Hello from Montreal

Helly fellow SFG gardeners!
I'm JF from Montreal, QC , Canada, 
I bought Mel's SFG book 2 months ago and I decided to give it a try here in Montreal. I previously had a lot of problems with my garden parcel ( multiple weeds, poor soil, etc...) I decided to start from scratch and follow step by step the SFG bible to get the perfect Mel mix and SFG. 

So far here is what it looks like, two 4x4 SFG, south facing with a perfectly balanced Mel mix. I have a big goutweed problem in this part of my yard, so I decided to "protect" my SFG from it with a 15 inch stone dust walkable path  around  it. Can't wait to sow my crops!   I'll update the evolution of my SFG later when the snow will have all melted!  

So far I have started crops of Kale, lettuce, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, and okra.  I planned to complete my SFG with green onion, carrots, runner beans, beets, and basilic. 

Welcome Jardinier.  You should find your new garden a wonderful adventure.  This forum is a great place to get answers.  Welcome.

jardinierjf wrote:Helly fellow SFG gardeners!
I'm JF from Montreal, QC , Canada, 
I bought Mel's SFG book 2 months ago and I decided to give it a try here in Montreal. I previously had a lot of problems with my garden parcel ( multiple weeds, poor soil, etc...) I decided to start from scratch and follow step by step the SFG bible to get the perfect Mel mix and SFG. 

Welcome JF! It sounds like you're off to a great start! Of the plants you mention, the only one I would wonder about is the okra. Do you know if anyone grows it up there? I may be just suffering from sour grapes (which, are, BTW, very tasty), because I can rarely get one or two okra's going, and I'm down at latitude 32.

markqz wrote:I would wonder about is the okra. Do you know if anyone grows it up there?

Hi markqz, honestly it is pretty new up here, some small producers have succeeded, some have not.
It is the first test year for me , I have opted for the "Babby Bubba Hybrid" seeds from Burpee to keep it small in my SFG and see how it is going to grow. 
Since It is a new experiment and I have no references from around, I decided to follow the schedule  of my tomato, so I started the seeds 2 weeks ago, without artificial light, and everything is growing well for the moment! 

 I'll keep you in touch for sure on how the plant will grow this summer .

Hi, Jardin.  Welcome to the Forum from California.

Your beds are beautiful, classic SFG.    Could you share where you sourced the coarse vermiculite and composts?  This information may help other east Canadians find them.  Thank you.

PS:  I moved your post to the Canadian subforum.  You can keep this one for your personal journal if you want.

PPS: May I add this photo to my teaching collection? The license plate is not showing, but there may be something else that you prefer not sharing. That's why I like to ask first.

sanderson wrote:Could you share where you sourced the coarse vermiculite and composts?

I found a 113L of vermiculite on the south shore of montreal for aroun 65$ CAD at Botanix Faucher Plantes & Pavés, 1100 Chem. de Saint-Jean, La Prairie, QC J5R 2L5.
For the compost, I made a mix of marine compost and forest compost from Fafard ( sale at the same store ) and mix it with sheep manure compost and a 30l of worm casting compost. I reduced a bit the peat moss % since all those bagged compost contains peat moss.

sanderson wrote:May I add this photo to my teaching collection?

Yes no problem I would be honored, but if you wait tomorrow should be sunny here and I could take a better one  

You can take some more photos and I will select 1, 2 or all! Photos are for example of some or many principles. I like the snow on the ground. Never too early to get the beds ready and waiting for planting/sowing. When the beds are bare, you can cover with pervious material like bed sheet, weed fabric, etc. that will allow in rain and melting snow. This will help keep out blowing weed seeds.

Really nice job, JF!  I like how you attached the posts for the lattice to the box on the inner corners, looks like they will be more stable that way.  Are they sunk through into the ground or just attached to the box itself?  And what are those lattice stands made of?

I've been thinking of how we're going to do that and haven't figured out a good way since we can't sink them through into the ground - they have to be attached to the box only.

Nice beds!  Welcome!

goodtogrow wrote:I've been thinking of how we're going to do that and haven't figured out a good way since we can't sink them through into the ground - they have to be attached to the box only.

EMC 2-wing fasteners.

For the 1/2" PVC trellises, I have 1" PVC cup holders, secured with plumbers tape and screws.  I used to swap out different frames/trellises, depending on the crop.  


Double trellis set in the "cup holders." (before the zip ties were trimmed).

Very interesting, Sanderson, thanks for posting those pictures.  Nice set up!  Is PVC fine for peas, beans, and cucumbers all along a 4'wide side, you think?  When would you suggest using metal?

Your choice.  I have both PVC and EMC.  I have used 1/2" PVC since 2013, but never longer that 4' nor taller than 6 1/2'.  The EMC would be stronger for greater than 4' spans or really tall trellises.

The double PVC trellis pictured above is 4' wide and 6' tall.

These EMC trellises were 8' tall at one time.  EMC fittings are really expensive, but the poles are reasonable.



These free standing EMC trellises for supporting tomatoes overhead are pre-cut 5' lengths.

Ok, thanks, Sanderson.  PVC sounds like it should be fine then.  Not going higher than 7' (and 4' wide)

goodtogrow wrote:Really nice job, JF!  I like how you attached the posts for the lattice to the box on the inner corners, looks like they will be more stable that way.  Are they sunk through into the ground or just attached to the box itself?  And what are those lattice stands made of?

I've been thinking of how we're going to do that and haven't figured out a good way since we can't sink them through into the ground - they have to be attached to the box only.

 Hi , those are rusty scrap metal that i've found on a garbage day so I don't know what was their original purpose, I beleive those are like that : https://www.homedepot.ca/product/paulin-0-074-inch-x-1-1-2-inch-x-72-inch-galvanized-steel-slotted-angle/1000126757 ... 
I cleaned them with a rotating steel brush ( drill attachment ) and I've put 2 coats of rustoleum paint, cut the rusty unusable end and I end up with nice 6 ft pole!  I've put more paint on the bottom end, because I wanted them inside the box for a "cleaner" finish but I know it is not optimal for them to rust, but since they are thick enough and i've not paid them I don't really mind

Ah, okay, thanks JF.  Very nice, looks like they'll do the trick!

Hi Jardinier. Your new beds look great. All the best with your new setup.
Love the Avatar Markqz!
Sanderson, your setup looks fantastic.