My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

dstack Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:44 pm

The SFG boxes are ready to fill with Mel's Mix, and I can't wait to get planting! That'll probably be Saturday. My supplier and helper drilled the holes a full inch! At least I'll have plenty of drainage. I do have the extra 1/4" corner holes.

And the papaya plants you see to the left are the eight papayas that I've chosen to go down the 45' stretch on the other side of the compost. That'll be my project in 2 or 3 weeks.

bnoles Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:33 pm

WOW!!!! Those look fantastic and appear to be built to last a lifetime.

Nice work!

Triciasgarden Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:00 pm

Wow, even the paths are finished! Want to come my way and do all that for me, lol! How big do papaya trees grow? Those are beautiful trees. You will sure be able to make lots of smoothies!

**sanderson** Wed Sep 18, 2013 12:32 am

Those puppies are beautiful. cheers

You've got to be chomping at the bit to get them filled and planted!

dstack Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:10 am

Triciasgarden wrote:Wow, even the paths are finished! Want to come my way and do all that for me, lol! How big do papaya trees grow? Those are beautiful trees. You will sure be able to make lots of smoothies!

Hi Tricia - Papaya plants will get up 15-20" and my first set got about 9" in just over a year! And they produced a lot of fruit before the nematodes got the best of them. I chopped them all down and solarized the new area where the new ones will go. One of the plants is already flowering, and it looks like a male, so I have backup plants to the right in the photo. My smoothies that I make every morning are with veggies (leafy greens), my favorite herbs (fennel, parsley, and sweet basil) and fruit (whatever's available at the time). I call my smoothies my blender mixes.

dstack Wed Sep 18, 2013 6:11 am

sanderson wrote:Those puppies are beautiful. You've got to be chomping at the bit to get them filled and planted!

I SURE AM! My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) 3170584802

Marc Iverson Wed Sep 18, 2013 8:03 pm

Looks beautiful!

Two of the things I miss the most from growing up in the tropics -- maybe the two things I miss the very most -- are fresh papayas and star-apples. Papayas fresh off the tree have an incredibly aromatic, perfumey taste, and half an hour or even 15 minutes later, they lose it and taste totally different. Still great, but no comparison. A fresh-plucked papaya is like nothing else on earth, especially when you get one of them that has an especially high amount of whatever the heck it is that makes them smell and taste almost supernaturally good. I like them just a little chilled, like 10 minutes max in the freezer, and then right down the hatch they go.

And if you've never had pickled papaya, that's fantastic too!

I envy your papayability down where you live. Up here, fresh papayas are not a possibility. Real quality of life issue!

Goosegirl Wed Sep 18, 2013 8:46 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:I envy your papayability down where you live. Up here, fresh papayas are not a possibility. Real quality of life issue!

+1!

Papayas are not growable here either. Have to special-order at the local supermarket or drive 60+ miles to civilization...

GG

CapeCoddess Fri Sep 20, 2013 12:17 pm

Oh man, those boxes are a sight to behold! Can't wait to see them all planted and growing.

I grew up with a papaya 'tree'. We put them in my little red wagon and sold them door to door for a quarter. *lol* My mother has a place in Inverrary now out there in Lauderhill but there's no spot for a garden, only her screened in porch. And my apt in North Miami has a very sunny skinny front porch that I will be taking advantage of once I retire. I can see it now, lined with a 2'x 6' box... alrighta

CC

**sanderson** Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:57 pm

Dstack, It's Saturday! Good luck.

dstack Sat Sep 21, 2013 8:09 am

Yes, today's the big day!

Windsor.Parker Sat Sep 21, 2013 4:31 pm

dstack! dstack!, dstack!, are you there?
Guess you're still out filling those BEAUTIFUL SFG boxes. Razz

I'm gonna use your model for my next raised beds.
Thanks for the pics, and good luck!
you rock

dstack Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:05 pm

Windsor.Parker wrote:dstack! dstack!, dstack!, are you there?
Guess you're still out filling those BEAUTIFUL SFG boxes.
I'm gonna use your model for my next raised beds.
Thanks for the pics, and good luck!

LOL - Here's what I have so far and will have to either plant after our dinner plans tonight with the electric sun, or tomorrow in the forecasted rain.

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Ready_10

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Ready_10

Windmere Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:08 pm

Man oh man, you did it right! Very nice work. I can't wait to see the good results that I know you'll get. I wish you much success!

Mikesgardn Sat Sep 21, 2013 7:50 pm

Dstack,
Great progress. The most important thing that I learned when starting out was to protect my garden from birds, squirrels, groundhogs, and deer. I lost a lot of food to them early on. I ended up protecting my garden with netting/chicken wire supported by pvc pipe hoops as you can see in my avatar. Any animals that you worry about in south florida?

**sanderson** Sat Sep 21, 2013 9:23 pm

Dstack, You did it!! bounce

Patience. A little rain will help settle the MM.

PS, I'm so jealous of the height of your boxes! Very Happy

Goosegirl Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:02 pm

Lookin' GREAT!!!

GG

dstack Sat Sep 21, 2013 10:56 pm

Mikesgardn wrote:Dstack,
Great progress... Any animals that you worry about in south florida?

Our garden cats keep most everything out of the garden. But then I'm worried about them jumping in to the boxes and contaminating them with nematodes. I've heavily mulched much of the landscape around the river rock, but I plan to build a 3x3 sand box that'll be for the cats to play and do whatever they want. That was an idea I got from Sanderson. If I see them jump up they know what "NO" means, and I hope they'll learn quickly.

dstack Sat Sep 21, 2013 11:11 pm

sanderson wrote:Dstack, You did it!!

Patience. A little rain will help settle the MM.

PS, I'm so jealous of the height of your boxes!

Thanks Sanderson! I have to give a lot of credit to the people on this forum (including you, of course) who gave me ideas and helped guide me to this point. For example, I couldn't decide how to contain the sand that I had built up, so I posted a poll asking if I should just slap some Quikcrete on chicken wire, or use cinder block for a retaining wall. The feedback had a big influence.

Mixing the MM in a tarp inside the boxes went better than expected, considering the height, other than an occasional spill here and there on the river rock. Of course I had a helper. It was pretty much by THE BOOK. Smile

I'll be planting in the rain tomorrow as long as there's no lightning. I'll update you with a photo. My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) 3170584802

dstack Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:50 pm

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Fennel10

Fennel...LOTS of fennel! I'm a bit crazy for it and can't get enough. There's actually a fennel dish I like to make that is a fennel pesto that takes two or three bulbs. Plus I like using it in my morning blender mixes. Very Happy

dstack Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:51 pm

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Pineap10

Pineapple and parsley seedlings just behind, and beyond that is the fennel.

dstack Sun Sep 22, 2013 8:53 pm

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Cucumb10

Cucumber, one of the many things I planted today

dstack Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:05 pm

Until things fill in I need to deter the cats from getting in the empty spaces so I created a little busyness using screens, cages and extra grid wood. As things get a little bigger I'll probably get chicken wire.

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Screen10

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Screen10

dstack Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:08 pm

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo) Cages10

Ok, this is unconventional, but it's temporary.

**sanderson** Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:05 pm

Dstack, If you want to post more than one photo per reply, click Preview after each posting. It will clear the previous photo from "Host a Photo" so you can select a second, third, etc.

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My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

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Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

UPDATE

So impressive

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

I PLANTED TODAY!!! - PHOTOS

MORE...

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

What I'm doing to deter the cats for now

more deterrent

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)

Re: My First SFG Boxes Are Ready For MM! (Photo)


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