My first SFG

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 5:12 pm

Adding some pics from my first SFG

Ha-v-v 5/18/2010, 5:14 pm

Nice job there on the pics Smile

You have a nice garden friend I see there too :-D
Ha-v-v

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 5:27 pm

These are my two 4'x8' beds when I first planted them. I bent five trellis towers like the ones in this picture. I just need to add the netting and put them up soon because my climbers are getting to be that size. I have 50 strawberry plants, 7 different Tom's, Broccoli Raab, Cukes, Cilantro and Parsley in one 4'x8' bed. Various different lettuces, Baby Bok Choy, Zucchini, Crookneck Squash, Snap Peas, another Tomato plant, Spinach, Daikon Sprouts and Chard in the other 4'x8' bed. And more lettuces in the 2'x10' bed under the stairwell.

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 5:29 pm

Here are the other pics:

2'x10' bed with lettuce, parsley, spinach and cilantro.

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 5:39 pm

This is with and without the covers and as you can see, I added a drip irrigation system over this weekend:

[url=https://servimg.com/view/15223574/13] My first SFG Dsc01818

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 5:46 pm

I picked my first strawberries last week and now I have about two dozen more that need harvesting.

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 5:51 pm

2'x10' with irrigation. It was pretty easy to install and I built this entire garden by myself from the constructing of the boxes, mixing the soil, bending the conduit, building the hoop houses, planting the seeds and installing the drip system:

PB 5/18/2010, 9:07 pm

What a lovely garden Maya! My first SFG Icon_smile

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 9:12 pm

Thanks PB, it's getting there. I'm excited for it to get a little bigger though. Cant wait like a little kid.

dixie 5/18/2010, 10:23 pm

Maya Papaya - I love the name.

Your garden looks great and I can't imagine doing all that work myself - you are very talented (and industrious).

Maya Papaya 5/18/2010, 11:10 pm

Thanks so much Dixie! I'm a union electrician by trade so I'm kind of handy. Diggin with the Dixie...Yeah!

1chichi 5/19/2010, 7:54 am

You're SFG's are AmAzing! I love the canopy & irrigation system.
My first SFG Icon_flower

Is that pink yarn that you used to section your squares?
I 've been wondering what to use, since I took up my bamboo stakes that sectioned my squares.
I have yarn, so I may use your idea.-Thanks

LaFee 5/19/2010, 9:11 am

I found some pastel-colored coated clothesline for my squares -- they're water- and UV-proof, don't droop, don't scrape my knuckles, and will give if something leans on them...then next year, it's cheap enough to replace if I need to, but should be around for a few seasons.

It's also strong enough to support my fleece (frost cover) above my seedlings...which are now several inches *above* my squares (yay!)

My radishes will be ready any day now, and we'll have enough lettuce for a salad by the weekend when hubby gets home. (so darned proud of myself!) My green beans, watermelon, sweet corn and cantaloupe will go in any day now, too. (we've had a particularly stubborn chilly spell that's just now headed out)

Maya Papaya 5/19/2010, 11:04 am

It is not yarn, it is Mason's line which can be found at Home Depot near the concrete supplies and comes in all kind of colors like green, pink, orange, natural. Thanks for the kind words Chi. Lafee, I wish I had warm enough weather to grow melons.

Cheers,

Maya

Wyldflower 5/19/2010, 11:27 am

Maya, your garden is GORGEOUS!

I'm using the white mason's line for my grids, too, and I LOVE it! I've fastened it to the frame with brads that I tapped in and knocked over to keep from catching on them. I may replace the brads with small eye-screws.

I'm also doing a little bit of knot-work in the evenings. I've made the frame for my trellis, and I'm knotting the net using the mason's line, as well. I'll probably finish off my spool of white mason's line with this, so I'm looking forward to getting some pretty colors for the next time around. I'll post pics when my trellis is assembled (probably this weekend).

LaFee 5/19/2010, 11:30 am

Maya, you shouldn't have any problems with being warm...you're in 9C -- and I'm just in a zone 8! (it's been in the 60s here until yesterday...so the melons have to sleep a little longer)

Maya Papaya 5/19/2010, 12:03 pm

Thanks Wyldflower - I got the idea from you for the mason's line on my 2'x10' bed. I'm going to have to move the screws holding the line though when I put on a cage to keep critters out though. But overall, it is a pretty good system.

junequilt 5/19/2010, 12:21 pm

Maya Papaya, are you at a very high altitude or something that causes you to not have sufficient warm weather for growing melons?

Wyldflower 5/19/2010, 1:22 pm

Maya, aren't you in the San Francisco area? You should be able to grow melons there... I'm even going to try to grow some here, in Colorado Springs. I'll be growing mine from seed in the ground - planting this week.

Maya Papaya 5/19/2010, 4:35 pm

Hey Gals, Yeah I'm in Oakland, CA. where the days are typically in the 60-70's with cool evenings until we have a warm spell here and there. Indian summer is where it gets warm in Sept-Oct. After reading that melons need heat to grow well, I really don't think it is warm enough to grow here. I definitely will experiment though at some point but my beds are full now. I am a raw vegan so I eat A LOT of fruits and veggies. Looks like i'm going to extend my SFG into my front yard and I'm not joking. Lawns are overrated!

Thanks,

Maya

LaFee 5/19/2010, 4:45 pm

You're just outside of wine country (a little south, I know)...but most of the wine regions over here also grow a lot of melons.

Give it a shot... if it doesn't work, you're only out the cost of the seeds or starts.

Chopper 5/19/2010, 4:51 pm

I think you are selling Oakland short. You have the advantage. When others are worrying about frost you are in the hot season. The main thing about melons is they take awhile so they need that late season to be free of frost or early cooling. And that is your best time. Find a bucket and a pole and try some!

Maya Papaya 5/19/2010, 5:45 pm

Hey Chopper! You're right, I am selling Oakland short and do on most occasions afro

haha that was a fitting emoticon I couldn't resist! I am a new gardener - this is my first garden. Most of the books I've read state that the weather isn't warm enough here, so I just assumed it wouldn't be worth my try. However, I am experimenting with orange trees that should do well here and I'm going to be experimenting with other stuff too. As I said, I'm a raw vegan and eat lots of fruits and veggie and I'm tired of paying for my produce.

Although I'll still have to pay for some stuff, I'd like to cut it down as much as I can. There is a cool website called the Cloud Forest Cafe where people try experimenting growing stuff in atypical situations.

A bucket and a pole?

Thanks,

Maya

Maya Papaya 5/19/2010, 5:48 pm

After all the talk on growing melons in my area, you all got me wondering now and I'm going to give it a shot. I've run out of space in my boxes, any suggestion on preparing a space for them?

Thanks,

Maya Papaya

Wyldflower 5/19/2010, 6:03 pm

Would a five-gallon bucket be big enough for the root system? I think maybe so....

Sponsored content

My first SFG

My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

More pics

More pics

Hoop Houses I Built.

My first strawberries

2'x10' with irrigation

Re: My first SFG

RE: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

RE: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

re: My first SFG

Mason's Line

Re: My first SFG

re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

Selling Oakland short

re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG

Re: My first SFG


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.