Re: I am I an idiot? Neighbor thinks so

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/10/2012, 11:47 pm

AvaDGardner wrote:Our coordinator is always answering that question.

MG will give you false results. It has ingredients that give you unnatural increases for year one, which also stresses the plants. The following years those additives are gone, used up in year 1, and so you get normal results or smaller for year 2+.

That's only true if you're using Miracle Gro on perennials.

**Furbalsmom** 4/10/2012, 11:55 pm

Wouldn't the fertilizers from MG be worn out after one season, so even annuals and second crops the same year would not give as good results the second year?

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/11/2012, 12:07 am

Furbalsmom wrote:Wouldn't the fertilizers from MG be worn out after one season, so even annuals and second crops the same year would not give as good results the second year?

Annuals wouldn't survive into the second year anyway

Daniel9999 4/11/2012, 12:47 am

Really isn't any one one elses business what some one else spends on their own garden.

If he does not want to spend a lot on his garden than that is fine....good for him...but he really shouldn't be berating you for what you choose to spend on yours.

Chopper 4/11/2012, 1:33 am

I do find it odd that he felt he needed to be such a sounds-like-stick. But, humans are an interesting bunch. How about "Oh really? Yawn". Why he is so excited about doing a half a**ed job I will never know. I'll bet his teeth are a dream with those cigars.

Have fun in your garden and smile and nod when he speaks and don't let him know you are really listening to your music and can't hear a word he is saying.

AvaDGardner 4/11/2012, 1:54 am

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:
Furbalsmom wrote:Wouldn't the fertilizers from MG be worn out after one season, so even annuals and second crops the same year would not give as good results the second year?

Annuals wouldn't survive into the second year anyway

Does it matter that they are annuals? If your production is enlarged because of MG additives in year one, and the additives are used up in year two, wouldn't your new annuals still be smaller in production?

Used up grow food is still used up, isn't it?

Then you can your continue costs with buying MG plant food, right?

Chopper 4/11/2012, 2:30 am

Well, this brings the question, would it work to add a trowel of MG or compost and still get decent results? Our nutrients are depleted too after a season - not totally, but some. So, not that I am a fan, but if you add the compost, would it help?

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/11/2012, 7:13 am

AvaDGardner wrote:
Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:
Furbalsmom wrote:Wouldn't the fertilizers from MG be worn out after one season, so even annuals and second crops the same year would not give as good results the second year?

Annuals wouldn't survive into the second year anyway

Does it matter that they are annuals? If your production is enlarged because of MG additives in year one, and the additives are used up in year two, wouldn't your new annuals still be smaller in production?

Used up grow food is still used up, isn't it?

Then you can your continue costs with buying MG plant food, right?

Miracle Gro is not a once and done treatment. I would be foolish to expect one treatment to last for longer than a few months.

Like Chopper just said, nutrients in compost don't last very long. If they did, why add a trowel full of compost to each square after harvesting a crop from that square? Whether you add compost periodically to your garden or use Miracle Gro, you're still doing the same thing to achieve the same results

Price it out. Is compost really that much cheaper than Miracle Gro? It might be. What's easier for some people than to just mix up some Miracle Gro and pour it on their plants. Is compost an all-natural product that's better for the environment? Yes it is.

Miracle Gro and compost. Two different products to achieve the same thing.

**RoOsTeR** 4/11/2012, 7:50 am

I've basically already "paid" for everything in my compost from food scraps, coffee grounds, alfalfa scraps, shavings, feed, etc. I also know exactly what's in my compost and know I'm getting a well rounded, nutrient rich, natural product.

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/11/2012, 10:56 am

I also know what's in my compost since I spent a LOT of time running around picking up the ingredients. Yes, I spent money on gas but it sure was fun. What a Face

HereIGrowAgain 4/11/2012, 12:23 pm

About the MG: much of this discussion assumes that the neighbor knows what he is doing. If the guy thinks astro-turf and MG is really all it takes to make a lush garden it sounds to me like he doesn't know much at all. He also sounds like the "more is More!" kind of guy so there is a big likelihood that he is going to use way too much MG and burn up whatever he plants. But then if he really does think his astro-turf is growing...LOL! This could be really fun to watch.

Jeane I wouldn't advise you to warm anyone about this guy. It's like this. He is badmouthing you. If you badmouth him then you sound just as bad as he is and you'll share in the bad reputation he's making for himself. In keeping quiet you sound much more serious and knowledgeable as well as nicer. Then there is the concept that the Apostle Paul referred to as "heaping coals of fire on their heads." The more you smile, Jeane, the more he is going to hate it. He may get madder and louder in his insistence that you're insane but he is going to keep looking worse and worse the more he says about you. And you'll look better and better each time he opens his mouth. He's hurting himself far more than he's hurting you. Just give him time. When the growing season is in it's peak will be when you shine and he looks like the idiot. You'll have an awesome garden and he'll have his wonderful Astro-turf. I'm sure all the other neighbors are going to love this! He'll be the talk of the block for his silly gardening practices-not you!

Just hang in there. Things will get better in a couple months.

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/11/2012, 12:56 pm

Jeane, you might not have to warn your neighbors about this knucklehead. Anybody who has an ounce of brains will be able to see that.

In other words, let him warn your neighbors. What a Face

Chopper 4/11/2012, 3:06 pm

Besides, he is no gardener. He is a competitor. Any gardener worth their salt will root for their neighbor's garden too. Not disparage it. Even those of us who know we are superior! LOL I am I an idiot? Neighbor thinks so - Page 2 53366

I am I an idiot? Neighbor thinks so - Page 2 53366

So root for him, but know who has the most sustainable garden - and the best, Hahaha.

H_TX_2 4/11/2012, 3:15 pm

Well said Chopper about competitors and gardeners. I am a very competitive person but not when it comes to gardening unless you take into account the caterpillars and other pests; which in that case I WILL COMPLETELY ANNIHILATE AND CRUSH THEM THEN TAUNT THEIR DEAD CORPSES!

I get excited when someone I know is getting into gardening. I mention my success with SFG and don't bash their method if it is different. I love to help them in anyway I can. I just don't understand how anyone can not be positive when they are gardening.

Chopper 4/11/2012, 3:20 pm

H_TX_2 wrote: but not when it comes to gardening unless you take into account the caterpillars and other pests; which in that case I WILL COMPLETELY ANNIHILATE AND CRUSH THEM THEN TAUNT THEIR DEAD CORPSES!

Absolutely. When it comes to US and THEM, it is in the case me against anything that wants to destroy my crops. I do not mind sharing the odd nibble, but more than that and watch out..

**camprn** 4/11/2012, 5:37 pm

Bring him a nice lupine as a peace offering....

did you know lupines are trap plants for aphids... I am I an idiot? Neighbor thinks so - Page 2 811519

**llama momma** 4/11/2012, 5:48 pm

Once you get past the issue sometimes the annoying party can end up being a decent and good friend. Stranger things have happened.

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/11/2012, 5:50 pm

camprn wrote:Bring him a nice lupine as a peace offering....

did you know lupines are trap plants for aphids...

Sort of along the lines of a Trojan Horse???

**camprn** 4/11/2012, 6:33 pm

Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:
camprn wrote:Bring him a nice lupine as a peace offering....

did you know lupines are trap plants for aphids...

Sort of along the lines of a Trojan Horse???

Hoggar 4/11/2012, 7:15 pm

Please tell me more about lupines and Aphids!?

**camprn** 4/11/2012, 7:28 pm

Hoggar wrote:Please tell me more about lupines and Aphids!?

Hoggar, I just started a new thread about this. Very Happy

Too Tall Tomatoes 4/11/2012, 7:54 pm

camprn wrote:
Too Tall Tomatoes wrote:
camprn wrote:Bring him a nice lupine as a peace offering....

did you know lupines are trap plants for aphids...

Sort of along the lines of a Trojan Horse???

I am I an idiot? Neighbor thinks so - Page 2 889526

rod champion 4/11/2012, 8:31 pm

if you have ever read a James Burke novel--- sometimes the short version of the Serenity Prayer applies..

sandi.conover.jones 5/9/2012, 3:42 pm

Some people are just twits, and know-it-all's. (Don't I know it! Doh! There I go.... Razz

)

Oh, I LOVED the tomacco reference. I'd love to grow that, aim for a cash crop!

Re: the original post, if you have already had successes with SFG, calm down, and KNOW that you know what you know, study

and know that it will work out. Results will be the key. You can gloat to yourself about your produce yields come harvest time. albino

Your new neighbor sounds like a piece of work. Either he was having a bad day, or he is a bozo.

subsonic 5/9/2012, 8:10 pm

JeanneRamick wrote:Have the new SFG book. Successful SFG for a few years. So, good ... right?

The neighbor across the street (just moved in .. this is a condo association with lots of rules) has berated me for "wasting so much money" on my garden.

He has one of those $45 dollar cedar kits from Home Depot that he's filling with astro-turf and Miracle-Grow water-saving potting soil. His stated plan is to "just use Miracle Grow when things look poorly"

Not to be mean, but he's telling everyone in the complex that I'm an idiot for buying "excessive" lumber and building a "cage" of chicken wire. (His SFQ has only 1" wide lumber)

This reminds me of what I call, "those that have 'never' want to protect those that 'do' from them selves.
Ever notice that those who 'do not' are always experts?

It happens in everything in life.

So now I hear of a guy who is telling a SFG user that the SFG is a waste of time.
All I have to say is, has he ever tried SFGing?

Let me ask this, if someone showed you a method to improve your gardening by 20%, remain organic, and do it in less space than SFG, would you say it was wa waste of time without trying it?

that is about what your neighbor is doing.

Those that 'do not' are only jealous. Forget him and continue till we find the way to get 20% MORE WITH LESS SPACE AND REMAIN ORGANIC, until then you are producing more in less space than most methods out there.

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