Hello from Little Rock...Middle South?

Well I didn't want to lurk for too long. I have been reading posts for a week or so now and find you all to be a very kind bunch. I have gone to forums of other sorts before and never went back after seeing how rude people can be to one another, even with a common interest.

I guess I am in the Middle South zone, it looks like Little Rock is on the cusp. Since I don't have the winters that northern AR has I figured I should associate with the lower part of the state.

Well, my boxes and grids are built, I have the rebar and pipe for the trellis and mm is mixed and in the boxes...then it dawned on me that the tomatoes I planted two summers ago were eaten down to the dirt by squirrels and I think I saw a couple sitting around laughing at me while my husband leveled and filled my boxes. Guess I will have to build a cage around everything now. I was looking at the gallery and saw another new members pics, thank you scubadoo for posting them, I think that may be my solution also.

By the way, I wanted to say that my husband mixed three boxes (24 CU FT) worth of mm in the back of his pickup bed. It worked great, he just backed up to the beds and shoveled it out. Make sure to keep the windows closed to the cab though, the interior is now brown instead of gray.

Thanks for hearing me,
Robin

Hey, RobinLR. I'm in Bryant but work in LR. Hope you enjoy this forum and style of gardening as much as I do.

What are your plans for planting?

LOL Too funny about the truck cab!

This really is a friendly forum.

Robin,

RobinLR wrote:By the way, I wanted to say that my husband mixed three boxes (24 CU FT) worth of mm in the back of his pickup bed. It worked great, he just backed up to the beds and shoveled it out. Make sure to keep the windows closed to the cab though, the interior is now brown instead of gray.

I can see it now. One of our members had vermiculite in her car, with a hole in the bag. She ended up in a vermiculite snow globe.

How wonderful to have your beds filled and ready to go. (except for the squirrel barrier) We don't have too much trouble with squirrels here, but the deer keep grazing on our wildlife buffet unless there is deer netting or some such protection.

Because I have an abundance of cabbage worms in my neighborhood, I took a tip from a couple of our members and am using tulle (like for wedding veils) I had some, but bought more when it was on sale at my fabric store, and made tents, over my hoops. This is great for a bed that contains veggies that don't need to be pollinated, things like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, beets and radishes.

Enjoy your SFG and please keep us updated on your progress. We photos too!

Again, Welcome Robin!

I am in Otter Creek so we are right next door dm!!

I have plenty of seeds for next year now. I bought the seeds at the same time I bought the box supplies then had to find all of the mm components and wait for my husband to place the boxes and mix the mm for me.

I think I will plant carrots and marigolds this week and try to get something built for the squirrels. I just know they will eat my seeds and any seedlings I plant, I don't want to spend the money just to look out and see a squirrel buffet. It is depressing looking out at three lonely boxes with perfect soil in them just waiting to spring to life.

I guess I could plant low growing plants and make the small cover like the one in the book for now. I have a lot of trellis plans though, and the kids were looking forward to eating the beans.

RobinLR wrote:I think I will plant carrots and marigolds this week.....

If you are going to plant carrots this week anyway, do a square on Friday 4-15-11 for Carrot Week! (click on the banner at the top of the forum page to go to that thread) or search 'Carrot'

TC

I don't have to worry about critters for now - just a 4 1/2 lb toy poodle who likes to jump up in the beds and "help" with the watering, but cheap fencing has taken care of that problem.
This is my 2nd year of gardening & 1st year of SFG. Anxious to see what thrives and what dies when the heat cranks up.

Happy growing!
Donald

So glad to have ya!

I'm in the middle south as well. Please drop on by the middle south regional forums and give us a holler.

I'm at a new place this year and there are squirrels galore. I'm a bit concerned for the safety of my future tomato forest. So far, they've stayed out of my garden and in the trees. Do let us know how your cage works for you.

Take care and happy gardening!

RobinLR wrote:I guess I am in the Middle South zone, it looks like Little Rock is on the cusp. Since I don't have the winters that northern AR has I figured I should associate with the lower part of the state.

Welcome aboard, Robin!! I'm glad your first impression has been a good....errrr correct...one. The people are great here. So polite. And, I know of plenty other forums where people seem to hide behind the computer screen and become real jerks. It's very, very rare here. In fact, I don't think I've seen it yet.

At any rate, you likely are a middle south person. But, I would encourage you to poke around all the forums, especially neighboring regions. Like you mentioned, your winters don't really compare to northern Arkansas. So, your climate doesn't sort of fit there......in winter time. However, it may in spring, or some other time. You know your climate better than any of us, especially if you pay attention to it more than most people. So, you will likely know which climate fits you best at certain times. Get familiar with them, they aren't rigid boundaries.

Take care, and hope to see you around the forums!

elliephant wrote:LOL Too funny about the truck cab!

This really is a friendly forum.

Howdy:

Last summer I went to the doctor with a gash in my leg. For a MD he can be somewhat plane spoken at times. When he asked how it happened I said I fell out of the back of my pickup while shoveling out horse compost. Grinning from ear-to-ear He said, "Let me get this straight, you fell out of your truck while shoveling horse S". Yep.

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

fellow Middle Souther. Fire away with questions to help your SFG thrive and we'll do our best to help. We have a great climate here for almost FOUR season gardening.

Good luck !