My first SFG on my own - progress

First a little background... here is the earliest picture I took of my seedlings, back in April:




Here's in May:




And here's the garden so far. Not everything's done yet - still some trellises to finish and soil to mix - but it's getting there!




My planted tomato boxes. Left to right: Pink Brandywine, Supersweet 100 Cherry, Red Brandywine, Tomatillo (with a buddy in the home depot bucket next to him - an emergency measure when I realized I would need two to get any fruit), Big Boy, a runty li'l Cherokee Purple, Early Girl, and a mystery heirloom (one of 5 from a burpee mixed seed pack). In front of them are beans that haven't come up yet, rosemary, basil, arugula, more basil, and oregano.



My cukes/squash box - a pattypan by itself in the far corner, then lemon cukes, streamliner cukes, and picklers. Dill planted in the front, plus strawberries that I haven't mulched under yet.

(I know transplanting cukes is supposed to be a nightmare, but my parents always did it with no trouble, so I decided t give it a try - no problems yet!)



Peas and miscellaneous box! Just one row of peas along the back with the forward half of their square utilized by radishes and baby carrots. Lettuce, chaternay carrots, and spinach in front.




Annnnd my sad late transplants, who have been in their pots for too long and are starting to show it. All mystery heirlooms as well. The last box isn't filled yet because there's currently a birdfeeder above it that needs to be relocated-- or I'll have bird poo and sunflowers in my garden instead of tomatoes!

Also going in this last box will be thyme, cilantro, more basil, and some thai basil.

So, there it is - my first attempt. I really wish we'd had a warmer spring; most of my seedlings are really long in the tooth at this point. But I think it has promise!

Looks to me to be a very good first attempt. And you grew your toms from seed.

I think you are doing better than I am, but I am still happy with what I have accomplished.

Look forward to seeing further progress.

Kelejan, a second-Year SFG.

Looks Great!!!

Kelejan: for better or for worse, haha. I think the toms are bigger/more established that the ones from the nursery would be, but they're also rootbound like nobody's business. I was anticipating late May/June 1 for plantout at latest, but the weather didn't want to cooperate. It still isn't - they randomly dropped the forecast for tonight from 52 to 43, and I'm not sure if I should do anything to protect them. They've been out in 46, but... agh, it all makes me so nervous.

Marcy: thanks! It's pretty barebones and unornamented compared to some I've seen, but I'm going for maximum portability/practicality this year.

Wow! I'm totally impressed!

Etherati said I'm going for maximum portability/practicality this year.

You are doing a great job. How did you tomatoes do over the weekend? If you can get them planted and give them a little protection, they should do fine. If they are truly rootbound, trim the roots a bit before planting, and if possible, plant them a bit deep so they can grow more roots from the stem.

Denese: Thanks!

Furbalsmom: I got them planted friday night with a friend's help in getting the last batch of soil mixed. The weekend was fine - it got down around 45 a few times but they're extremely well hardened off and have dealt with it before - last night was the real issue. We had a cold thunderstorm, three inches of rain throughout the night, and it got down to 39. I was really worried but they seemed okay in the morning, the boxes drained superbly and they were no worse for the cold.

Then it just barely crested 50 for a high today at 1, and now it's down into the 40s again. They're predicting a return to normalcy (80/52) for tomorrow, so here's hoping. If they make it through tonight it should be easier sailing.

Oh, and it turns out they weren't as badly rootbound as I thought. There wasn't room to plant them deep, they were already in almost six inches of soil, but every time I've potted them up (peat cup -> 2 inch pot -> 4 inch pot -> big round pot) I've planted them deeper and deeper. So hopefully the roots will be strong soon.