Hello from central Pennsylvania

beams1969 wrote:Hello all.

I am just going to start SFG this year and am looking forward to it. I have a few newbie questions I someone could give me some help, please.

1. I am having trouble finding compost, especially the five kinds, but I have some leads. Is it OK to mix manure in?
2. I am starting with one 4x4x.5 box. I found a bag of vermiculite (2 cu. ft.) for about $20. It is medium, not coarse. I plan to make up the other .67 cu. ft between the peat moss and compost. Does anyone see this as a big problem? I didn't want to spend another $20 for .67 cu ft of the stuff.
3. Any suggestions for easy "sure-fire" veggies to grow in the beginning?

It is tough getting the five different composts and I went to nurseries and did the best I could. Worked out well last year.

You would need 8/3rds of a cu. ft. of vermiculite, you are close enough there IMHO

Since you are starting late and will have to buy transplants this year, you can still direct sow bush beans, cukes, spinach and buy some tomatoes, peppers, herbs etc. depending what you like. Also don't forget you can plant a lot of spring crops in the late summer for fall.

One think I suggest is check this board out for compost methods and get on going as soon as possible. This will keep from running around every year for compost blend that are hard to find, as you know, and not cheap. I started my first batch last spring and got some nice compost for this year...

Thanks for any help.