Hello from Southern Indiana

Hello all. I'm going to try my first attempt at gardening this year. I'm planning on 3 4'x4' beds for this year. I've been reading a lot and trying to soak up the info. Looks like you have a nice site here.

Hi Black Chrome. Welcome from Atlanta, GA!

1. We're glad you found us. I think this is the nicest bunch of folks around!

2. Do you have a copy of the All New SFG book (Edition 2)? With each edition Mel wrote, he made it easier & easier for us to be successful.

3. Ask lots of questions. And be sure to look through the archives section. There's lots more info there!

The book is on its way here in the mail as I type. I'm looking at 3 beds and figured up that I need 8 sq feet of each of Mel's mix. I picked up a 3.8 cubic foot compressed bag of peat moss this morning. That will fluff out to roughly my 8 cubic feet correct?

Welcome to the forum!
Yes, it should get you close to the 8 cu ft you need. I found there to be some variation depending on how compacted it is... or it could be lazy/inaccurate measuring (via 5 gallon buckets) or inconsistent effort at fluffing on my part. 

Three 4'x4's may end up ambitious for first time gardening -- but the more you try, the more potential you have for successes! Just keep in mind that it's rare that everything works out right the first time around (even with previous  gardening experience); don't think you're a bad gardener if some things go wrong!

What vegetables are you most excited to grow?

Black Chrome wrote:The book is on its way here in the mail as I type. I'm looking at 3 beds and figured up that I need 8 sq feet of each of Mel's mix. I picked up a 3.8 cubic foot compressed bag of peat moss this morning. That will fluff out to roughly my 8 cubic feet correct?

Close enough.

Welcome to the Forum from California!

Thanks! I am most excited about asparagus (10 squares!) and bell peppers, sweet peppers and tomatoes. Since I have been eating healthier those make up a large part of the fresh veggies in my diet as well as onions and garlic which I pretty much put in everything!

Black Chrome wrote:Thanks! I am most excited about asparagus (10 squares!) and bell peppers, sweet peppers and tomatoes. Since I have been eating healthier those make up a large part of the fresh veggies in my diet as well as onions and garlic which I pretty much put in everything!

 from Redding, CA. I am a 2nd year newbie and pretty much a failure at summer crops, but I will happily cheer you on.

Black Chrome wrote:Thanks! I am most excited about asparagus (10 squares!) and bell peppers, sweet peppers and tomatoes. Since I have been eating healthier those make up a large part of the fresh veggies in my diet as well as onions and garlic which I pretty much put in everything!

Asparagus, yum! I'm not planting that, yet, because I'm renting and it's a perennial. I would neither want to leave it, nor try to move with it, so I have to wait. (I have plenty of other vegetables so I can't actually complain.) I'm looking forward to peppers and tomatoes this year, too.

I know what you mean about onions and garlic. Most of my cooking seems to start with sauteing an onion. Since you're just starting out, and I learned this the hard way; there are different onion varieties that bulb at different daylight lengths. It looks like, for southern Indiana, you'll want either neutral/intermediate-day onions or long-day onions. Don't get short-day onions, and don't assume that onions sold (especially by big box stores) in your area are the right ones. Look for labels. You're in about the same USDA garden zone as I am, and your frost dates are similar. I just transplanted a wholelotta onions starts, leek seedlings, and green onion seedings yesterday. You could get transplants or sets now, but it's late for starting onions for seed in your area. Except green onions, you can keep starting those until early fall.

Garlic gets planted late fall - usually late September or October. I like to wait until there's been at least one frost, and this past year I got them in really late and had to use hot water to thaw the surface of the Mel's Mix in my bed so I could plant my garlic cloves. There's lots of information in the archives, so I highly recommend doing searches and reading up on various vegetables as you grow.

Happy planting!

Welcome Black Chrome!
If you haven't already, head over to our regional forum; North/Central Midwest. The regional forums are really good resources for specific questions and especially varieties of different veggies that grow well in the different conditions.

Thanks for all of the help. I'll be sure to check the regional forum as well!

Welcome Black Chrome. I'm new here myself but can assure you these are a great bunch of people who are full of information that they love to share.