Hello from Middle TN

Hi all! I am brand-new to SFG and live in Murfreesboro, TN. I have my boxes built, bought my peat moss and vermiculite, and am working on getting my compost together. (The kids are very anxious to get their seeds planted!)
I was so glad to learn about Mel's method (my SIL told me about it) because my dad was a lifelong "organic gardener" but I haven't had any success with gardening the few times I've tried it. Of course he made it look pretty easy in the fertile soil of Lancaster County, PA when he already had a tractor and all the other equipment. Here in the rocks and clay of my adopted state of TN, I wasn't looking forward to digging and conditioning the soil! AND we currently rent, so digging up the yard might have been a problem...
Anyway, looking forward to sharing the journey!

Hey there, welcome aboard!!

Your father may have had issues in building Mel's SFG because of his soil....it may have taken more convincing. However, if you live in rocks and clay, SFG is beyond PERFECT for you. You just build your bed and drop the Mel's Mix right on top of those ugly rocks and clay.....never having to worry about it again.

I would recommend you expand your budget just a touch and grab your own copy of Mel's updated book at the top of the page here. This is your best research tool and has so many wonderful planning and planting charts in the appendices, you won't be sorry.

Ask any question you have on these forums. We are a very willing bunch when it comes to helping clarify things or just discuss stuff. When you get up and running, please do share a picture. We love bragging about our gardens, too.

It's great to have you here. I hope to see you around the forums!

Welcome Neighbor! Good to have you here.

Yes, please do pick up a copy of the All New Square Foot Gardening book. It is a wealth of information and will give you the details on Mel's method straight from his mouth.

I think you will love SFG. It's a life saver for me. I live in the mountains with clay soil and rocks as far as the eye can see. It'd take me a few seasons before I could work this land with any success.

Do you have any pictures of your SFG? We'd love to see what you've got going.

Hence the name and song Rocky Top, and why all the folks get their corn from a jar...


to the forum and SFG, you will love it. Check your local Library for a copy of the book too, that way you don't have to wait for it to arrive to read it. I do not recommend loaning out your copy though, sometimes they don't come back. It is one of the best investments in my sanity I ever made, buying that book, not to mention food on the table.

Check into the Regional Forums here and see what others in your area are doing, but you don't have to post just there, most of us are posting all over the place. Let us know how we can help, we love to help almost as much as we love pictures.

Thanks all! I got the book from the library, but they only had the old edition and it was full of complicated and scary-sounding stuff, lol. So I bought the new one a few weeks ago because what really intrigued me was my sis-in-law's description of the Mel's Mix. I realized it's the kind of thing you need to keep around for reference, so getting the library book wouldn't have helped much anyway Now if only the wind would calm down so I could put my mix together!

The Library book of course would not be available for hands on refference, but it will give those who have to order it a chance to be reading it until it arrives.

I'm glad you have your very own copy, write in it, draw in it, highlight it, what ever you want. Make sure you put your name in in too, just in case.

I was thinking that since the back of my house faces almost due south, I could put my sfg boxes in front of my deck. The deck railing would be on the north side, and I could just attach garden netting to it and let my cucumbers, etc. climb up it. Anybody see any problems with this?
I would love to post a pic but haven't figured out how; and I didn't see it in the FAQ section. Thanks!
Eileen

outdoor_mom wrote:I was thinking that since the back of my house faces almost due south, I could put my sfg boxes in front of my deck. The deck railing would be on the north side, and I could just attach garden netting to it and let my cucumbers, etc. climb up it. Anybody see any problems with this?
I would love to post a pic but haven't figured out how; and I didn't see it in the FAQ section. Thanks!
Eileen

So long as your box will get at least 6-8 hours of sun light you should be good to go! I think using your railing for the trellis is a great use of space.