Hi from Charlotte, NC!

ultraviolet 4/1/2014, 10:50 am

Hello!

This is actually my second year with a square foot garden and I'm pretty psyched to make use of all the things I learned the first year. Wink

We are waaay in the south part of the city, so we're practically in SC, which puts us more in the Zone 8a area than the rest of Charlotte. One of the biggest challenges we have here is the scorching heat in the summertime, so I'm hoping to plan a little better crop rotation this time. To our benefit we have a really long growing season!

**sanderson** 4/1/2014, 3:03 pm

Ultraviolet, Did you mulch? Some areas get scorching hot and mulch can be a life saver. Sometime a little shade netting or cloths may be needed for some sun relief.

**AtlantaMarie** 4/1/2014, 4:09 pm

Hi Ultraviolet! Welcome! I live a couple hours south of you.

ultraviolet 4/2/2014, 1:06 am

Sanderson, I had not considered mulching. Last year was my first year and I was working out a lot of bugs (literally and figuratively!) so this year I can be more proactive about the heat thing. What would you recommend as mulch material?

**sanderson** 4/2/2014, 1:46 am

UltraViolet, Since I joined a year ago, I have logged on almost every day and learned so, so much. First thing I learned was that I didn't make my Mel's Mix correctly! Embarassed

So many little bits of information, tricks of the trade, and DIY projects to borrow and tweak. Photos and stories.

My mulch is virgin pine playground chips. Others use pine needles, straw, bark, etc. Stay tuned this year and you should have more fun and less "bugs." Very Happy

**AtlantaMarie** 4/2/2014, 9:02 am

We're using cypress mulch we get at Home Depot.

**sanderson** 4/2/2014, 12:44 pm

I typed Mulch in the Search box. This topic ran last summer:

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t15684-mulch-for-hot-weather?highlight=mulch

johnbmarek 4/2/2014, 1:01 pm

Hey, Ultraviolet. Welcome! I'm on the other side of Charlotte from you, up here at Lake Norman. This will be my third square foot garden.

ultraviolet 4/2/2014, 4:21 pm

Thanks for the point in the right direction, Sanderson!

And hi, Atlantamarie! Thanks for the suggestion on the mulch.

Hi johnbmarek! Has your garden fared well the last couple of years? You're a bit north of me, so you guys get things like snow when we don't, but heat-wise you should be about the same. And it has been HOT.

johnbmarek 4/2/2014, 9:36 pm

Heat has not been that big an issue for me. That may be because my garden gets a fair amount of shade, which creates issues of its own. Last summer was exceptionally wet here, so I had a little problem with that as well.

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Hi from Charlotte, NC!

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