Intro

Hello All,

I just joined the forums and thought I'd introduce myself! Name's Mike, I'm 26, and live outside of Cincinnati, OH w/ my wife and three little ones. I've always been interested in gardening and I've grown herbs and veggies on a small scale here and there, but my first "real" garden was last year when we bought a house. It was of the traditional sort, and considering that we didn't even close on the house until 4/30 (our frost free date here), it went pretty well. Anyway, I read the new SFG book a month or two ago and I'm currently in the process of building my first bed! I'm having what seems to be the common problem of finding 5 different types of compost, but so far I do have a little 3' x 4' section finished and planted using the compost I made last year. Hopefully I'll be able to build the rest soon because I have a lot of tomatoes and peppers currently growing in plastic cups that will need to go in the "ground" soon!

Anyway this looks like a great forum and I hope to become a relatively active member over the next several months! Take it easy everyone.

Mike

To the Forum and SFG!

Some do have trouble locating 5 good sources of compost, but keep fighting the good fight and keep looking for them, you will be so glad you did!!!

Hi Mike,
You are in the right place. This forum and its administrators offer a wealth of knowledge and understanding that can't be beat. If you have questions, always search the forum first because its likely someone else may have had the same question and you can pick up where they left off. (I say this from personal learning experience ) No matter what, there is always someone here to help! Be sure to post pics. We love them. Welcome!!!!

Welcome Mike! We have quite a few Cincinnatians here - I'm on the east side (Mariemont). I picked up 3 kinds of compost from Home Depot yesterday. Have you checked Menards yet? And there is a place in north Mason called Marvin's Organic Gardens. They sell gorgeous compost. A.J. Rahn's and Burger Farm both carry Posey Power. And if you know anyone with a farm, you might be able to score some free! Plus what you are making yourself, you should have very little trouble. Best wishes and keep us posted. Hopefully this week is the last of the 50* weather for a while - my tomatoes and watermelons are happy they are still inside.

Hey thanks for the info Nancy! I've heard of Menard's but I haven't been there so I'll check that out, and I put an ad on Craigslist this morning asking if anyone wanted to get rid of some. I just read an article this morning about the zoo sending their larger herbivore waste to that Marvin's place! I'll look into that one as well; I'm in Forest Park so none of those areas would be a terribly long drive for me. Anyway yah thanks a ton for the info; specific info from a local who's gone through this is definitely a plus.

Thanks everyone for the welcome! I really appreciate it.

Shhhhh, don't hang around those Cincinatti people....lol. We have quite the contingent of you guys. And, despite Johnny Cueto, you are all welome here. (Again, with the joke.) Although, you do deserve credit for whooping our booties this weekend.

Hope to see you around, too. Any question is fair game here. And, chime in whenever you feel you want to share something.

We also love pictures, and wouldllove to see your garden when it's up and running!

Hey Mike! Another Cincinnati-area gardener jumping on the "welcome bandwagon"!
I'm in Mason and just started my first SFG within the past month as well. If you've already got 3 composts you are well on your way. I second Nancy's advice about Marvin's, and would add that Ed's Seed & Feed on Montgomery Road just south of the intersection at Fields Ertle is another place you can try. They have several kinds of bagged compost. Dayton Hydroponics in Springdale off 747 just north of 275 also has some nice bags of worm castings as well. Good luck, welcome, and take plenty of pictures of your progress!

Howdy neighbor, I'm in Trenton but born Hamiltuckian. LOL I purchased
mushroom compost from Home Depot,
manure and peat from Lowe's,
Posy power/com-til/organic humus from Ohio Mulch (mason area)

Menards had a space for mushroom compost but either they are sold out or never got it in. I did use the vermiculite from Menards for 12.98 for 3cu ft.

Glad you found us and join in the discussions here.

OFF topic: any area people, the City Wide Trenton yardsale is this weekend. If you plan to attend, PM me for my addy, I offer a clean bathroom , unless you prefer to use the port o let. LOL

lol - Mariemont's village-wide garage sale is this weekend, too!

Woo hoo! I'm coming to yours! Mine is NUTS up here.

Thanks again for the info everyone, this will really save me a lot of time.

@Kim - OMG do not tell me that - Menard's has 3 cubic feet of vermiculite for $13!? After finding 2 cf bags at the stupid Delhi Garden center for $30, I spent $185 for 20 cf online shipped. According to you I overpaid by $100! Sigh...Oh well at least I know for next year when I add another bed!

Oh and yah I'll definitely be taking pics...I took a vid of my back yard before I started clearing out the ditch in back and building the terraced retaining walls that my beds are going to be on, and once I finish the first level I'll take another vid and post them on my YT channel.

Anyway thanks again everyone!

HieronRemade wrote:Thanks again for the info everyone, this will really save me a lot of time.

@Kim - OMG do not tell me that - Menard's has 3 cubic feet of vermiculite for $13!? After finding 2 cf bags at the stupid Delhi Garden center for $30, I spent $185 for 20 cf online shipped. According to you I overpaid by $100! Sigh...Oh well at least I know for next year when I add another bed!

Oh and yah I'll definitely be taking pics...I took a vid of my back yard before I started clearing out the ditch in back and building the terraced retaining walls that my beds are going to be on, and once I finish the first level I'll take another vid and post them on my YT channel.

Anyway thanks again everyone!

Welcome Mike,

I can guess how your muscles feel as I'm terracing my garden, building retaining walls, steps and levelling where my beds will be as well. The beds will soon pay for themselves.

Ha yah it's definitely some serious manual labor...I'm using old railroad ties for the retaining walls (not the actual bed walls!) and I can't believe how heavy they are!

I know you're right about the beds paying themselves off...I just need to convince my wife of that.

HeironRemade
Glad to have you join the forum. As you have seen, this is a friendy group that tries to be helpful.

Remember, cost wise, yes the first year is not inexpensive, but your bed and Mel's Mix do not need to be replaced in future years. You will need to add compost whenever you harvest a crop, but if you are making your own compost, that will not be a added expense. In traditional gardening, you usually had to continue to amend the bed with soil conditioners, fertilizers and compost too for many years to get the soil in shape to grow good veggies.

Best of luck on your first SFG adventure.

Again, Welcome!

Welcome HR!

Another neighbor here to the East. I'm in Glendale starting my first SFG this year as well.

Bummer about getting jipped at Delhi- definitely check out the verm database. I got a couple of bags at Ed's Feed and Seed for $15 for 4 cu ft and 2 bags at Reading Feed and Garden for $17 for 4 cu ft.

I saw your beds in your other thread-they look really great, I wish I had that much room!

Ha thanks; yah I'm definitely lucky to have a big backyard. We bought the place a little over a year ago and garden-room was one of the prerequisites our realtor knew about from the beginning!

Wow I'm surprised about how many Cincinnatians are here! Pretty cool to know all these other people are doing SFG so close to me. xD

Hi HieronRemade! Where are your pictures posted?

Hey! I made a thread in the showcase called "Mike's Garden 2011" w/ all the pics; it's maybe 7-10 down the latest topics list.

Btw, you guys can call me Mike if you prefer- I chose that username because I go by it everywhere online, but the subject matter here is a little more down-to-earth than my ocarina or gaming forums, so my name can be as well. xD