This was unexpected

mazzy 5/20/2014, 3:06 pm

Hi...I had to pull out some spinach that had bolted. It was the first time I've removed plants from my new garden. They had only been in the ground about 3 weeks but grew really quickly and had incredibly large root systems. When I pulled them out it left huge divots in the soil...more than a spade full of compost would replace. The great soil and its resulting phenomenal root growth is new to me. So my plan is, whenever I'm removing plants, to have a barrel of mm ready to go to fill in the missing soil and then add a spade full of compost per Mel's directions.

I'm sure you all have experienced this but it is new to me, having dealt with poor clay soil before.

Mazzy

**sanderson** 5/20/2014, 3:14 pm

I think most of us shake off all the MM we can and then add compost to make up the difference. Just leave the removed plants on top the MM until the roots/MM dries a bit, then shake the plants to save as much MM as you can in that square.

Congrats on the phenomenal growing.

mazzy 5/20/2014, 3:17 pm

Good idea!

Thanks,
Mazzy

Marc Iverson 5/20/2014, 3:29 pm

Nice to see healthy roots on one's veggie children, isn't it? Makes one feel it was done right.

mazzy 5/20/2014, 4:23 pm

Yes...this was unexpected. Now I can see why sfg is so popular.

Mazzy

**camprn** 5/20/2014, 7:29 pm

mazzy wrote:Hi...I had to pull out some spinach that had bolted. It was the first time I've removed plants from my new garden. They had only been in the ground about 3 weeks but grew really quickly and had incredibly large root systems. When I pulled them out it left huge divots in the soil...more than a spade full of compost would replace. The great soil and its resulting phenomenal root growth is new to me. So my plan is, whenever I'm removing plants, to have a barrel of mm ready to go to fill in the missing soil and then add a spade full of compost per Mel's directions.

I'm sure you all have experienced this but it is new to me, having dealt with poor clay soil before.

Mazzy

Don't keep addin Mel's Mix, a well rounded compost is all you and your garden plants need.

greatgranny 5/20/2014, 10:43 pm

Last year I took out all the tulip bulbs that were in my squares because they needed to go to another place. Well, I must have forgotten some or they were hiding. This spring I have some that are at least a 12 - 15 inches high. They are so huge and the flowers are also very large. I put some in my flower bed which is not SFG and this is what they look like:

This was unexpected Tulips214_zpsa9e779f9

This was unexpected Tulips214_zpsa9e779f9

The ones in the SFG that I will be pulling as soon as they die back are larger still. These weren't even open all the way when this was taken. Today, they finally got some sun and the hummingbirds were going crazy. I think the reason that these have done so well is that I separate them every 3 years but they spent 3 years in MM.
The root system is amazing. I didn't need to be convinced but had to share so one can see how healthy the plants. Perennials do very nicely in MM. Some get like bushes.

mazzy 5/20/2014, 11:12 pm

That is great.

**sanderson** 5/21/2014, 1:58 am

GreatGranny, How pretty!

**AtlantaMarie** 5/21/2014, 8:00 am

Yes, it IS very pretty! Love that red color...!

greatgranny 5/30/2014, 9:46 pm

Well, I measured the tulips. Some were almost knee high. The ruler is an 18 inch one.

Also, I have 1 square with a bleeding heart. Never this big before. The hummingbirds and bumble bees are loving it. This is such a testimony to the importance of good homemade compost.

This was unexpected TulipHeight_zps7b55eeb6

This was unexpected TulipHeight_zps7b55eeb6

This was unexpected BleedingheartssFG2014_zps2ee0d951

**AtlantaMarie** 5/31/2014, 10:09 pm

I had a friend several years ago who had a bleeding heart in a hanging basket right outside her front door. A hummer put her nest in there. My friend loved it. Even tho she got buzzed every day, lol.

greatgranny 5/31/2014, 10:19 pm

AtlantaMarie wrote:I had a friend several years ago who had a bleeding heart in a hanging basket right outside her front door. A hummer put her nest in there. My friend loved it. Even tho she got buzzed every day, lol.

They are very protective.

Last summer there was a pair that came to my garden only they didn't come at the same time. One day the female came and along came the male and made an awful noise. Don't know if he was scolding to get back to the nest or if he was upset she would steal some of the nectar. Hard to believe that such a little bird can make that much noise.

Marc Iverson 6/1/2014, 12:48 am

They can be very competitive. I've seen ours get in nasty fights for our feeders.

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