Re: A First Time SFG in Canada

**trolleydriver** 10/27/2015, 6:43 pm

Oh yikes ... garlic harboring diseases!!! Thanks Marc, I never even thought of that.

http://igrow.org/gardens/gardening/planting-garlic/

I decided to dig up the grocery store cloves. It's dark so out I went to the SFG with flashlight in hand. I dug up the square in the area of the 6 holes where I planted them. I could only find 4 of the 6. I dug deeper but still only 4. I sifted the MM through my fingers but still only 4. Wow is me. My garlic is doomed and I feel like I am losing my mind!!!

Marc Iverson 10/28/2015, 1:00 am

Not necessarily doomed. But the casual trust people on these forums often place in replanted grocery items is seriously misplaced.

**sanderson** 10/28/2015, 3:32 am

The garlic capital of the world, Gilroy, CA, now imports garlic from Canada (??) for their processing plants. It will be years before garlic can be planted there again. Maybe if they rotated crops it could have been prevented ?? But what can you rotate in that ground that wouldn't pick up the pervasive garlic smell?

TD, I've been successful with the store bought garlic from 3 years ago. I've been replanting cloves from each harvest. So don't panic at this point. If the missing cloves come up, just plant something different in that square next summer. With SFG, it's a lot easier to rotate crops around.

**Scorpio Rising** 10/28/2015, 7:00 pm

Honestly, I am very rural here, and even my local garden center had no garlic for planting, but Krogers did. I picked the most perfect looking bulb, with the largest lovely, clean cloves there was. And I am going to plant it in my new bargain clearance container from KMart....maiden voyage for garlic and container!

And if it is a bust, it was literally $10 total. Even MM. Even with compost! And maybe I will get garlic!!!!!

Letting it roll, with what I have available. Will keep ya'll posted!

**sanderson** 10/29/2015, 3:28 am

And, if it works, you will be set up with garlic cloves for the rest of your gardening days. Very Happy

**trolleydriver** 11/11/2015, 10:18 am

This photo was taken last week after the two SFG beds were covered with mulched leaves. For most of the day the garden is now shaded by the house.

A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9413_zpsvnr8laqz

A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9413_zpsvnr8laqz

**sanderson** 11/12/2015, 1:06 am

All tucked in for a long winter's nap.

**Kelejan** 11/12/2015, 7:59 pm

trolleydriver wrote:This photo was taken last week after the two SFG beds were covered with mulched leaves. For most of the day the garden is now shaded by the house.

I have a similar problem, td, except that it is the hill behind my house that shades my garden. A couple of days ago I had the last little bit of direct sunshine fall where I had the trees taken down. No more sun there for about 80 days. Forty days to the Winter Solstice and the forty days later which takes me to about the first day of February when the sun once again touches the edge of my garden. I have marked it on my calendar and it will be interesting to see if I am right. I feel like one of the "ancients" working out how things go using my own knowledge of my land.

**sanderson** 11/13/2015, 5:09 pm

I also have a similar problem with my south neighbor's trees shading the back yard. I was hoping when they had them trimmed that it meant thinning and shortening, at least the thinning part. But no, the guy they had "trim" just cut off the ends, which makes them grow thicker. Sigh.

**trolleydriver** 11/24/2015, 1:54 pm

Well it had to happen sooner or later. This morning we woke to a scattering of snow.

The SFG.
A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9430_zpsbnslngiw

The compost bins. I keep putting kitchen scraps in them but not much is happening in this cold weather.
A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9433_zpszfpg9yu9

A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9433_zpszfpg9yu9

The pond is frozen over except in front of the waterfall.
A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9434_zpsm2fhe76p

**Kelejan** 11/24/2015, 2:34 pm

How deep is your pond, and do you have fish in them?

**trolleydriver** 11/24/2015, 2:53 pm

Due to city by-law restrictions for fencing around swimming pools the pond is only 18 inches deep. Taht way we do not need a fence around it. There are fish in the pond. I used to take them out and keep them in an aquarium. Now I just leave them in the pond. Sometimes one or two will survive the winter. I restock in the spring with small feeder goldfish (about 15 cents each). Those that are not eaten by visiting herons get to spend a nice summer with us. As feeder goldfish they would normally be fed to live prey anyway.

**AtlantaMarie** 11/24/2015, 4:30 pm

Brrrr... Better you than me, TD!

**Scorpio Rising** 11/24/2015, 5:26 pm

Inevitable, and later than usual here!

**sanderson** 11/26/2015, 1:28 am

TD has snow! lots o

This is the time of the year for patience. You have a lovely bin of leaves to put veggie scraps in for the rest of the winter. Lift the cover, dump in the middle, cover with a handful of leaves, Come spring it will be hard to id the veggies.

**Kelejan** 11/26/2015, 7:19 am

One has to make sure that the top of the bin is covered otherwise the top layer of leaves freezes. Been there, done that. Now my leaf pile is in a bin.

**trolleydriver** 11/26/2015, 8:23 am

Yes I have a plastic cover over the leaves. It's a kiddie swimming pool that the grandkids no longer use. I have it weighted down with some half-bricks to keep it from blowing away.

**trolleydriver** 12/9/2015, 12:38 pm

Here in Canada's Capital we have so far had the least amount of snow in over one hundred years! No snow on the ground right now and temperatures up around 7 Celsius (44 F) and even warmer tomorrow.

I decorated the SFG trellis with Christmas lights. Just waiting for some snow to pretty it up.

A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9464_zpsku5uopsx

A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9464_zpsku5uopsx

A First Time SFG in Canada - Page 15 DSCN9465_zpsgcch7y9m

Zmoore 12/9/2015, 3:51 pm

@trolleydriver

Love it!!! That's cool.

**Scorpio Rising** 12/9/2015, 4:27 pm

Festive!

**Kelejan** 12/9/2015, 8:16 pm

I would do that as well, but have no electrical outlet near enough.

**sanderson** 12/10/2015, 2:35 am

Zmoore wrote:@trolleydriver

Love it!!! That's cool.

+1

**AtlantaMarie** 12/10/2015, 8:13 am

Awwwww... Looks nice!!

**trolleydriver** 12/17/2015, 4:40 pm

I'm trying to think of something spectacular that I can post and that would boost the views on this thread to 10,000 by the end of 2015. It's been a fun year for my first attempt at SFG. There were many successes and just a few failures (e.g., eggplant was a disaster). Above all I appreciate the advice and encouragement received from other SFGers.

Possible future projects:

- An indoor system (stand, lights, trays, etc.) for starting plants for transplanting to the SFG and other gardens.

- A cold frame.

- A raised bed for standup gardening that can be positioned close to the door of the house and used to grow such things as herbs and lettuce.

- Two more 4'x4' SFG boxes.

- An improved setup for both composting and screening compost.

**Scorpio Rising** 12/17/2015, 5:52 pm

I too am reflecting on my first (new) SFG attempt! Most things were successful, despite the Japanese beetles all over my beans. Fails? Peppers, which I always had luck with in the dirt. So, live and learn, and plan and scheme, and seed catalogs, SFG Forum, etc. LOL! It has been fun watching your journey and learning too, TD!

My future project for 2016:

Power tools for Christmas--ordered!

A strawberry "triangle", basically, half of the square tucked into a hard to mow spot right outside my pool patio. Will use my new drill/driver and build it myself!

Shelving unit and a couple shop lights for seed starting ordered! From the kids, I seek assembly! All under $100 total (love Amazon) and free shipping

And I would LOVE a 4x4.....maybe for Fall plantings

santa

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