Hello from central Texas

I live in Belton, TX which is on I-35 about half way between Dallas and San Antonio.  I first started doing SFG in 1982 after seeing Mel's PBS broadcast every Saturday morning.  I was in the military for 35 years and have dabbled at SFG in PA, VA, WA, KS, and TX.  When I moved into our current home in 1998, I started a SFG, but I was still on active duty, and that was also back when Mel recommended digging 6 inches of mix into the top 6 inches of soil.  Lots of work and the site I selected for my garden eventually was a failure because of growing trees (too much shade and lots of roots.  My garden was also in the farthest corner of my yard, so it didn't get the attention it needed.  I retired last September and completed the Master Gardener certification last May.  That motivated me to move my garden to a better location.  I am now working on certification as a Vegetable Specialist.  As part of that certification, I am planting two SFG boxes, one that is 12 inches deep and the other that is 6 inches deep.  I am planting the same crops in each square foot so that I can measure the output from each box.  I want to prove to the Tx A&M professor that you really do only need 6 inches of soil (Mel's mix.) I've got my boxes built and filled with Mel's mix and have planted 4 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes for the fall garden.  In a few weeks I can plant more summer squash and beans.  Then in September I can plant the cole crops and finally the cooler weather crops.  We really are blessed in TX because our growing season is almost year round.  More to come. 
Docwas

Docwas, Again, welcome to the Forum from California! It looks like you are in the Lower South Region with year around potential for gardening. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t872-what-is-a-region-for-with-map

For your new beds, 6" and 12", are you using the ALL NEW Square Foot Gardening (no dirt, no rototilling)? Please keep us updated with photos. We love photos.

You mentioned roots invading the boxes. Last summer, several of us raised all of our beds off the ground.

Welcome and good luck, Docwas!

I had the same problem with some in-ground raised beds before. Dealing with tree roots was a nightmare.

Hi Docwas.  Welcome from Atlanta, GA!

I used to live right down the road from you in Killeen.  Had several friends in Belton.

Glad you've decided to join us!

Yes, I am using the "Mel's mix" for soil in both my 12" and 6" boxes.  Total of 24 cu ft.  In my old beds, they were raised beds too, but done under the old method of digging the mix into the top 6" of soil. Boxes were 11" and partially buried.  The tree roots still invaded the boxes, but the main problem was shade.

Welcome, Docwas, from Ohio!

I did the original SFG method as well back in the late '80s, and I can say the new improved method results in a lot fewer weeds. My boxes are not built for SFGing, they are my old windowboxes that were lying around doing nothing, so I filled them with MM and here I am eating from my garden!

Glad you joined us! And congrats on your Master Gardening accomplishments!