Anyone in BC?

those are the 'tightest' looking hoop houses I've ever seen! Reminds me of a bed made so tight that you could bounce a quarter off of it!

They look like the cover is a stiff material... what are they made of?

Hi Again
Caprn commented that the covers on my SFG looked like stiff material and asked what they were made of.
You are correct I designed and constructed them last fall to act as cold frames. While I did not do a fall planting they protected my SFG throughout our cold snowy winter and so far long cold wet spring. They even sustained assaults from snow and strong winds. I photo documented the whole construction process as well as wrote about it in the SFG General Forum under the title "Need Quick Cold Frame Help". The short version is:
Base is 4'x4' wood frame made from 2"x2" so that I could lift the frames off my 4'x4' SFG boxes.
I then built what Mel referred to as a "covered wagon" frame using 1/2" PVC electrical conduit (here costs $3.99 for 10' length over which attached "Coroplast plastic panels. These panels come in 4 ' x 8' sheets and are generally used for sign making and thus are weather resistent.

Hello y'all,

I'm in Vancouver, in the middle of the city. No deer problems here! But we do have rats, slugs, and strange creatures eating my kiwi leaves.

Nice to see so many people from BC here on the forum.

I've been SFG'g for two years now, although last year was a lousy effort as I went on a two week vacation in the height of the summer and almost everything died because I didn't water during that scorching hot time. I'm new to gardening as well, so I'm pretty much gardening blind and relying on the wisdom of books and of other gardeners for help.

I have a small 4x12 bed and little patience for anything requiring much work.

karencoutts from Vancouver from another newbie here in Castlegar, British Columbia.

Your 4x12 is equal to my three 4x4s. I am a second-year SFGer and loving it.

Watering is a problem if you have to go away for any length of time and if you have no one to see to I really don't know what can be done.

I wonder if there is a little home business for some one so that gap is filled? Of course it would be expensive from the home gardener's point of view.

Kelejan

Thanks for the welcome, Kelejan!

My mother-in-law was watering the garden, but I guess she didn't water often enough. She didn't even know about my kiwi and blueberries, so they nearly died, as did my tomato plant. The summers now are so hot that even going two days without watering is dangerous.

Interesting idea for the watering business.

Kelejan wrote:I wonder if there is a little home business for some one so that gap is filled? Of course it would be expensive from the home gardener's point of view.

Kelejan

Expensive would be losing your garden for lack of watering! Many pet sitters/walkers offer to water plants as part of their service. Around here you can get someone to let out your dog(s) for about $10 per visit. I don't see why a dog sitter wouldn't come to your house and water your garden for the same price... even if you don't have a dog!

Hey Karen, I posted to you in your other thread.

For the past two years we have hired someone to come and water the garden while on vacation. The first guy was a total dud and if it hadn't been for the neighbour coming home from the lake a couple of times and keeping an eye on things, everything would have been dead when we got home. Last year we hired a group of young people from a group home to come and look after the yard. They did a wonderful job. We were so pleased with them. I plan to get them again this year. Even the trimming around the fence and all the garden beds was done. The yard looked better than when we do it.

I think it is worth hiring someone to come in. BUT....make sure they understand about your garden and it's watering needs. Write it down and give them a list of what you want done. Take them on a tour of the yard so they know where everything is and even give them a diagram. People don't understand how attached we are to our gardens. But after all the work and expense that has gone into them, it is heartbreaking to see it all ruined by someone who doesn't understand or care. Neighbours, friends or family members, much as we love them, often mean well but simply don't come through. $$$$$ talks.

Gwynn

This is an old thread, but I thought I'd post anyway...

I'm on Vancouver Island. First year with my SFG.

Nice to read all the posts here from my fellow British Columbians!

How goes the gardening so far this year? How did you make out last year? Any tips and tricks for this neck of the woods?

I have 2 beds like this one all set up and ready to go. Planted peas yesterday.



Deer, wild cats and a resident peacock are the beasties I'm trying to keep out of my beds...

Welcome Kittykat from Sidney BC on Vancouver Island. Hope you enjoy your SFG experience. This is the 3rd year of my 2nd attempt at SFG. Started one about 20 years ago after reading Mel's first book when in those days we used the existing soil but neighbours trees interferred with the light. Picked up Mel's revised book upon my retirement in 2009 and built 4 x 4 x 4 boxes 2 @ 6" ht and 2 @ 12" ht with rigid winter covers and sping mesh covers made from 1/2 electrical conduit. We had great success with peas (Laxton progress) in the 12" boxes with a 70" trellises expecially last year the crop was exceptional and the trellises could have been higher to accomodate the growth. Tomatoes (Money Maker; Tubling Yellow; Early Girl; Juliet Cherry) did better than the previous year. Bean (Golden Wax; Blue Lake) did not do as well as the previous year (more foliage than product). Other stuff did not do as well as expected probably due to the relearning curve for me e.g. Onions, carrots, Mesclun, basil, cilantro, bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, brussel sprouts. As there is only two of us now our daughter has left home I probably could just focus on two sqares (I like the 12" ht better - easier to manage with aging joints). We are waiting for the jet stream to move away from over us as we have had some very unusual weather heavy winds and continuing cold so haven't replanted yet this year just prepared the boxes by turning and digging in some new Mel's mix and compost.

Wish you all the best