lid upside down on the ground, then put the plants on the inside of the lid, and put the tub over the top. You can prop the tub up on one side or the other for air flow and slowly harden them off in preparation for planting. That gives you a mini greenhouse that will allow room to grow without having to take the plants out to water them. You can also drop the tub flat if there is a danger of frost. I have started many a garden plant and citrus tree using this method.

 

[navigator9]

That is a good idea for a small amount of plants. One word of advise, even on a cool day don't put the lid on top, it doesn't take much sun to cook those little babies. I would lay the lid on, but sideways to let air circulate. If you have a little thermometer to put in the tub to keep an eye on the temp is always good.

Good advice, Chefmom. I was thinking of leaving them out on the screen porch in the tub, lid off, during the day, to harden them off. Then put the lid on, and put them in the garage at night. It's like a little, portable cold frame! It's gonna be a while before I can even think of this because...we have snow on the ground from yesterday, and it's only in the 20s. But I can watch my little seedlings and dream of big, gorgeous peppers. :-D

Last night I dreamt of the garden, and beautiful red tomatoes. In the dream, I twisted one off the vine, still warm from the sun, and ate it like an apple. I can still taste it. Is there anything better than that?

 

[Chefmom]

Last night I dreamt of the garden, and beautiful red tomatoes. In the dream, I twisted one off the vine, still warm from the sun, and ate it like an apple. I can still taste it. Is there anything better than that?

My favorite time each year is when the first tomato comes ripe, biting into it and having the juices run down your chin, warm from the sun. Oh yea! Makes all the work worth it in that one moment.

When I had my big garden, every morning's breakfast was a wander through the garden just grazing on what was there. Green beans, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, peas, peppers, even the sharp heat of a scallion!! I would pick and eat. Best way for sure!
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