Fourth Year SFG in Canada

countrynaturals wrote:WOW! SFG! SFG! 

+1

Actually, it is not a total win for SFG. Eggplant and kale are doing better in the straw bales. For yellow wax bush beans it is a tie. The plants in the straw bales seem to be less prone to insect and other damage.  For example, I have lots of flea beetle and slug damage in the SFG but none in the straw bales. As well there are no weeds in the straw bales. Overall, I find the SFG beds to be easier to manage. For example, need to pay closer attention to watering with straw bales and they require fertilizer to be added every few weeks. Finally, the SFG beds just look nicer.

trolleydriver wrote:Actually, it is not a total win for SFG. Eggplant and kale are doing better in the straw bales. For yellow wax bush beans it is a tie. The plants in the straw bales seem to be less prone to insect and other damage.  For example, I have lots of flea beetle and slug damage in the SFG but none in the straw bales. As well there are no weeds in the straw bales. Overall, I find the SFG beds to be easier to manage. For example, need to pay closer attention to watering with straw bales and they require fertilizer to be added every few weeks. Finally, the SFG beds just look nicer.

Nothing's ever simple, is it? 

My SoilSaver compost bin is on fire (not really) but it was cooking at 155F this morning. 

Time for a photo update.

First the top down overall view.



Old Style SFG 4x4 Bed 1. Mostly tomatoes, sad looking eggplants, few herbs, parsnips (just germinating ... yikes).



Old Style SFG 4x4 Bed 2. Tomatoes, sad peppers, kohlrabi, tomatillo (volunteer), pole beans (at the teepee).



ANSFG 4x4 Bed 1. Tomatoes, eggplant, kale, wax beans.



ANSFG 4x4 Bed 2. Yet again tomatoes, peppers, wax beans. Carrots in top hat.



ANSFG 4x4 Bed 3.  Garlic, leeks, yellow onions, green bunching onions.



ANSFG 4x4 Bed 4.  Everbearing strawberries.



ANSFG U-Bed.  In the left leg there are Canada Crookneck squash, tromboncino squash, spaghetti squash, Hale melon.  In the right leg there is golden zucchini and a white scallop squash.  In the bottom of the U there is garlic. 



This is the experimental lasagna bed that is being converted to Old Style SFG. It has potatoes, collards and broccoli.



This bed is mainly soil but is being amended over time into an Old Style SFG bed.  It has snow and sugar snap peas, two types of cucumbers, borage, one square of multiplier onions, and various flowers (just starting).



This is the chicken wire and hardware cloth compost bin containing unfinished and lumpy compost. It has various leftover tomato plants.



This is a pile of stuff from the lawns and gardens (soil, sod, stuff for composting). It has a Canada crookneck squash, white scallop squash, borage, etc.



Finally, this is one of two ground cherries growing in soil at the end of the flower bed near the SFG. Still need to build a protective cage for them to stop the critters. In addition, there are tomatillos, squash and amaranth located in various parts of the gardens.

Wow!  The little garden that grew...and grew...and grew...and grows!


I never did order the everbearing strawberries but they are in my Amazon cart for when I'm ready.

CapeCoddess wrote:Wow!  The little garden that grew...and grew...and grew...and grows!

It just keeps growing!

Sad day in the SFG. Overnight something had a party in my U-bed.  One Canada Crookneck plant destroyed, my only Tromboncino plant destroyed, and one golden Zucchini half eaten but the plant is ok (so far).

Heart breaking.

trolleydriver wrote:My SoilSaver compost bin is on fire (not really) but it was cooking at 155F this morning. 

That reminds me that 155 F, is nothing for my CPU cores, when I get a major video transcode going, (especially when I want a 4K video smaller in file size to show people my gardens or other stuff) or when gaming with recent games, LOL.

Mrs TD just discovered that her Holly Hocks have been chewed down to ground level. When I went outside there was a rabbit at the backdoor looking at some lettuce that I have growing in a container on top of a low table. Wonder if this is the critter that got to my zucchini and squash plants.

On a positive note I harvested garlic scapes and we are
still getting more strawberries.

trolleydriver wrote:Sad day in the SFG. Overnight something had a party in my U-bed.  One Canada Crookneck plant destroyed, my only Tromboncino plant destroyed, and one golden Zucchini half eaten but the plant is ok (so far).

What critter do you first suspect it is? Part of me wants to say that a dang deer mouse/white-footed mouse trespassed...

RJARPCGP wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:Sad day in the SFG. Overnight something had a party in my U-bed.  One Canada Crookneck plant destroyed, my only Tromboncino plant destroyed, and one golden Zucchini half eaten but the plant is ok (so far).

What critter do you first suspect it is? Part of me wants to say that a dang deer mouse/white-footed mouse trespassed...

Rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks frequent our yard.  Thinking rabbit is the one doing the damage now. See my post before yours.

trolleydriver wrote:

RJARPCGP wrote:

trolleydriver wrote:Sad day in the SFG. Overnight something had a party in my U-bed.  One Canada Crookneck plant destroyed, my only Tromboncino plant destroyed, and one golden Zucchini half eaten but the plant is ok (so far).

What critter do you first suspect it is? Part of me wants to say that a dang deer mouse/white-footed mouse trespassed...

Rabbits, squirrels and chipmunks frequent our yard.  Thinking rabbit is the one doing the damage now. See my post before yours.

Oops, LOL.
In your shoes, I would much rather it be a rabbit, LOL.
We get chipmunks on our property a lot.

trolleydriver wrote:Sad day in the SFG. Overnight something had a party in my U-bed.  One Canada Crookneck plant destroyed, my only Tromboncino plant destroyed, and one golden Zucchini half eaten but the plant is ok (so far).

NO! Not the trombonino! WAAAAA! 

Used some of the garlic scapes to make compound butter. Some others went into the air fryer and the results were used as a topping on a pizza. Still have lots of scapes to use.

Trying to resurrect the squash that appeared to be destroyed recently by a critter. The main stem was hanging by a thread on both plants. I covered the main stems with compost. I have surrounded the bottom part of this leg of the u-bed with plastic netting which seems to be working so far. Of the two plants the Tromboncino Squash appears to have a better chance of recovery than the more severely damaged Canada Crookneck Squash. 






Another bowl (#4 I think) of strawberries and plenty more on the plants.






Tomatoes are forming on several tomato plants.




Golden Zucchini getting lots of flowers and small zucchinis.




Borage is starting to flower.




This pretty Alyssum Crystal Purple was started from seed indoors.




Peas are reaching for the sky.




Carrots germinating in the top hat.




Chinese 5 Color Pepper (hot).




This Lobelia (started indoors from seed) is thriving in the side of one of the straw bales.

You are doing great TD. The strawberries make my mouth water.

TD, I hope the netting does the trick. Your garden always looks so healthy and pretty.

The pollinators are arriving. There were several coming and going in the zucchini flower. As well there are some small Canada Crooknecks beginning to show but these may not develop if not pollinated. Things are growing nicely in the Table Top.

Happy Canada Day

Our 4x4 Everbearing Strawberry bed has been producing above and beyond. The berry in my hand did not make it to the house. The three bowls of strawberries are two days harvest. Mrs TD is going to make some freezer jam.

Some strawberry freezer jam ... thank you Mrs TD.

As well, today I pruned my cucumber plants. I've never done this before but it is supposed to improve production. The process is similar to removing suckers on tomato plants. There are videos on youtube that show how to do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGkFJh5bKGg