Totally new to gardening from Delaware

gillenkl 3/13/2012, 1:06 pm

I've been bitten by the gardening bug! I bought 6 sfg kits - I put the boxes together today and am waiting for the rest of the supplies to arrive. Seeds are here or on order. Let the games begin!

quiltbea 3/13/2012, 1:45 pm

Welcome from southern Maine. Its nice to see another new gardener. We've been getting quite a few this year. You'll never want to buy store-bought crops again once you taste you own home-grown food. Welcome and Good Luck.

moswell 3/13/2012, 2:42 pm

Hello! Whereabouts in Delaware are you? I'm from Dover, although I now live up in NJ. I started gardening using SFG last year and really enjoy it. I hope you do too!

**sfg4uKim** 3/13/2012, 3:38 pm

Totally new to gardening from Delaware 61949

Hi and welcome to the Forum. You'll LOVE gardening the SFG way.

Have you had the chance to read the All New Square Foot Gardening book (2006) yet? Where did you get the SFG kits? (we love to share info here). Oooooo what "supplies" are you waiting for?

Have you found your vermiculite and 5 composts already? LOL don't forget to take LOTS of pictures of the process and share them - I think you have to be a member for 7 days before you can post pics, but PLEASE share!

Can you tell that we get just as excited talking about a newbie's garden as we do about our own?

BTW I'm the Regional Host for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Forum. Be sure to check out that area too as we have some area-specific info.

Kim

plantoid 3/13/2012, 7:25 pm

Hi Gillenkl,

Welcome to the site , may I suggest that you do take the trouble ( if you haven't done it all ready ) to explore the site over a couple of months , there is a tremendous amount of valuable info to be found in here .

It looks like your going to get off to a flying start if you have everything Mel suggests.

Whatever you do , don't cut corners and shortchange the formula or method .

It has been a proven sucess / track record for years and years , where as deviations from it are all so frequently found to be not a patch on the correct thing .

floyd1440 3/13/2012, 7:54 pm

Welcome to SFG forum and you will a lot of advice here from longtime SFGers. Iam fairlynew to and this is the best place to share ideas because we all use the same method.

Do get the new SFG book as it is a HUGE help and follow it and we should be fine. Now we are not that far away as I am in Pa so we should be close to planting times. Totally new to gardening from Delaware 3170584802

Totally new to gardening from Delaware 3170584802

gillenkl 3/13/2012, 8:54 pm

Thanks all. I'm all set except for the 5 composts.....big box stores are useless and I don't really live in a farming area.....

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/13/2012, 11:45 pm

check out craigslist

ebarczak 3/14/2012, 5:01 pm

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'm from Delaware as well, I live in Glasgow. I live in a neighborhood and we only have 1/3 acre yard, but I always get enough fresh veggies to supply our family of 4 all spring, summer, and fall. You will have highs and lows in your gardening career, but it is one of the most fun and rewarding activities you can pursue. You'll have many successes and you'll make a few mistakes, but it's so much fun learning --and enjoying the fruits of your labors!

sunny

**sfg4uKim** 3/14/2012, 5:09 pm

gillenkl wrote:Thanks all. I'm all set except for the 5 composts.....big box stores are useless and I don't really live in a farming area.....

If you're close to Aberdeen, MD, I would recommend Veteran Compost. They have beautiful food waste/wood/paper compost which I usually mix with a little of their vermicompost (worm castings).

floyd1440 3/17/2012, 8:36 am

Hey Too Tall

I have put in my spinach last week and am going to plant my tomatoes seeds this week, I only have a dozen this year. Since we are in the same hardness location, when do you startyour tomatoes seeds in containers?

Totally new to gardening from Delaware 3170584802

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/17/2012, 10:31 pm

floyd1440 wrote:Hey Too Tall

I have put in my spinach last week and am going to plant my tomatoes seeds this week, I only have a dozen this year. Since we are in the same hardness location, when do you startyour tomatoes seeds in containers?

I'm actually not growing my own tomatoes because I just do not have the space to do it(or knowledge really). I found a woman who runs a farm that is growing the tomato seeds I ordered. She says that she'll have them ready by the middle of May so I would think that she started them now......I think tomato seeds should be started about 8 weeks before planting.

What tomato varieties are you growing?

Totally new to gardening from Delaware 3170584802

zomo 3/17/2012, 11:16 pm

Welcome ! you seem to be off to such a good start !

shannon1 3/18/2012, 3:41 am

gillenkl wrote:Thanks all. I'm all set except for the 5 composts.....big box stores are useless and I don't really live in a farming area.....

Totally new to gardening from Delaware 654548

try contacting the local agriculture extension office as well they can be a great help finding compost. Do you need 5? YES the differance I saw between 4 and 5 was incredible. The ag. center can give you a list of what vegies to plant, when, and which grow best where you are. I know you will be amazed at the differance eating vegies bred for flavor and not for marketing. The first time I grew cucumbers was last year and when I bit into that first one it was like I never tasted a cucumber before.

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/18/2012, 7:18 am

shannon1 wrote: try contacting the local agriculture extension office as well they can be a great help finding compost.

Would they be able to help me find compost such as shrimp or lobster? I'd really like to get some of that.

**walshevak** 3/18/2012, 8:48 am

The more I'm hearing about the difficulty in finding 5 composts and the lack of space or an evil HOA not allowing for a compost bin, the more I'm glad I started a worm bin. I'm convinced that adding even small amounts of worm castings to "iffy" bags of compost will enrich them so veggies will grow better. And even if a member finds a good compost, it is not available in all areas. Case in point: the Black Kow Company make 3 very good composts, but they are not distributed all over and not all of the products are distributed to the same places.

The vermiculite database is great for locating vermiculite. Thanks to Wardnwake for maintaining it. But is it time for a compost database? A list of brand names could be put in the comments section. Just a thought.

Kay

Unmutual 3/18/2012, 10:39 am

gillenkl wrote:I've been bitten by the gardening bug! I bought 6 sfg kits - I put the boxes together today and am waiting for the rest of the supplies to arrive. Seeds are here or on order. Let the games begin!

Congratulations on getting bit and in choosing the easiest method of growing veggies that I've ever run across.

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/18/2012, 1:40 pm

A compost database sounds good to me.

It would be nice to find compost locally so I wouldn't have to pay a lot of shipping charges.

floyd1440 3/18/2012, 5:05 pm

Too Tall

I have planted two types of tomatoes this weekend. Someone nice sent me some WV 63 Heirlom tomato seeds, that would be a dozen, and 4 grape tomatoes. Never grown them from seed this will be a real experience, make or break me, on this effort.

Was at the Carnegie Science Center and was amazed at the fact how much info they had about composting. Checked out my fenced in garden and I have room for a 3x3 fenced in compost pit that will be out of range of deer.

Was eying an area between my property and the adjacent home and discovered it was a rightaway for the city and they would not allow me to put one there unless I could move it when they needed access. Figured it best to keep out of that or they may charge me for the removal of it. Totally new to gardening from Delaware 3170584802

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/18/2012, 6:22 pm

floyd1440 wrote:Too Tall

I have planted two types of tomatoes this weekend. Someone nice sent me some WV 63 Heirlom tomato seeds, that would be a dozen, and 4 grape tomatoes. Never grown them from seed this will be a real experience, make or break me, on this effort.

Was at the Carnegie Science Center and was amazed at the fact how much info they had about composting. Checked out my fenced in garden and I have room for a 3x3 fenced in compost pit that will be out of range of deer.

Was eying an area between my property and the adjacent home and discovered it was a rightaway for the city and they would not allow me to put one there unless I could move it when they needed access. Figured it best to keep out of that or they may charge me for the removal of it.

I just got an email from the woman who's growing the tomatoes for me. She said that she's starting them next week. I can't wait. 17 varieties of tomatoes this year. LOL...I can't wait.

A 3 x 3 compost pile would be a perfect size. It would be a lot more manageable than the monstrosity I have. I don't have any experience with deer but if you bury any fruit and veggie scraps underneath manure, I'd think that they won't bother it.

floyd1440 3/18/2012, 7:17 pm

Too Tall

I have two 4x8 SFGs and will a 3x3 produce enoughcompost for one year? I know this seems like a dumb question but have never done composting before

First-timer Totally new to gardening from Delaware 3170584802

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/18/2012, 11:06 pm

floyd1440 wrote:Too Tall

I have two 4x8 SFGs and will a 3x3 produce enoughcompost for one year? I know this seems like a dumb question but have never done composting before
First-timer

c

How tall is your compost pile? Assuming that it's the typical 3ft tall, then a 3 x 3 x 3 compost pile is 1 cubic foot. If your boxes are already established, then it should be enough for a year.

In addition to your boxes, you can use the compost for your shrubs and other plants in flower beds....if you have flower beds.

curio 3/19/2012, 8:51 am

Isn't 3x3x3 a cubic yard??? Totally new to gardening from Delaware 601593

Too Tall Tomatoes 3/19/2012, 9:08 am

curio wrote:Isn't 3x3x3 a cubic yard???

Wow.....was I ever wrong on that huh??

My head said yard but my fingers wanted to type foot Embarassed

curio 3/19/2012, 9:18 am

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:
curio wrote:Isn't 3x3x3 a cubic yard???

Wow.....was I ever wrong on that huh??

My head said yard but my fingers wanted to type foot

:::snicker::: Laughing

I thought I was the only one that had fingers with minds of their own!!

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huh?

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footses vs yards

Re: Totally new to gardening from Delaware


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.