Experienced sfg garden plans

Boffer, smashing post. Puts a lot of things into perspective for sure. I think every new person to the forum should have to read this post as a pre-requisite to joining.....

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:^^ Wish I was that eloquent ^^

+1 WOW!

Boffer, Thank you so much for taking the time to tell us your story. It was inspiring and touching. Truthfully, for me, the reason I want to garden is because I truly enjoy communing with my gorgeous veggies. I loved checking them to see how they are doing every day. A seed sprouting, a new bloom or new little veggie coming on just thrills me beyond words. It has a very calming effect on me and I believe works better to help me keep on an even keel than would a psychiatrist (no offense to any psychiatrists out there!). I can be all stressed out from work and the minute I walk out to my garden, I firmly believe that my blood pressure probably goes down a measurable amount.

Thank you again for the wonderful post. I know there are many who will read it and be able to relate.

Boff, well done! That post is sticky worthy!

Beautifully put Boffer !!!

Love your post Boffer.....awesome.

Boffer you are a poet. I too send a lot of time in the garden just sitting in the garden keeping company with the plants. I live in an urban neighborhood and my garden is in the front of my house 9south side) so my neighbors kid me about watching the plants grow. My dear brother is building a table top box for me next week (will post pic) but down here tomatoes and peppers are what I grow best. It is hott in the 90's already so I am having a heck of a time finding things that can take it. Guess I will have to learn to like okra and mustard greens. for your words and getting me to step out of my "need" for perfection.

Wow Boffer! That was a truly great post. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Boffer for president :?:

Campaign slogan............."Changing America, one square foot at a time"

Boffer,

What an impressive post! It's true that gardening informs and transforms one's life.

Donna In Zone 10

I thought it was called being "bi-brained"!

Since I became aware of my condition, I've also come to realize that:

1. I often confuse people; and
2. It's true that left- and right-brained people frequently clash.

Is there a chapter of Mixed-Brain Dominance Anonymous?

Sigh. I can't help it. I have to jump on the bandwagon.

Boffer....really well done.

staf74 wrote:"Changing America, one square foot at a time"

What a great idea for a T-Shirt!!

Hey boff - my fingernails are already dirty and stained!

Sherry - I keep a word document titled "Citizen Scientist Journal". It's just over a year old and is 21 typed pages so far. (I type so much faster than I write, so I can say much more here.) This time of year I add to it 2-3 times a week. That way I can go back and see what I was doing this time last year and also to keep notes to myself about what is or isn't working this year and what I want to change.

I also keep an excel file with my beds plotted out. I go so far as to shade the different boxes / squares. Orange means the square is perrenial, green means it's been planted, blue means I know what will go there and it already has soil, and no shading means that box still needs to be filled. Below the diagram of boxes is the "legend". Nothing is set in stone - I change it when necessary - like when I have too many lettuces and end up sticking the extras in an empty square of a box I'm not using yet.

Then I also keep a piece of paper with a grid of the box. I pencil in what is in each square, how many, and the date it was planted. 1 page per box. I stick these into page protectors and take them to the garden with me. They are my go-between for the virtual and real worlds. It's possible I have too much time on my hands. Plus I really love to tinker with the keyboard. I don't trust either side of my brain. so between all of these methods, I'm actually growing something! Do whatever works for you. We are all so very different and have so many ways to make it work for us.

I like the T-shirt idea but how about "Changing the world one square foot at a time." I think Mel would like that, or should it be square meter?

Boffer,
I finished my sfg several weeks ago (after several weeks of building, finding the perfect ingredients for the MM, etc.) and now am stuck. What should I put in my SFG? How many squares for each item? Where should I put each crop? Back and forth I go...first the book, then the website, then the planning software...oh wait, there's another free software. Then I cry because I'm so overwhelmed.

Your post has helped me immensely. I'm going to go to the store and make my purchases, come home and plant and see what happens!

Once I started with the whole gardening idea (I've never gardened in my life), I realized that it was in a way a metaphor for where I am in my life now...ready for some new growth. The fact that I keep getting "stuck" with my SFG also mimics my life...some new growth and then stuck for a bit...and so on.

Thanks again for your incredible words of wisdom!

I've got your OCD right here!

Bed #1:

Bed #2:

Bed #3:

Bed #4:

what an interesting thread. Dont no how I missed it.