new SFG from Italy

alanlu 4/2/2014, 5:41 am

Hello!!
I've just finisched constructing my SFG thank's to your advice about compost (terriccio in italian).
some squares are still empty waiting for little plants I started indoor.
here some pics.

new SFG from Italy Image11

Goosegirl 4/2/2014, 7:41 am

Great start! I can't wait to see them filling up with green!

GG

**sanderson** 4/2/2014, 12:17 pm

Alanlu, Congratulations on your beautiful, tall beds. Please keep us posted. Very Happy

grownsunshine 4/2/2014, 2:35 pm

alanlu - I love seeing all of that land in your pictures! Your boxes look great and you seem well prepared. Your dog looks like he's a lot of fun too. I live in the city, so the space I have available to grow is small. I still haven't maximized my growing space, so I'm not overly jealous...yet.

I had the privilege of visiting Italy 10 years ago and loved travelling by train and seeing all of the vineyards in everyone's back yards. I'm so jealous that people are able to do that!! ...needless to say, I love red wine.

Good luck with your garden!! Don't forget there are a lot of great and helpful people here in case you have questions.

alanlu 4/3/2014, 2:46 am

@grownsunshine
I mooved in this country house one year ago. I have so many space for my garden that somethimes I'm afraid of that!! previously me and my mom had a traditional row garden in a "city garden". in my town there are special spaces managed by the town council and given to some citizens to grow vegs. it was the beginning of my "garden passion"!!
Now, all my neigbours are telling me I'm crazy. none of them have never seen such a garden ... a SQUARE Meter garden .... they can't believe something will certanly grow!
I told myself that if anything will grow ... I'll glue peppers on a plastic plant just to show SFG works!!

**sanderson** 4/3/2014, 3:36 am

Plastic pepper plant with glued-on peppers!

alanlu 4/3/2014, 4:04 am

reservoir 4/3/2014, 5:06 am

grownsunshine 4/3/2014, 12:37 pm

Better go find that plastic plant!! Once the neighbors see your success, they'll want to start their own sfg. I'm excited for you!! Good Luck!!

alanlu 4/4/2014, 2:34 am

Question:
I've got boxes with mother earth soil...and boxes with Mel's mix soil. I've sowed the same seeds at the same time in all the boxes, same drinks of water ... . yesterday I noticed seeds in "traditional soil" started spouting, seeds in Mel's mix soil .... are still sleeping!!!
obviously I didn't tell this to my neighbors!! what's happening??? should I already go for plastic plants?!!

**sanderson** 4/4/2014, 2:43 am

Patience. I have no idea for why they are sprouting earlier in the earth. Let us know when the MM seeds sprout. Did you also plant some seedlings in both boxes? I ask because if some ingredient in the MM contains pre-emergent weed chemical, the seeds won't sprout. Just thinking out loud.

alanlu 4/4/2014, 2:49 am

**AtlantaMarie** 4/4/2014, 9:17 am

What a great space! You're going to have so much fun with this!

**gwennifer** 4/4/2014, 7:39 pm

Welcome to the forum! What a big setup you have for a first timer - wow!

Keep in mind you cannot keep the same watering schedule for Mel's Mix versus other types of gardening mediums. According to the book, your Mel's Mix will typically need to be watered more often. The best way to tell if the Mel's mix needs to be watered is probably with a water meter if you've got one, or at least with the good ole finger poke test.

Let us know when your seeds sprout. Hopefully you won't look foolish in front of your neighbors, but there is indeed a learning curve to all types of gardening so if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Smile

ETNRedClay 4/4/2014, 8:28 pm

Congrats on the new SFG. Love that you've elevated it -- my aching back loves it in particular.

I've found that my elevated flower beds with dirt plus compost do sprout earlier than my MM veggie beds... and I think it is a water thing. After the good soaking rain we had this morning, EVERYTHING jumped out of the ground and mix -- onions are 4-5" tall where they were barely green 2 days ago. Beets and turnips and peas sprouted. Greens gave me enough for a salad at dinner. Everything good a good drench and I thought I was watering enough.... lesson learned.

alanlu 4/5/2014, 10:04 am

Some little sprouts of beans,and peas this afternoon...and lattuce is trying to push its head out!!!!
Fingers crossed!!!

My indoor sprouting tray is giving me a lot of satisfactions...tomatoes, basil, cauliflowers....are growing fast! so happy about that!!!

**kauairosina** 4/5/2014, 1:29 pm

Your gardens look terrific. I'll bet you will have plenty to share with your neighbors and not plastic either, and also not plastic like they find in the grocery stores even in Italy. Of course you do have those wonderful markets so you are up against some beautiful competition.

**sanderson** 4/5/2014, 1:54 pm

Alanlu, Yeah! cheers

alanlu 4/14/2014, 6:54 am

yesterday I transplanted all my little plants ... they seem to feel very confortable in MM soil!!
I have boxes filled with MM and boxes filled with "mother earth soil". seeds in traditional soild sprouted earlier but ... weeds sprouted as well!!!
Mel's Mix boxes are "clean", no weeds, only my loved small plants!!!

new SFG from Italy Foto_311

**AtlantaMarie** 4/14/2014, 8:25 am

That's great, Alanlu. They LOOK happy!

I like your boxes and how they're raised on the pallets.

**kauairosina** 4/14/2014, 6:03 pm

Nice to have the comparison between soil and mel's mix. Great start! What part of Italy?

**sanderson** 4/15/2014, 12:19 am

Alanlu, I'm glad you are finding happiness and success with the MM boxes. Maybe you won't have to buy those plastic peppers.

alanlu 4/15/2014, 2:23 am

@ kauairosina
I'm from Modena, northen Italy.

@ Sanderson
actually peppers are the only one still missing!!! Sad

**sanderson** 4/15/2014, 2:55 am

Well, peppers take longer to germinate from what everyone has been writing this spring! Very Happy

plantoid 4/15/2014, 5:40 am

alanlu wrote:

Pre emergence.

Some weed killers used on land or lawns have a special weed killer that kills of newly germinating seeds.

I use a special hormone weed killer that will kill every thing except grass on my lawns.
There is a residual effect in my weed killer which can last for over two years .

If I was silly & put any lawn cuttings into my compost it will still have the weed killer effect for many many months thus preventing me having any seeds germinating in the beds where the infected compost was used.

We have to be very very careful where we get the ingredients from to make our MM .
Sometimes a commercially made product will contain weed killed grass cuttings treated with these sort of hormone controls. As a result the beds wont grow any seeds but they will often allow you to put plants grown elsewhere into them.

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so great to have an Italian view

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little plants grow!!

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Delightful

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