Square Foot Gardening Forum
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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.

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Square Foot Gardening Forum
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Hello, I'm new. Toplef10Hello, I'm new. 1zd3ho10

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.

Hello, I'm new. I22gcj10Hello, I'm new. 14dhcg10

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Post  Susie 6/18/2010, 3:27 pm

Hi everyone. I have just discovered the forum - actually, I have just discovered SFG. I am in the north west of England and although rather late in the season I decided to save some money and grow my veg. LOL. I bought the timber for three 90x180cm raised beds and a small greenhouse...it's going to take me at least ten years to break even but, I'm having so much fun, it has to be worth every penny. I have never gardened before so it is a steep learning curve.

Before I discovered SFG I decided that I was going to plant and grow my veg intensively. I have to be honest, I grew my seedlings in the greenhouse and couldn't bear to throw any away so planted them much closer than recommended on the seed packet! I thought that if I pulled the outer leaves off the plants and ate those, they wouldn't need so much room to grow!!

This is an addictive game - in the beds, so far, I have planted runner beans, carrots, lettuce, radish, kale, chard, mangetout, rocket, spinach, chinese cabbage, french beans, broccoli.....oh, I'm sure that I've missed some. Hello, I'm new. Icon_rolleyes Hello, I'm new. Icon_rolleyes Hello, I'm new. Icon_rolleyes

Now, having found SFG, I need to buy the book and take the guesswork out of my plant spacing, which book do I need.... The 'All new SFG' or 'SFG' does the new one supersede the original or do I need to start with the basics?

Looking forward to reading and learning lots. Hello, I'm new. 61949
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Susie

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Post  camprn 6/18/2010, 4:02 pm

glad you\'re here Thanks for posting and introducing me to a new word, mangetout = snow or snap peas. I also planted very intensively and only used the book as a guide. Smile
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Post  ander217 6/18/2010, 7:24 pm

Welcome, Susie. I'm glad you decided to plunge into the world of gardening. There are people on this forum always happy to answer any questions you might have.

I have the old book, and my daughter has the new one. My daughter gardens only in SFG boxes, and she says the new book is all she needs.

The old book told how to SFG in earthen beds. I have several boxes filled with Mel's Mix, but I also plant some things in soil in beds and I still refer to the old book occasionally.

Please keep us posted on your garden.
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Post  Dunkinjean 6/18/2010, 8:41 pm

I basically learned everything from SFG website.

Then just recently bought the new SFG book which gives more detail.

I am enjoying gardening immensely - even my husband is involved.

He built our 4 x 4 box and mixed half of all the composts, peat moss and vermiculite. He then built the trellis.

Then I finished making the mix and put it into the box, planted the seeds, put in the grid.

It's been team work all along.

(He told me I need to water the garden since it will be a very hot weekend----too funny!).

Enjoy.

Happy Gardening Everyone....
Dunkinjean
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Post  Chopper 6/18/2010, 10:24 pm

It is addictive, but in a good way. I just build boxes number 6 and 7. One is a 2X2 foot specifically just for sweet potatoes. I have too many slips for that space so I am like you. Hate to throw anything out that survives with only my care.

Very exciting.
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Chopper

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Post  Susie 6/19/2010, 5:33 am

Thanks for the warm welcome everyone.

Is there somewhere on the SFG website that tells me how many of each veg to the square foot? Also, does it depend on the climate where you live? I can imagine that warmer places might take a higher density with a faster turnover huh? Hello, I'm new. Icon_question
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Post  Lavender Debs 6/19/2010, 8:55 am

Yes, at the top of this page there is an orange icon that says, "SFG.COM
click that.

You will come to a page with picture links. Click on "Help and FAQ's

Now you should be on a page called SFG Questions and Answers.
Find the orange icon that says "Plants"

On that page click on any of the plant names for space information.

Hope that helps..... and welcome!
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Post  milaneyjane 6/19/2010, 9:38 am

Hello Smile Sounds like you are off and running for a first time garden. What planting zone are you??? Can't wait to see pictures of your garden-it sounds wonderful!
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Post  Susie 6/19/2010, 11:49 am

Thank you Lavender Debs, that has helped some - I think that I need to do some thinning - maybe I have gone a bit too intensive!! Hello, I'm new. Icon_biggrin Hello, I'm new. Icon_biggrin

Mmm, I'm not sure that I'm in a planting zone I'm in Northwest England, UK.

Photos? OK - I'll take some now and then more later so we have before and after ones. Please remember that this was all sown up before I discovered SFG so, it's not really in square feet as yet but, from now on I shall be growing that way.

Hope this works, I'm not very good with the computer!! Hello, I'm new. Icon_redface
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Post  quiltbea 6/19/2010, 1:10 pm

Your new garden looks terrific. I'm sure you'll enjoy the produce you get and love the fresh, heavenly taste of your own crops.
I was new last year and each year I learn something new. I'm sure you will as well. We make mistakes and then we improve. Just keep gardening. It'll all get better.
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Post  susieq 6/19/2010, 1:17 pm

Hello and welcome Susie! I joined this morning and when I saw your post moments later..."I'm new" from Susie, I thought a moment,,,"I didn't phrase it that way"...???
Welcome!
I'm excited to hear how your garden grows. I see so many nice looking gardens, I wonder what everyone else does to protect from little garden critters. I wonder if most people cover only initially then leave things uncovered later when plants are more established?
What do you plan to do?
Susie2
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Post  Colin.B 6/19/2010, 1:33 pm

Welcome to the forum Susie i'm also from the North West too Manchester infact , hope you enjoy it here theres lots of help and advice for the new SFG
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Post  Susie 6/19/2010, 4:14 pm

susieq wrote:Hello and welcome Susie! I joined this morning and when I saw your post moments later..."I'm new" from Susie, I thought a moment,,,"I didn't phrase it that way"...???
Welcome!
I'm excited to hear how your garden grows. I see so many nice looking gardens, I wonder what everyone else does to protect from little garden critters. I wonder if most people cover only initially then leave things uncovered later when plants are more established?
What do you plan to do?
Susie2

Hi SusieQ. LOL, must be psychic - I just joined another forum on Weber Q barbecues and was asked there if I was called SusieQ!!! As for the little critters - for two nights I got up at 4am and hunted out all the slugs and snails that were lurking near my new seedlings. I covered the beds with fleece for a week but then decided that I wanted to watch the plants grow not have an eyesore so the fleece has been consigned to the shed till the frosts come. My problem is rather larger, a Labrador that is partial to radish, carrots, beans etc. Hello, I'm new. Icon_lol Hello, I'm new. Icon_lol Fortunately she doesn't like lettuce and that's what I have most of at the moment!

Looking forward to learning with you.
Susie1


Last edited by Susie on 6/19/2010, 4:23 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Post  Susie 6/19/2010, 4:21 pm

Colin.B wrote:Welcome to the forum Susie i'm also from the North West too Manchester infact , hope you enjoy it here theres lots of help and advice for the new SFG

Hey there! I'm only about 35 miles north of you. I'm still finding my way around these boards - there's so much info and I'm not too good at locating it but I'll get there in the end. Hello, I'm new. Icon_smile Hello, I'm new. Icon_smile I read you posts about the Mare's Tail you have. I don't envy you your battle ahead, our neighbour seems to be cultivating the stuff and it's sneaking here and pushing the tarmac up on our drive! Hello, I'm new. Icon_eek
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Post  susieq 6/19/2010, 4:36 pm

Hello, I'm new. Icon_cheers Thanks for the reply! Can't beleive you got up at 4 am to hunt slugs!!! I would just stay up until 4am! Hello, I'm new. Icon_biggrin I have read that copper wire or tape will either keep the slugs away or kill them as they cross over it. This way you could put a "copper mote" around your garden to at least keep the slugs away. Get some sleep!!!! Hello, I'm new. Icon_eek
Hello, I'm new. Sleep Hello, I'm new. Icon_cheers
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Post  AliSmith13 6/20/2010, 10:05 am

Susie wrote:

Now, having found SFG, I need to buy the book and take the guesswork out of my plant spacing, which book do I need.... The 'All new SFG' or 'SFG' does the new one supersede the original or do I need to start with the basics?


I am just recently into SFG myself and just purchased the "All-new" book a little over a week ago. In the book Mel, himself, says:

"The old saying goes, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.' Well, Square Foot Garden isn't broken, but the all new model is so superior, so much simpler, and so improved that you can now forget all about the original book and the original Square Foot Gardening Method!"

So, I would definitely say get the new book. I read it in a day and a half and loved it! It's GREAT! Welcome to SFG and welcome to the forums!

-Ali
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Post  LaFee 6/20/2010, 4:07 pm

Hi, Susie, welcome to the forums. (Sorry, I try to be a little quicker to welcome the new folks in Europe, but I've had a mad weekend!)

Anyway -- you and Colin can call yourselves Zone 8 (possibly even a 9, depending on how close to the coast you are!)-- it's a way of classifying climates so as to plan for frost dates, temperatures, etc., etc. -- you can find a map here:

http://www.uk.gardenweb.com/forums/zones/hze.html

You'll see a lot of chatter on this and other US-based forums that talk about what zone you're in -- this way you both understand what they're on about, AND can target your attention on other folks in that same zone!
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Post  Susie 6/20/2010, 4:31 pm

Thanks LaFee. So, Colin and I are zone 8 - not near the coast. Now to go search out some 'zone 8' posts....

Cheers Ali - I've been dithering over which book to buy. Here goes, this looks like a good price for it and P&P are FOC. http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/book/9781591862024/All-New-Square-Foot-Gardening


Today I feel brassed off - something has taken the tops off my newly sprouting beans....not my dog, she hasn't been near them. I now have them covered in netting but, I suppose it's rather a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Hello, I'm new. Icon_sad I wonder if leaves will grow from the bare stalks now? Hello, I'm new. Icon_scratch
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Post  LaFee 6/20/2010, 5:04 pm

Hi again, Susie.

Book Depository is a great place to buy books -- that's where I bought my copy of SFG. (I'm an American living in France, and English books are VERY dear here, when you can find them at all...so I'm chuffed to find BD, as their price is reasonable, and it comes right to my postbox.)

I have a black Lab as well -- he's well over 100 pounds, and not fat, even by the vet's appraisal -- he's just a very big boy! He loves his veg, too -- so I give him broccoli stalks and cauliflower cores to chew on -- Sometimes I just peel a big carrot and give it to him whole (he's funny -- he'll take it out in the garden as he knows he's not allowed to make a mess on the floor!), and I keep a bag of frozen peas or frozen green beans just for him. I cook them in the micro for him (let them cool first!), and he sees it as a real treat, especially if I mix it with a bit of egg or a thawed, cooked lean hamburger patty (no seasonings)

It gives him a treat and some extra vitamins without giving him a lot of calories, and the bonus is that he leaves my garden veg alone!
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Post  Susie 6/21/2010, 2:20 pm

He's certainly a big boy! He sounds very much like Inca, she will eat any veg I give her, raw or cooked. Strangely, she doesn't like apples or pears but will happliy eat a banana if it is peeled for her. Hello, I'm new. Icon_lol

We have hot weather here atm - well, hot for the UK...around 20C. At last my cucumber is gettinmg the warmth it needs and the flowers have opened. The downside is that some of my lettuce have bolted before I even realised they were due for picking! Hello, I'm new. Icon_eek
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