A First Time SFG in Canada

A beautiful day here in Ottawa.  I went out and picked the morning harvest (the cherry tomatoes are from the regular garden)






The trellis is getting loaded with pole bean, cucumber and melon plants.



The melon plants have a mind of their own and are sending runners up the trellis and onto the paths.



Dusty Miller does well in the SFG.

Nice harvest and garden, TD!

Yummo on the cukes!
CC

CapeCoddess wrote:Nice harvest and garden, TD!

Yummo on the cukes!
CC

+1

The squares that I reseeded on July 27 were, as mentioned previously, attacked by some critter.  There were craters in the squares from the digging. Miraculously some of the seeds still sprouted as seen below.







I had to reseed or add seed to some of the damaged squares. These squares are now wearing protective cages.




Mrs TD's perennials continue to put on a nice show.

Nice flowers!

Update for August 5, 2015.


Finally signs of a melon. Wondering if I will run out of growing season before this can be harvested.



And another one.
 


Something has been getting into my newly planted squares. It may be squirrels burying goodies for their winter store.  I'm trying a palisade of plastic forks as a deterrent (I think someone suggested this on the SFG Forum in the Spring).



New Romaine Lettuce in the middle, onions on the left and new yellow bush beans almost visible on the right.



Mrs TD planted sunflower seeds (outside the SFG) for the grandkids.

You and Mrs. TD have quite a lovely garden going there. If the forks don't work as a palisade, spread them throughout the square so they don't have a comfortable place to walk and dig.

Or try in one square and then compare.

Sanderson and Kelejan ... thanks for those ideas.  Definitely worth a try.  I'll have to go back to the dollar store for some more plastic forks. It would use less forks if they are spread out in the squares rather than trying to create a barrier around the perimeter that the critters may jump over.

But it all looks great, TD. 

I was hoping to do sunflowers this year, but it didn't happen...  At least I have seed for next year! 

So far the palisade of plastic forks is holding firm. There was no activity over night in the two squares that are so protected.

Thanks AM for your kind comment.

The palisade of plastic forks failed overnight.  So I've reseeded the square and taken Sanderson's suggestion of spreading out the forks in the square.  If this does not work it will be back to using chicken wire or plastic hardware cloth cages.

Looks like a nice crop of plastic forks.  These can be planted at 32 per square.




Here is the red cabbage with new leaves growing from the stump of the previously harvested cabbage head.



Wonder if I planted my forks too low in the MM.  The photos at the link below show them planted higher.
http://tinyurl.com/o55f4sx

These fork photos are really making me laugh!  Trolley, I was thinking yours were too high, that critters could crawl between them instead of stepping on them and going "OUCH".
CC

Those forks look like the meteor just passed overhead and they're being raised from the dead to eat the brains of other forks.

Trolley,
those pics with plastic forks you recently posted, well, I have to tell you, it's been a while since I laughed so hard. Sorry, Trolley, but I couldn't help it!
If it's squirrels - or worse, chipmunks - that you are trying to keep away with those scary forks, you are in for big disapointment, I am afraid.
In my neck of the woods squirrels would probably organize a party over your trap, having fun at your expense.
Squirrels are mighty ennemies. After years of trying to fight them, I have waived a white flag!
Good luck anyways, you have a beautiful garden!

Don't let a random spoon get in there, cross-pollination could result in a crop of sporks next year....

Scorpio Rising wrote:Don't let a random spoon get in there, cross-pollination could result in a crop of sporks next year....

Let alone knives, Scorpio. I believe somewhere they have legalised three-parent offspring. Wonder what they would be called then?

Richard L. wrote:Trolley,
those pics with plastic forks you recently posted, well, I have to tell you, it's been a while since I laughed so hard. Sorry, Trolley, but I couldn't help it!
If it's squirrels - or worse, chipmunks - that you are trying to keep away with those scary forks, you are in for big disapointment, I am afraid.
In my neck of the woods squirrels would probably organize a party over your trap, having fun at your expense.
Squirrels are mighty ennemies. After years of trying to fight them, I have waived a white flag!
Good luck anyways, you have a beautiful garden!

I am sure that Trolley  is happy that he is causing you to laugh.  He is making us all laugh.

Off the Subject: I haven't seen you posing before so I must have missed your first twelve posts.


Kelejan,  your Canadian Regional Host from British Columbia.

Ah you laugh but consider the versatility of plastic forks in the SFG.  In addition to being used as critter deterrents, they can be used as follows:

1. Weeders:  A plastic fork can be used to remove weeds as in this video.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk9FAHR3W-8

2. Markers:  Plastic forks can be used as garden markers.  For each square, write the name of the crop on the handle of a fork using a permanent marker then stick the fork (tines down) into the MM.

3. Sculptures:  They can be used to create garden sculptures.  One or more squares can be dedicated to a sculpture in each SFG box.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAXxhL0tCcA

4. Grid: They can be used to create a grid (albeit somewhat flimsy) to mark off the squares in the SFG box.

5. MMTools: They can be used to mark the MM for the required spacing of crops in each square. The handle can be used to create holes in the MM for planting seeds or transplants.

By the way, we are not limited to using plastic forks.  Plastic knives and spoons also have their place in Square Foot Gardening.

Update on forks ... So far the square with scattered forks has not been disturbed by critters.

Mrs TD and I just processed two to three pounds of pole beans ... blanching and freezing.  In addition to previously eating some beans ourselves we gave fresh beans to neighbours and family. Now the pole bean plants seem to be slowing down as far as producing new beans.

trolleydriver wrote:Update on forks ... So far the square with scattered forks has not been disturbed by critters.

TD, around here, a couple years ago, it became popular to "fork" yards, rather than toilet paper them as a prank. My boys were very experienced forkers, and I have to say, it is backbreaking to clean up after a good forking! Literally hundreds of plastic forks in the yard....major pain! And the clear ones, just plain unsportsmanlike, IMO.

Kelejan wrote:

Scorpio Rising wrote:Don't let a random spoon get in there, cross-pollination could result in a crop of sporks next year....

Let alone knives, Scorpio. I believe somewhere they have legalised three-parent offspring. Wonder what they would be called then?

Knorks, or fives, but I think fives is taken...lol, I prefer Knorks!

Here is the melon in the SFG after last night's rain. I'm holding the leaves back on the left side with a plastic ruler.



Another view of the melon. There are other smaller melons that are not visible in the photo.



This melon is larger and is growing in the regular garden.



The forks continue to stand guard and the plants are sprouting.

Looking good.