Brand new to SFG! My first efforts...

kittykat wrote:I have an old mini greenhouse frame that I've had for years. The plastic fell apart a long time ago and got tossed and the frame was actually being used in the garage as a shelving unit...



A little 6-mil poly,some (a lot of) ductotherapy and some head-scratching and I have a brand new greenhouse for starting plants! (Oh, plus some help from my very curious kitty!)



I used some tulle netting and made a window in the front with a roll-up poly cover for air circulation. The whole front is a flap that lifts up so I can get to the plants. And the whole cover lifts off the frame.

Yay! Now I need to go and get a heating pad and I'm ready to start trying to germinate some annual flowers!

I think Duct Tape is so underrated...so useful for so many things. If you ever have the chance check out "The Red Green Show", he uses it for everything!!! Great job on recycling!!
Renee

gregrenee88 wrote:

kittykat wrote:I have an old mini greenhouse frame that I've had for years. The plastic fell apart a long time ago and got tossed and the frame was actually being used in the garage as a shelving unit...



A little 6-mil poly,some (a lot of) ductotherapy and some head-scratching and I have a brand new greenhouse for starting plants! (Oh, plus some help from my very curious kitty!)



I used some tulle netting and made a window in the front with a roll-up poly cover for air circulation. The whole front is a flap that lifts up so I can get to the plants. And the whole cover lifts off the frame.

Yay! Now I need to go and get a heating pad and I'm ready to start trying to germinate some annual flowers!

I think Duct Tape is so underrated...so useful for so many things. If you ever have the chance check out "The Red Green Show", he uses it for everything!!! Great job on recycling!!
Renee

Love duct tape! One of my favorite RG Show episodes is the one where they run out of duct tape!

GG

Love the whole show, especially their black/white segments that Red narrates!

I am a newbie, too! I just cleared a spot out today to put my garden and will have my Dad help me put the box together this weekend -- while I have the know-how to do it, he has all the tools. LOL

I wanted to ask about one area I saw in the pictures: there are 2 higher boxes in 2 corners. Are those for deeper veggies like carrots/potatoes? I love what you have done and look forward to seeing more pictures as the season goes on.

Hi Jess0331! Welcome!

Yes - those are my potato boxes. I have potatoes planted in there and as the sprouts grow I'll add Mel's Mix to them and as I need to extend up past the top of the square box, I'll add another square box on top. You can use those square boxes for things like carrots, too, that are sometimes longer than the 6" of Mel's Mix in your SFG.

Thank you for the warm welcome and the answer to my question. I was trying to figure out what to do in order to try carrots/potatoes and, until I saw your picture, thought I was going to have to build a separate taller box and put it next to the main one. Your idea is MUCH better! I'm getting extremely excited about trying this type of gardening and can't wait to start posting some pics. Thanks again and have a great night!

Okay - maybe just one more bed... But only because my hoop house is finished its early-season protecting of the early crops and was begging me to be a real greenhouse...



We just happen to have pallets kicking around from our business, and I just happened to have another whole garden bed frame I could relocate from where the last tenants we had left it behind... So a little elbow grease and a sunny day and I have a half greenhouse / half SFG new bed! Yay!



And I had patio planters that are getting some annuals put in and *they* needed a place - and the potato pots (in front) weren't getting *quite* enough sun where they were and I just *happened* to have some bricks I could use on the shoulders of the new bed...

The pallet is a little wider than 2 feet, so the SFG is a little narrower than 2 feet, but I'll end up with 12 x 10 inch squares - close enough for me!

WOW, you ARE busy.
Not sure I completely understand the pallets and what they are doing?
Also I am QUITE interested in vinigar sprayed on dandylions.
I have a whole acreage that i am trying to get rid of quack Grass and I just know round up would work but would NEVER use it, but i am wondering if vinegar would solve the problem
TEENSY bits of roots will start another whole plant, I have spent a whole month weeding and could start again. The ones that are coming up in my raised beds are the big problem because there are other things growing there, so I cannot dig down too far.

Wow, that's impressive. Looking good.

I really like your removable Hoop house ! I think I might modify mine to be like that next year

GWN wrote:WOW, you ARE busy.
Not sure I completely understand the pallets and what they are doing?
Also I am QUITE interested in vinigar sprayed on dandylions.

The pallet just forms a solid base to put my plant trays on under the hoop tunnel. I didn't want to put everything on Mel's mix, so I put the pallet there and covered it with plastic mesh. Along the front, separating the dirt from the pallet, is a 1x6 board.

The vinegar seems to work well on the dandelions. It knocks them right back and they die... but - they do re-emerge, so it doesn't completely kill the root at first go. It's my summer project to keep at it, though, spraying the re-emerging leaves when I see them. I'll figure out in the fall and over the winter whether or not it's actually worked.

I used it on the grass, too, and while it kills the grass just fine, it does come right back. Dang... So I don't know how it'll work with your grass problem... sorry!

kbb964 and carybccom - thanks! it's been trial and error the whole way... but lots of fun!

Here's my Construction for Dummies attempt at a trellis. We had the hoops from an old broken down vehicle/boat cover thing hanging around. So I just got 4 @ 6' long rebar to slide them over and one to help anchor the tops together.. It's a little long at the top, but I didn't want to cut it, in case we need the pieces again for something else. Now I just need to get the netting...

REUSE, RECYCLE, REPURPOSE. Good work.

Kay

Awesome garden...

Poor dandelions....

Okay - time to post some updated pics...



I found that those cages that I made last year, while protecting the beds wonderfully, were a pain to get in and out of. And once things really started growing in there and needed tending, it was time to take them off. I used 6' pieces of rebar pounded about 1.5 feet into the ground and black bird netting to fence off the beds, but the "fence" was right up close to the beds and I found I was constantly undoing and doing back up the fence to tend the plants. So this year I have moved the fencing, giving myself a 2-foot margin all around the beds. Much better! I also moved my potting bench (birthday gift from hubby last year!) into the garden area and have it enclosed within the fence.



Where I have the landscape fabric is where I had cardboard over the grass last year. This year, the cardboard had killed most of the grass so it was easy to put the fabric down. I had had thoughts of putting rock paths between my beds, but since watching Back to Eden I think I will take off the landscape fabric when I am ready and use a nice layer of bark mulch over newspapers over the ground. That is also the plan for all the areas you see where there is cardboard now. As I get more cardboard, I'll lay it down so the whole area is covered. Then when I get mulch, I'll mulch it all.



I'm so happy I found this forum last year! The Junior Gardeners (kids) and I are loving our SFG!

It looks beautiful. Exactly what Im striving for. What do you have planted in the big pots?

Thanks R&R! There is nothing in the pots right now. They're leftover from last year. They had flowers last year. I haven't decided yet for this year. But they're great at holding down the cardboard for me!

AWESOME!

Here's a current view of my SFG from our upstairs window. (through the screen - sorry!)



I'm going to be putting mulch down in all the places where there is cardboard and landscape fabric. It will look so much better when I do. The garden is a little greener now than in this pic, too - a week and a half makes a big difference in the garden this time of year!

kittykat wrote:Here's a current view of my SFG from our upstairs window. (through the screen - sorry!)



I'm going to be putting mulch down in all the places where there is cardboard and landscape fabric. It will look so much better when I do. The garden is a little greener now than in this pic, too - a week and a half makes a big difference in the garden this time of year!

Looking good! Glad to see Im not the only one with a bunch of cardboard down waiting for mulch.

Thanks R&R... yeah - it looks kind of like a trailer park SFG at this point (no offense to anyone living in a trailer park - LOL). But I have vision and I see it as it will be...

I am in the process of getting mulch down at least on the borders where the grass is - I'll post another pic when I have that done.

Got mulch onto a couple sides of the garden this week...

Looks fantastic!

Thanks camprn!