New to being your Regional Host

Hello all, my name is Denise and I’m new to being your Regional Host for the Lower South.
My husband Jeff and I are transplants to the south; both of us were born and raised in California. We love the weather here, even the outrageous storms that go along with that weather. Jeff and I have 5 children (1 girl and 4 boys) and two grandchildren. The two older children have migrated along with us I am glad to say, having all my babies in one place makes this Mamma happy. I am homeschooling still as well.
I think gardening and wanting to be self sustaining came to me when I was young. I had two grandmothers that had gardens of some sort. One Gramma made jams and the other cooked directly from it and froze things. I have the wonderful memories of watching them in the kitchen and thinking how I would like to do that someday.
Jeff and I live rurally on two acres in a subdivision that was formerly a pine plantation. We have a log home in the making from those pines, it is slow going, but we hope for a house by winter. Gardening has been my therapy; it allows me a place where I can be to gather my thoughts and feelings. I have row gardened for the last 3 years and I had little success for those 3 years. But I did have some success with herbs. In the first year I had 9 jalapeno plants and harvested one jalapeno. The next year I had success with peppers and I had so many habanero I could have made gallons of hot sauce. Tomatoes were always hard. Oh, and I never had any success with squash either. I was dreading starting my garden this year; the tilling, the weeds, I just wasn’t as motivated.
We were going on a work/vacation trip to N.C. for two weeks and I was in Dollar General looking for a book to read on the trip and guess what popped out? Mel's book. While the book was only 5 dollars, and not the full version, it was the best thing I found!! I was sold on SFG before I got out of Mississippi. I had taken my gardening books and seed books with me on this trip to look at but, I didn’t even open them, I just kept reading SFG.
We got home and my husband and built three 4x8 boxes (one 4x8 box is still unused, waiting for fall). Then we added two 1x8 boxes with one being 10 inches deep for root crops. I have had great success with the tomato plants (note that I said plants lolol, actually they are bushes), but only a few tomatoes per plant (pruning is needed on some varieties). I have lovely herbs that are bushes as well. I have had lots of things lost as well. My potatoes and corn didn’t make it so well. Radishes, being the first thing I planted, turned out to be nothing, but they were the best trap plant!!! I left them to tell me when things were getting bad. I see Square Foot Gardening as the ultimate way of feeding my family, and hopefully in the future provide enough produce to sell. I can’t imagine tilling the ground and walking all over it again!!
I’m a novice in the garden, but I love researching things when I need to. If anyone has questions, I’d like to help and if I don’t know the answer, I can do some research for you as well. We have so many folks here with so much knowledge; it’s the best gardening think tank ever. Let me know if ya'll need anything, I will do my best to get what you need. I look forward to everyone’s pictures and stories!!!

Ha-v-v
“I like to let my mind wander, but it doesn’t always come back”

I'm glad you have taken over the helm (the squares? ).

You and I seem to have a lot in common as my goal has always been to be as self-sufficient as possible. I've almost always lived in the country, and in my younger days did the whole "back to land" business including raising poultry and rabbits for food and a large garden. Now in my "sunset years" I've moved to town, but am on 3 lots at the base of a mountain, so have the ameneties of town living with a country feel.

Look forward to hearing more about your gardening endeavours, and I'll try to share more on the lower south forum as well.

Just curious as to what happened to Tim?

Tim stepped down a couple weeks ago. The combination of a lengthy unemployment situation, three failed retina re-attachment surgeries, and a spring garden that went bust due to pests and weather have left him out of sorts. I miss his contributions and look forward to his return. Perhaps in the fall/winter when most of us are daydreaming/planning rather than getting our hands dirty, it will be time for him to reappear. In the meantime, I bet that an email would be sure to get a smile.

Cmprn ! you are so kind, thank you.

I'm glad you have taken over the helm (the squares? ).

You
and I seem to have a lot in common as my goal has always been to be as
self-sufficient as possible. I've almost always lived in the country,
and in my younger days did the whole "back to land" business including
raising poultry and rabbits for food and a large garden. Now in my
"sunset years" I've moved to town, but am on 3 lots at the base of a
mountain, so have the ameneties of town living with a country feel.

I enjoy chatting with you belfry Yes we have the two acres and it should provide for us now with the boys that are huge people I think that were steeped in miracle grow or something. I do want to make the garden provide for us monetarily as well. These are future goals though, first to provide all we need from the garden I can. We do want more land but for our children to have a place of their own and be self sufficient. We plan to make this spot enough for Jeff and I when they are on their own. Even down to what is going to be in the house. It will have 3 bedrooms to begin with and then when they are all gone.. One bedroom and a guest room We are five minutes from town, so that saves me a bit of gas and we try to go only when needed.
I look forward to more chats and learning from each other. The forum has so many great minds, I couldn't ask for a better place to learn.
Ha-v-v