Winter Excitement

minervalong 1/31/2012, 7:39 pm

Hey y'all --

Have been reading the ANSFG for the last two weeks, it is due back at the library tomorrow, dunno if it is gonna make it though Wink

. I spend the winter months dreaming of gardens and greenhouses, this year I will be getting the greenhouse for certain, and I will make a start on my boxes

. Today I made a 5 gallon flow through worm house (thanks to info found here) and got one of the storm doors for my greenhouse (30$ craiglist) whoooooohoooooooo.

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the posts and totally appreciate the humor of the group. I look forward to much learning and laughter.

UnderTheBlackWalnut 1/31/2012, 7:58 pm

$glad you\'re here$ minervalong!

My son is in north central Kentucky (followed a job there). There is a huge contingency on the forum from the Cincinnati area as well! Smile

I know what you mean about ANSFG...sounds like you might have to break down and buy a copy. Wink

Many of us get it out and refer to it again and again. Some members reread theirs at the beginning of each season. Smile

Sounds like you are off to a great start...worms and all! Smile

You might want to take a look at the thread that has resurfaced here about the importance of your Mel's Mix:
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t7451-mel-s-mix-how-strong-is-your-backbone

I believe there is a 7 day waiting period after joining the forum before you can post pictures, but after that we love pics! Smile

I am a relative newbie and completely agree with your comments about the forum members. They are AWESOME!

Happy Gardening! Smile

minervalong 1/31/2012, 8:15 pm

You really find out what a small world it is on here don't you? Hubby has cousins near Springfield and an uncle on up in, of all places, Walnut lol.
As for MM, with the cost of the new greenhouse going up this year, might only get a small section done in it, I'm going with a "designed garden" plan, so will put in a bit at a time as I can. To save on costs, I've found a source of horsey poo, and moopoo, there will be the worm output, a chicken house is gonna be attached to my greenhouse, and I fortunately live on about 70 acres, about 20 of it with old woods, so will have inches of leaf compost to harvest already. So I think that with a year of composting all those, that will be my golden five, right?

UnderTheBlackWalnut 1/31/2012, 11:13 pm

Wow - it IS a small world. My husband is from the Chicago area and taught up in Sterling, IL some years ago which is in the vicinity of Walnut (and yes, I had to look it up on a map). Smile

I've actually lived most of my life in Springfield, except when I went about 70 miles up the road to college. Smile

You sound like you have a great start on your composts. Winter Excitement 3170584802

Make sure your manures are fully composted. There are very few you can add straight without composting them. (I think llama and rabbit are among those.) I know after listening to others on the forum talk about composting, that it's poops and plants and more browns than greens if you are doing your own compost pile. There are several good threads on the forum about composting...and as the members say, "compost happens". Smile

**Furbalsmom** 2/1/2012, 12:48 pm

minervalong

Have been reading the ANSFG for the last two weeks, it is due back at the library tomorrow, dunno if it is gonna make it though . I spend the winter months dreaming of gardens and greenhouses, this year I will be getting the greenhouse for certain, and I will make a start on my boxes

I really enjoyed my first reading of ANSFG and am really glad I purchased a copy, as I do refer to it again and again. Hope you are able to renew the book so you can re-read it. I picked up even more information the second time around.

I do envy your upcoming greenhouse and understand why you might need to start out small with the SFG raised beds. Fortunately, you may be able to find some recycled wood to help keep your costs down. And having access to those poops and leaf mold will certainly get you going for much less money than having to buy each of those composts from commercial sources.

Again, Welcome, and please keep us updated on your progress.

minervalong 2/1/2012, 1:24 pm

thanks furbalsmom, and if that is furbal in the pic, sure is one pretty cat. mine is an orphan i raised from her birthday and she "just aint right" as the saying goes lol.

i've been thinking of what i had here on the farm to work with, what is the concensus of opinion on logs? we own a chain saw and have all those woods, i was thinking of harvesting some of just the right size around to make my sf bed edges. cedar, maple, oak, the usual kentucky woods population.

plantoid 2/1/2012, 5:59 pm

Minervalong,
Will you be felling trees & carting them off to a saw mill to get them turned into planks ?
OR
Are you looking to do it " on the pararie log cabin style " with notched ends ?

minervalong 2/1/2012, 7:51 pm

Hey plantoid, first let me say yours is one part of the world I would visit first if I were win the lottery.

Yep, figuring old style notched ends, by the time I paid to have them planked, I could have bought something. As I am going with a "design style" not just regimented rows of beds, I will be replacing them eventually with landscape masonry of some kind or another. Right now it is all more dreams than action I am afraid, the greenhouse comes first. But as with the greenhouse, the garden too will become reality. And the best part is I won't have to wait 25 yrs for it Smile

.

plantoid 2/2/2012, 7:54 pm

If you cut to length then wedge and sledge to split the logs in haalf along the grain ( straight grain timber ) you will reduce the wall thicknes by half and have a fairly flat face of wood for the inside of the boxes . They'd still look rustic & fantastic.

madnicmom 2/3/2012, 9:31 am

Welcome from the Cincy area! You sure do have a good start on things. What kind of temps have ya'll been having? It's been near 60 up here.

Good luck and please ask any questions you may have. Did you see our 2nd annual carrot week?

Ha-v-v 2/3/2012, 10:03 am

plantoid wrote:If you cut to length then wedge and sledge to split the logs in haalf along the grain ( straight grain timber ) you will reduce the wall thicknes by half and have a fairly flat face of wood for the inside of the boxes . They'd still look rustic & fantastic.

Good idea, my husband and I are building a log home from the pines on our property.. we have so many left overs of slices of pine from the floor joists.. I will try to find a pic and post of the left overs...those would be perfect made of cedar Smile

all the work can be done with a chain saw... its how it was done here Wink

Minervalong with trees and a chain saw.. .you can do anything Smile

Ha-v-v

minervalong 2/3/2012, 7:48 pm

Thanks madnicmom, I read the ANSFG book for two weeks, lurked here for a couple, have been planning the greenhouse and garden for years lol. This year the greenhouse is going in for sure, will get dear hubby to cut those timbers when I can. I think I'm going to use an old cold frame I have and get just enough MM to fill it just to participate in the Carrot contest. And I'm the only one that eats carrots lol!

Yep Hav-v-v, I could build a castle with all the trees lol. What I might save for next is a minerva sized chainsaw, the one DH uses is kinda big for me. In the mean time, I'll be thinking "outside the box" for getting things done. I figure with the veggies in the box, it won't hurt for the thinking to be outside.

minervalong 2/3/2012, 7:50 pm

Oops, madnicmom, forgot to answer your question about the weather. It was mostly sunny, high about 60 or so, breeze kinda chilly. About made me cry to be at work. On the up side, I did hear geese headed north, so maybe that other shoe won't drop on us.

Sponsored content

Winter Excitement

Winter Excitement

Re: Winter Excitement

Thanks Under

Re: Winter Excitement

Re: Winter Excitement

re: winter excitement

Re: Winter Excitement

re: winter excitement

Re: Winter Excitement

Re: Winter Excitement

Re: Winter Excitement

re: winter excitement

re: winter excitement

Re: Winter Excitement


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.