Are you expanding this year?

Trying really hard to convince myself I'm not expanding this year. But I've got extra peat moss and my local stores just started carrying several new kinds of compost...good thing vermiculite is so expensive as that is the only thing holding me back right now!
Well, that, and the fact that I want to focus on doing a better job keeping all of my current squares kept up. Year round gardening is kind of a different critter. Sometimes I envy y'all who have an off season.

Not sure if we're going to expand our SFG or not. Financially things are super duper tight right now. We'll see how things go over the next 2 months.

I think between the rabbits, chickens, worms and leaves we've got the compost covered for our current beds and perhaps a few more. I've been talking to hubby about setting up additional compost piles in an effort to get more of our "leaves" composted down. He was burning them!

Speaking of compost, I think today or tomorrow would be a good day to clean out the chicken poo from their pen again!

He was burning them!

OMG BURNING leaves....

I bring a bag home from the forest every day.
I added two large beds last fall, 33 square feet each, I plan to increase my artichoke bed, which I just put down 1 cubic foot of mm into the ground and space the artichokes about 3 feet apart.
I dug up all the roots last fall and am dividing the plants and have TONS, am thinking of contacting a local grocery store about becoming a supplier.

elliephant wrote:Trying really hard to convince myself I'm not expanding this year. But I've got extra peat moss and my local stores just started carrying several new kinds of compost...good thing vermiculite is so expensive as that is the only thing holding me back right now!
Well, that, and the fact that I want to focus on doing a better job keeping all of my current squares kept up. Year round gardening is kind of a different critter. Sometimes I envy y'all who have an off season.

Ellie may I suggest that if at all possible go for the expansion use neat compost and peat ..like Mel says if you can't get hold of the vermiculite. You can always add some at a later date.

Perhaps it's better a couple of beds of a useable crop than nothing at all.

llama momma wrote:Front yard sounds good to me.
I am waiting for that "someday" when the publishers clearing house prize patrol van comes along so I have unlimited funds for lots of pretty white vinyl fencing beds with flowers dotting across the front lawn.... 250 wide by 200 would fit a lot of beds Dreams, dreams, dreams...

Nice Hey, you could even hire a gardener to help do the yucky stuff!

Yep, my hubby has a project to do since I wanted to add another bed - 4x10' for my new three sisters garden I am trying out for the 1st time this year. My 1st yr at SFG I made one 4x4 bed, then the following year aded two more. Last yr added the 2x6 beds and planted garlic in those beds this past fall.
My husband also has to make me a new trellis.

My sister-in-law wants to add another 4x4 bed to her existing two beds along with a trellis which hubby will make.

I also assigned my hubby to make a trellis for a neighbor!

So not only are we expanding but also are my relatives and neighbors.......

Yes, after 3 yrs with 1 4x4 box I am adding another. I also have multiple pots and an in ground tomato bed.

Nice to see you again herblover- (T.)! I saved your canning directions from last year. Have a great gardening season. LM(G.)

First let me say greetings....again. I've been away for a while but it's time to get back into things.

To answer the post, yes and no. Last year was my first year with SFG and gardening in general so it was a year of getting over the learning curve.

To that end I'm making a few changes this year. One change is I'm not doing corn this year. Where I live corn is plentifull and inexpensive when in season and I don't have the space to grow enough to make it worth my wild.

That being said I'll use that area to shuffle a few things around from last years lay out and add a couple of different varieties of lettuce and to increase a few veggies from last year.

I'm also going to open space where I had potatoes last year to new crops and expand existing crops.

I'm going to put the potatoes in smart pots this year because I think they will be more manageable. I purchased 4, 30 gallon smart pots. This is new for me so it will be yet another learning experience.

That's it....

I have already added 1 4x8x12" bed MM all the way. I was going to add three but did not remove(read transplant) two shrub bushes soon enough. I also converted my bean bed from last year to MM making a total of 3 MM beds out of six total. I am in the process of screening the big mistake called "natures mix"[I called myself getting off cheap instead of MM] of all it's tree bark and augmenting it with rabbit poo. Hopefully it will do better till I can aford to convert it and the other two beds (still producing) to MM.
I still have cabbage and kohlrabi growing from last fall in one bed and carrots, lettuce, spinach, and shalots in the remaining bed. I did have to pull up one variety of the musculin mix(lettuce) due to bolting. I hope to keep atleast the lettuce until the new crop is in and near harvest ready.
This winter was way too mild I bet the bugs are going to be terible this year. If the rain will just hold off this weekend maybe I can finish ground preps and start planting. Still can't get past the feeling we are going to have another cold snap before Easter, seems we always do!

You betcha. We added 13 Growums containers, which equals 1 5/8 4x4 squares. We added one new raised bed 4x4 square, and we added another 20 SF (10 x 2) of the original in-the-ground SFG method that has a good 9 inches of compost plus another 6 inches of humus as the soil.

Additionally, we have constructed several (don't know the exact number) of homemade self-watering containers using 5 gallon buckets, 20 gallon totes from Home Depot, and numerous recycled buckets such as 10 lb epsom salt buckets. We already have healthy romaine lettuce growing in these, and I have not had to fill the water reservoir once since the initial time. It's almost not considered gardening, since there really isn't anything to do but harvest the lettuce when it is ready and maybe add water once every 3 weeks.

You can find multiple tutorials about how to build SWC's online. One is so simple, you have to consider trying it. You take a large Rubbermaid tote and purchase three, 2 1/2-gallon water jugs. Drink the water and cut the bottom out of the jugs. Lay the jugs, cut-side down, on the bottom of the tote. If you have the right size, they will fill the bottom with only a few cracks. Place the Mel's Mix through all the cracks until it is packed in tightly. This will be your wicking soil. Now, take the top of one of the water jugs and cut out a small circle just big enough to place the top of a 16 oz. water bottle inside. Cut the bottom of the water bottle and add a couple more water bottles, with bottoms cut out, and stack the bottles until they protrude above the soil line. This will be where you add water.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3INoLKg555w