JAM23 SFG in Illinois

Hello!

This is my first time square foot gardening and I couldn't have done it without all the advice and support from all of you! I wanted to say thank you and show some pictures of my adventure. I have had some great successes, as well as, some learning opportunities along the way (I don't want to call anything a failure-just an opportunity to learn, and I am doing lots of that!). These first pictures are of my tomato/pepper garden. The trellis is 8 feet high and my cherry tomatoes are already outgrowing it and that is with only 4.5-5 hours of direct sun each day. I am harvesting about 10-12 tomatoes a day. Thai and jalapeno peppers are doing well, and Thai basil and some flowers tucked in as well. I had some lettuce planted under the tomatoes earlier in the season and that did great!





These next pictures are of my cucumber and bean bed (bush and pole). Everything looks great, small cucumbers starting to grow and starting to harvest some bush beans each day. Pole beans probably need more sun and I will have to figure this out next year. I had carrots in here at one point, but they quickly got crowded out!



Anyway, thank again everyone! I am having fun and taking alot of pride in this adventure. My backyard is super limited for direct sun getting only about 4.5-5 hours each day. My front yard is full sun for about 9-11 hours each day and I am toying with the idea of doing some Foodscaping in the front next year for more sun loving vegetables, but my square foot gardens in the back will continue to bring me great joy!

JAM23

Looking good! I set this up as your own thread so you can track your progress with the gardens.

Looking great.

My first year was filled with learning experiences.

Those look very nice! No matter how much practice you have, some things will be prolific one year and suck the next, different things will do so each year. You never know what you'll get.

Are those nastursiums next to the poles in the 3rd picture down? I've tried for years to grow those from seed near my melons and squash because they are *supposed* to keep the squash bugs away. I think I've had 3 blooms in 8 years - they don't grow at all, or they they die small. Got any secrets? I've soaked the seeds, I've cut notches in 'em. I can't find them already potted in any of the local stores. I'll never know if they keep bugs away without an honest test.

Amazing! Well done!