Hi from Austin!

Hello, everyone. I suppose me joining these forums was inevitable, considering that ander217 is my mom.

I've seen Mom & Dad's garden in action for the past several years, and I've been very impressed. My younger sister and nephew have also grown a crop this past year in Utah, and it looks like a great system. So, I decided that I should probably give it a go.

Mom & Dad built me two 2x2 boxes for my Christmas present this year and trucked them all the way from Missouri to Austin over Thanksgiving. I currently only have a few plants in one of the boxes, since I'm saving the second box for my two girls to plant when it gets a bit warmer. Depending on how we go with these two boxes, I might be looking at expanding the number and size of boxes I have over the next year. However, since my only really good sunny-growing area is in my front yard, I have to be careful to plan for aesthetics as well as functionality. So far, the boxes have provided both. As long as I don't kill the cabbage plant!

Anyway, it's nice to meet all of you, and please don't give me too hard of a time about my pedigree.

Howdy bowlwoman and welcome here.

Can't say I know anyone here yet really, as I just joined few weeks ago.

But your mom was one of the first to welcome me

I'm sure you will reap the rewards with your new boxes in the great weather in Austin.

Hi Bowlwoman,

to the forum. It's a fun place, and I look forward to hearing about your progress. SFG is a great way to introduce kids to gardening. And don't forget, we love seeing pictures.

But what I really look forward to, is hearing about the other side of the stories that your mom tells. She writes interesting posts, and sometimes talks about her kids. Now we'll get to find out the whole truth!

Merry Christmas

Hey bowl! You are just in time for a fresh new year in the dirt.

Austin is a good place for a garden, I hope you are as impressed as I have been. All of my boxes are in the back garden but I am going to try to grow a few blossoms for the table this summer and the box for those will go into the front yard. Maybe we can swap pictures when the growing gets lush.

Well, this is a surprise, and a nice Christmas present! Welcome to the forum. There are really nice folks here who should be able to answer most of your gardening questions for your climate. Don't forget to check out the regional forums, too.

(Uh, just remember not to tell any of the deep, dark, family secrets, okay? I have an image to maintain, you know.)

Glad you've joined the forum, dear.

Howdy and Welcome Bowlwoman:

Learning SFG is so wonderful and to have a teacher such as your mom is great. And two SFGs as a Christmas present, WOWsers.

Again Welcome and God Bless, Ward and Mary.

Bowlwoman,

So glad you chose to join us. You will find that there are so many members that are ready to help when you have questions and concerns.

With your Mom as your mentor, you are already off to a great start. What a marvelous gift you received in the two SFG boxes.

Please feel free to share pictures of your garden, and if someone else makes comments or requests for help, we want you to chime in whenever you can.

Again,
Becky

Hi Bowlwoman, welcome to the forum!

Can't wait to hear more about your plans for your boxes! Your mom has been a huge help to me--not to mention a wonderful friend!--in this past year that I've known her. Hope I can help to pay that forward.

HI!

WELCOME!!!

It's so great to have you here and I look forward to hearing all about your new adventure in SFG.

You mom and I started talking when she was helping me understand potato onions and it has just blossomed into a great friendship..you are so lucky to have her as your mom!

Remember we love photos!!

Jen

Welcome aboard. Your mom lives a little south of me here in the Show Me State. Small world. I have family in Austin, but I never hear of them gardening down there. Pretty country, though....watch those Fire Ants. We used to see those buggers on the Frio River all the time. I assume you have them in Austin, too.

Thanks for all the warm welcoming comments. Things have been hectic around our house with the kiddos and stomach viruses and ear infections, but all the name of growing kids, right?

Mom said I needed to post some pics of my garden pronto, so here's one that I took right after I planted it a month or so ago. I don't have any more recent, but really the only things that have changed are that the lettuce is a bit bigger, I actually have some parsley now instead of the sad looking fronds I planted to rescue them after sitting in the seedling pot too long, and I lost the flowers off my calendula the first day and they haven't grown back yet.

I'm looking forward to getting started, and I know this will be a great place to get some information.

Thanks for the photo. Glad to hear that the lettuce and parsley are loving the Mel's Mix.
What is that in the lower right corner with the purplish leaves?
Looks like chives in upper left.

Enjoy!

Is that thyme between the chives and the flowers? And, that purple thing looks like kohlrabi to me. :?:

So glad to have you with us. Your lettuces are beautiful. Here's looking toward a fabulous gardening season. Just have fun!!!!!

Don't forget to add grids to your boxes. If you'd like, just put in four eye hooks and tie string or clothesline across the center. For something more permanent nail on some old venetian blinds or lath strips.

Sorry we didn't get those put in for you before we delivered them.

Yeah, I still need to get the grids on. Once the weather cooperates I think I'll do your idea, Mom, of using the eyehooks and clothesline.

I have a cabbage plant in the lower right-hand corner, the lettuces in the lower left-hand corner, flowers (pansy, calendula, and something else that my older daughter loves) in the upper right-hand corner, and various herbs in the upper left (cilantro, parsley, chives, thyme). I'll have to post a picture of my rosemary tree in the flowerbed sometime. It's HUGE and it started from one teeny tiny plant.

Here's a new picture I took a couple of days ago so you can see how things have grown. I'm really happy so far with the progress. I just hope we can stick it out until the cold weather breaks.

Becky

Looks like pretty good growth for just six weeks in cool weather. Everything looks really nice.

You may be starting individual leaf harvest on those lettuce really soon. I'm not too sure I would be able to wait.

Enjoy!

Too funny. I just picked the bigger leaves on the lettuce this afternoon when I got home. I got enough to make a decent salad, so it'll be yummy for dinner tonight.

Yummy first salad.