Hello from southwest Louisiana

My name is Angie. I just discovered SFG this fall. After reading Mel's book, I have been preparing for the spring.
I have three 4x4 boxes and one 2x6 box. I also have a 3x7 cattle water trough that has holes in the bottom that I am going to use for potatoes.
My husband is a rice farmer and has been very helpful. He gave me a 6x8 hobby green house for Christmas and we are working on getting that set up near the garden.
I am looking forward to growing a variety of vegetables and herbs this year, especially tomatoes and eggplant. I have been enjoying reading this forum for a couple of months and find it very informative.

Hi Angie, and welcome to the forum!

Sounds like you are making a wonderful start to Square Foot Gardening. 81 square feet is a great start for spring! (And that green house sounds fantastic!) Have you decided what you'll be growing? This time of year is so much fun for planning.

Best wishes and happy gardening!

Tinkerbell

I envy you the tomatoes and eggplant. Living in the Pacific North West, we have so little heat and sun during the summer it is difficult (but not impossible) for us to grow those warm weather plants.

What a great (big) start you are making. Also, what a wonderful idea, repurposing a cattle water trough for growing potatoes.

If you have the time, go through some of our older threads, you may find the answers to common questions. But, please feel free to ask questions too. We have a lot of members with experience who may be able to assist you.

Just so you know, we pictures. Please keep us updated as you go.

Megan,
I have had such a good time drawing out my garden plan over the winter. I would like to grow some cucumbers, squash, peppers, beans, melons, sweet potatoes, in addition to the tomatoes and eggplant. I also want to try some root vegetables including turnips, carrots, beets, and radish. in addition to some herbs: parsley, chives, basil, and rosemary. I would also like some lettuce and spinach. I hope I dont get in over my head. Haha.

Furbalsmom,
We are very fortunate to have such a long growing season. We visited the Pacific NW a couple of years ago. I enjoyed the fresh salmon!!! I plan to learn to post pictures and will hopefully get to take some in the near future. Thank you for the suggestion to read older threads. I plan to learn how to do that as well.

I went in WAY over my head last year, and had a blast. Go for it!

I do suggest you plant your chives and rosemary in a dedicated spot. Given some love they will come back year after year, if you want to grow them as perennials. (That being said, it took me over 5 years to find a rosemary that would winter over, here.)

Thanks Megan. I need all the good advice that I can get. I appreciate your time and attention.

Hey Tinkerbell !! Welcome to the forum! Im up here in Southwest Mississippi, spending sometime in Louisiana on a bayou with my cousins. My cousin and I planted tomatoes from a cutting from a creole tomato plant and that plant lasted well into fall for her. That was on the gulf, you will love the length of your growing season there. I know I love mine here and have a goal for year round garden. (future) Right now Im still in winter mode and hibernating!! lolol
wishing you many happy mornings in the garden
Ha-v-v

Welcome to the forum, Tinkerbell.

We live at the northern end of rice country in southeast MO. The best thing about rice country is the abundance of free rice hulls for mulch and compost. We get them by the pickup load from the local mill.

Be sure and send us photos, especially of the watering trough. That's a great idea.

Thanks to all for such a warm welcome.

Ha-v-v,
I have never planted tomatoes from a cutting, however I plan to learn how and give it a try. My husband and I have been discussing growing tomatoes into the winter in the greenhouse.

ander217,
Do you find that the rice hulls take a long time to compost?

Hello Tinkerbell. We are so happy to have you join us. Finding new ways to use things is wonderful for gardening. The greenhouse is going to be awesome. Hopefully, we will have one before the end of the year too. I live in British Columbia, Canada and am quite jealous of your long growing season. I don't get started here until mid May and even then I can expect frost until first or second week in June.

Oregano, chives, thyme, sage, marjoram can be left in the herb bed from one year to the next. At least that works for me. Borage re seeds itself all over the place and can be a bit of a nuisance but the flowers are so pretty and the bees love it so I just leave it. If you don't want chives to spread EVERYWHERE, cut the blossoms off before they go to seed. Mine have been spreading like crazy since I let them go to seed one summer. Dill can be a bit invasive too once it goes to seed, but I like it. There is nothing like fresh herbs in your cooking.

Best of luck in your gardening and thanks for joining us.

Gwynn

Thanks for the well wishes and advice, Gwynn. Sounds like an herb box is the way to go. We are blessed with a long growing season. I cant imagine a frost in June! In my past gardening attempts, which were not SFG and not very successful, most vegetables were "done" by July due to the heat. However, this year I will be looking forward to a fall crop!
I am enjoying the forum. I am learning so much. Thanks to all of you for sharing your knowledge.
I hope you get your greenhouse soon! I am sure it will extend your growing season significantly.

Thanks for joining us here on the forum. I can't wait to see some pictures!

Welcome tinkerbell.
I just finished watching "Tinkerbell and the Great Fairy Rescue" on my DVR which I'd saved. Perfect timing to chime in back here.

SFG is the way to grow. Easier and takes less energy and water.

I'm sure you'll enjoy it a lot more than conventional gardening.

Good luck,

Tinkerbell wrote:
ander217,
Do you find that the rice hulls take a long time to compost?

The mill where we get our rice hulls has them piled up in the corner of a field. Some have been there for years, while other piles are new. Hubby has always brought home the well-composted ones, and never thought to mention to the man loading that those were what he wanted when he picked up a load last summer. When he started to unload them he realized they were fresh hulls. They worked well for mulch, but I didn't like them mixed in our raised beds. We piled them against the fence and let them sit all winter, and they are now black and crumbly. They don't take long to break down. The one bed we put them on last fall now looks fine, too.

I also prefer to let them sit at least a season in hopes that any residual chemicals will leach out of them, although we've never had any problems with that. But I recommend getting the oldest hulls you can.