Hello again from a slightly different part of Central PA!

It took a LOT longer than I expected, but now I'm an owner instead of a renter, and have acres! 

My previous SFG garden where I was renting got shaded out by a Siberian elm (I knew it would happen, though I thought I would be moved by the time it was an issue), and I switched to a veritable city of EarthBoxes/Planters/5-gallon buckets for a few years. '22 just didn't work out for any real gardening. 

Mid '23 I moved. I retrieved the screws from my disintegrating SFG beds, but it wasn't practical to try to keep any of the very settled Mel's mix. Someone interested in gardening moved in, so it won't go to waste, --- and I didn't have to try to regrow grass under a tree.

I saved my sunchokes, and a handful of other perennials. I'm immensely grateful that my realtor helped me move all my dirty garden stuff with her dad's pickup.  My Jora composter was easier to move than it was to assemble in the first place.

At my new place there are two large existing garden beds(!), a greenhouse (plastic not glass) that I don't know how to use, and several small flower beds close to the house.

I've got an overall plan worked out for the large beds. Step one is constructing fencing that extends below ground because VOLES are my garden-nemesis and they already ate some of my sunchokes. I will be using 2x8 beds with some sort of trellis for my climbing legumes, climbing squash/cukes, tomatoes, and okra. and 3x8 beds for most everything else (brassicas, alliums, peppers, bush beans, greens.) I love the space-efficiency of 4' beds, but I'm short and reaching the middle of them was awkward for me. I also have some space planned that will not have raised beds, for root vegetable like sunchokes, potatoes, and crosnes.

There is a flower bed that already has rhubarb. I put my garlic chives in the flower beds along with some horseradish. I managed to get garlic into one of the large garden beds in December (SFG spacing, but, alas, no time for Mel's mix and a bed). I checked last weekend, and the garlic was finally starting to come up!

Not sure how much time I'll have for posting - but I wanted to send an update and say hi!

BeetlesPerSqFt wrote:
Step one is constructing fencing that extends below ground because VOLES are my garden-nemesis and they already ate some of my sunchokes.

When I put my raised bed in, I put down 1/2" hardware cloth before sitting the bed on it because we have so many gophers. They will burrow down under the edges of the beds if there is not hardware cloth to stop them.

Hi Beetles! So glad you are able to pick back up on SFG.

I don't know if you have been following the Forum for updates. If there are existing raised beds that you want to convert to SFG, you can just top with 6-7" of Mel's Mix. You may or may not have to remove some of the existing fill to make room.

OG mentioned 1/2" hardware cloth to keep out the voles. Definitely use it under all of the new beds. Regarding narrower beds, I love them. I am short and old. All of my beds are 2' wide with one that is 3' wide and 3 that are 1' wide.

Greenhouse - OG got a super nice greenhouse and has been having way too much fun with it. Check out the thread. It's his "man shed."

Are you going to use 2"x8" lumber for the beds, or buy composite or metal beds? If they are tall, the Foundation recommends clean sand or good top soil for a stable lower fill, with the MM on top.

Send photos and updates as they happen. You can use this thread as a personal thread (we can tweak the title).