hello from Utah

Just going to start sfg this year. My son and I are going to build our first box and put a hoop house over it to see if we can get an early start on some spinach. I am a stay at home dad, grew up on a farm in Iowa so it's hard not to have a garden. This seems like a good way to have fresh veggies and still have time to get to soccer, guitar, ect. Anyway hello to all. Tim

Hi Tim!

I too am a very busy person with work and a teenage son, SFGing saves so much time! There just is no longer an excuse for not having a garden

Do it! The spinach should do well. Make sure to use good compost. My first box didn't have good compost and it didn't do well. Not sure where you are, but go to the J&L Garden Center website and look through their handouts. They have a good handout on composts and mulches. If you are in Davis County, the Central Davis Sewer District sells compost for $10 per truck load. Depending on your truck, that is around 30 cubic feet for $10. Most good compost is around $10 per 2 cu ft bag. The sewer compost is safe. It is tested for pathogens before they can sell it. It works very well. Last year I grew 5' tall tomato plants and green beans that climbed my 6' tall trellis and just kept on going. I had 1-1.5 feet hanging over the top.

You can used cedar fencing to build your boxes. It is much cheaper than redwood 2x lumber. It is thinner, but that is ok. I went to the open house at the SFG Foundation last spring and that is what they had used for most of the boxes they had for sale there. I found 6' long 1x6 fence slats for about $1.80 each. An 8' redwood 2x6 was about $9.

Anyway, good luck. Start small so you don't feel overwhelmed. Feel free to ignore my advice!

Hello World!

I'm from Utah too (Salt lake area) and I'll be starting my SQF this year. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up the components this Saturday and and plant everything. My garden plan has been revised a few times, and now I can't wait to get this final plan implemented. And I can't wait to post some pictures.

My husband and I are so excited to start our SFG this year. We live in a townhome with a small patio. We purchased a mini-green house (a four teir plant stand with a vinyl cover. ) I have been watching the sun patterns on our patio and am researching and planning where everything will go.

BTW, do you plant Kale like you would cabbage?

Thanks

welcome to the boards!

What a beautiful family!

osmiles wrote:What a beautiful family!

aww thanks! we are so incredibly blessed! L-rd has been good to us.

Welcome to everyone in Utah (and thanks for the welcome messages to me).
Yes, you plant kale like you would cabbage. Some people prefer to wait and plant kale as a fall crop because the frost improves the flavor of the larger leaves. I like young kale leaves in salad so I plant it in spring.