A First Time SFG in Canada

Update for Saturday May 30, 2015.

The green bunching onions are doing just fine. The chives are behind them.



The radishes are looking good.



Three of four lettuce plantings (from seed) are coming along. I will have to retry the fourth one (front left) in the square.



THE GOOD ...



THE BAD ... (but there are signs of new growth near the base of three of the plants) ...



and THE UGLY ...



Concerning the ugly giant ant ... This is actually a geocache that we have hidden. It has a container in its abdomen which contains a log paper that cachers can sign when they find the cache. This cache is called "MutANT Landing". More info at www.geocaching.com .

Your radishes are looking good, trolley, now go and plant another square of radish seeds to keep them coming until the weather hots up and they go to seed.

I have just done that so I do sometimes practice  what I preach.

It's happened ... we ate from the SFG. Well it wasn't very much. I took some basil, chives (including flowers) and tiny lettuce leaves (thinned out the square) to add to our lunchtime salad. 

The status of some squares planted from seed (planting date in brackets) is shown below:

Box #1
- turnip (26 May) - a few sprouts showing
- leek (26 May) - nothing showing yet
- beet (26 May) - some sprouts showing
- salad leaves (26 May) - nothing obvious yet (not sure if what I can see are weeds or salad leaves)

Box #2
- cucumber (26 May) - all have sprouted
- pole bean (26 may) - nothing yet
- swiss chard (16 May) - 3 of 4 have sprouted 
- radish (16 May) - all are up and doing very well
- spinnach (16 May) - 5 of 9 sprouted (will replant in the missing spaces)
- yellow bean (26 May) - several have sprouted
- red core carrot (16 May) - many sprouts and looking good
- lettuce - 3 of 4 sprouted and are doing well

I hope you folks don't mind me using this thread as my journal.

Well, you DID start this thread, so we know you post in it!

Sanderson ... I just don't want to overload people with the amount of detail I am including.  My hope is that the information will be useful to others, especially people who are new to SFG like myself.

Sometimes when people start SFGing I think they need a thread to themselves otherwise it gets lost in the general postings.  It helps that in time you will look at this thread and remember what you did and when and especially that magic moment when you can say, I have started to ear my efforts.

I still have my first photographs of my first harvesting of lettuce leaves, radishes, green onions, chives,  etc, first as just picked, then washed and trimmed and arranged on a plate with some chicken, then a nice cleared plate.

TD, I thought I sent another reply but I don't see it. I have an idea I want to discuss with the Admin staff. Later.

Congrats on your first harvest, TD!

Updates:

Wednesday June 3, 2015

• Planted Danvers Half-Long Carrot seeds in Box #1
  
• Planted Long White Icicle Radish seeds in Box # 1
  
• Added Leek seeds in the square where there are missing sprouts in Box #1
  
• Added Swiss Chard seeds in the square where there are missing sprouts in Box #2
  
• Added Spinach seeds in the square where there are missing sprouts in Box #2
  

Thursday June 4, 2015

• Improved the mini chicken wire cages covering the Cucumber and Pole Bean seeds/sprouts in Box #2
  

Problem

• For about one week I have been suffering from vertigo 
  
• I am unable to lie down flat and turn my head to either side without getting the spinning sensation so I have to sleep in a reclining position
  
• For the most part I can still do most activities as long as I do not lie down
  
• I just got back from my doctor and have been diagnosed with Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV)
  
• I had this before (about 15 years ago) and it took weeks/months to recover
  

Current photos of some squares as of June 4, 2015.

Green bunching onions doing well.



Beet sprouts are doing nicely and I will need to thin out to one plant per position.



Turnips are also doing OK.



Cucumbers have popped up next to the trellis.



Melon (transplant) at the base of the trellis.



Pole beans are coming on strong at the trellis.



Red cabbage transplant doing great.



Likewise for the pepper transplant.



Swiss Chard making good progress.



Eggplant (transplant) with flower.



Radish ... excellent.



Spinach (note spelling error on tag) ... the ones that sprouted are doing well.



Yellow wax beans.



More onions (Spanish).



The carrots are showing off.



Lettuce looking fresh.



And these are the marigolds that looked like they were dead earlier. I had to pull one out but the other three are showing signs of new life.

All coming along nicely, trolleydriver.

I think maybe your pole beans that you planted nine per square may get a bit tangled up as they grow.
Normally one would plant them as . . . . eight per square as per SFG book, not . . .
                                                . . . .                                                      . . .
                                                                                                             . . .
But I am sure they will sort themselves out.  The plants are not going to listen to us.

Another couple of weeks and we will not be able to recognize your beds as they will be completely covered with greenery.  Don't forget to start eating some of it and to plant some more seeds to keep a steady supply coming. e.g. Radishes

Kelejan ... I agree on the plant spacing. I planted extra seeds just in case some did not come up. I also have 4 cucumber plants from seeds but will thin them out to just two per square. A couple of days ago I planted another square of radishes along with another square of carrots. Soon I'll start harvesting the green bunching onions and I'll be taking some radish leaves for salads.

Right, Trolley, you know what you are doing so I won't try to babysit you.  

The dots that I printed in my post did not come out where I wanted them to but I am sure you understood what I was getting out.  It took me quite a while to figure out how to do those dots for plant spaces and it came out all wrong.
Stupid computer. It does not think like I do.

Kelejan ... I appreciate all of your comments. Keep them coming because I really do not know everything about what I am doing. I know some of what I read in Mel's book and on the SFG Forum. I can always use more input and guidance.

TD,

TD, I'm sorry about the vertigo.  I was diagnosed w/ it about 13 years ago & STILL have problems. 

The docs THINK I had an inner ear infection that knocked some of the crystals off of where they should be.  "But we won't know for sure until we do an autopsy..."    

One thing that has helped me is to sit on a bed & SLOWLY tilt over left/right and then sit back up.  Then do it front & back.  (Starting will be quite disconcerting...)  Try it a couple times/day.

The garden is looking great!

Thanks AM for your thoughts on vertigo and the garden. I'm almost scared to try the exercise because of how badly it feels when I get an attack as when my doctor asked me to lie down and turn my head to the side. Yikes, the world was spinning. But I am thankful that I can still work on my SFG and other things. As long as I don't lie down on the paths between the boxes I am OK (not 100%).

Today I ate one of my green bunching onions!  Nice.  I've got a problem with my sweet basil which I will post on another thread.

Oh, sure, TD.  Hope it helps you!

I know what a scary pain it is!  I couldn't drive for 3 years.  When I finally got behind the wheel again, it was like having to learn to drive all over again.  It was close to 8 years before I could drive thru the GA mountains to my parent's house.... 

I can't imagine how bad it would be driving thru the mtns out west!!

AtlantaMarie wrote:TD, I'm sorry about the vertigo.  I was diagnosed w/ it about 13 years ago & STILL have problems. 

The docs THINK I had an inner ear infection that knocked some of the crystals off of where they should be.  "But we won't know for sure until we do an autopsy..."    

One thing that has helped me is to sit on a bed & SLOWLY tilt over left/right and then sit back up.  Then do it front & back.  (Starting will be quite disconcerting...)  Try it a couple times/day.

The garden is looking great!

TD. I am sorry about the vertigo as well. I had a mini-stroke early April, I have recovered, thank goodness, but I now have a touch of vertigo as well. I got out of bed in my usual fashion and crashed to the floor, luckily not hitting anything. It is lessening, but I am doing what you are doing, AM., moving very carefully.  My late husband suffered from it very badly after an accident, now I have an inkling of what he went through.
I'm sorry, but I had to laugh: my warped sense of humour. Ask them to let you know the result, AM.

LOL!

Yeah, at that point I decided it really wasn't necessary to continue on having any more tests (this was after about 4 months and who knows how much $).  I just live w/ it & go on.  Some days good, some more challenging.
 


Thankfully, the times I've fallen, I've usually landed on something soft like the bed.

A big thanks to those who have been sharing their vertigo stories. I'm very sorry for those who suffer with this condition. Yesterday my wife and I were at the home of an acquaintance who does osteopathic medicine and he did some work on me. Last night I was able to sleep flat on my back with a couple of pillows under my head and had no vertigo. This morning I woke up with no pain in my neck which I was having along with the vertigo. I'm not saying that what he did worked 100% (time will tell). I'm still reluctant to lie down with no pillow and move my head side to side in case the vertigo comes back. 

Changing the subject:
My wife and I just ordered a Vitamix blender from Costco Canada. Yikes those things are expensive. Our daughter has one and says all of her aches and pains have gone since she started drinking the smoothies. I may have to put in some more SFG boxes to get additional veggies for the blender!

Looks like I will be harvesting green bunching onions and radishes tomorrow (not for the Vitamix but for general consumption). It's been too wet to do it today. We are out of those particular veggies and they look ready to take from the boxes. Then it will be time to add some compost and replant with the same veggies or something else. Loving it!

Smoothies have kind of a cult aura about them, and the claims made about their virtues can be pretty over-the-top. They can give the body a huge shock of sugar all at once, just like drinking a soda, but they are fun to drink and at least have lots of vitamins. Don't get your hopes up for miracle cures, though.

MI ... I'm not looking for smoothies to cure my vertigo; what I am looking for is something to improve my diet, control weight and just help with general health. As for the sugar shock, that seems to depend on what you put in them. A lot of fruit and certain veggies (e.g., beets) could be a problem. Because making smoothies with a blender retains all the fiber, smoothies release things slower into the system than the drink one gets from juicing which removes the insoluble fiber.

TD - my chiropractor suggested that maybe my C1 or C2 vertebrae could be out of position & cause the vertigo.  Adjustments didn't work in my case...

I understand about the hesitance...    But part of physical therapy is doing what you don't want to do.  So do it carefully & slowly...

We went w/ the Nutribullet.  LOVE it!  I'm sure you'll love the Vitamix.  I've heard so many good things over the years about it.  It certainly can help you with those things as long as you use it consistently.  And take it easy on the fruit, lol.  I put in yogurt, cottage cheese, nuts, herbs, seeds for increased protein (my body requires more than most folks.  ??).

Have fun!

SFG update for Tuesday June 9, 2015.


Box #1 - Continues to do well. A new square of radishes has sprouted. They seem to be liking this week's cool wet weather. The leeks have finally sprouted but they are so small and fine that they cannot be seen in this photo.




Box #2 - Also doing well.




First harvest of radishes and green onions fresh out of the SFG.




And here they are after getting a bath.