Newly Sprouted

The first and last garden I grew was back in 1987. I tried square foot gardening then and it was a success. I remember having tomatoes and borage coming out of my ears. I didn't frame in that garden, nor did I amend the soil due to the fact that the soil was already excellent. I do not know if the square foot method that I used was inspired by Mel back then or not, so I cannot recall the source of my inspiration.
Over the years I have moved around a bit and always dreamed of growing a garden. I purchased Mel's Square Foot Garden book a few years ago as a gift for my husband because he had mentioned he would like to grow our own food. Honestly, I didn't look a the book too closely and it sat inside my nightstand waiting for someone to get around to discovering the wonderful information within.
Last year my husband and his father rented a rototiller and plowed up a 4 x10 plot of our backyard so that we could get growing. I had a sneaking suspicion that this would not be the glorious Eden my husband visualized. And, my fears were not unfounded. We dumped bag after bag of compost on that "garden" and all that it did was disappear into our soil which is primarily sand. I think that garden produced a handful of cherry tomatoes, 2 tiny bell peppers, and weeds, unless you count our attempt at growing a pumpkin which did not bear fruit but I think the vine that began in our midwestern backyard, ended up on the West Coast.
This year, I purchased the All New Square Foot Gardening and I love the reader friendly format. I have just built two gardens and am starting a third.
Wish me luck,
The Upstart Gardener

I wish you TONS of luck, and welcome you aboard! You have just stumbled upon another great source of information....this forum. It's a tremendous compliment to the book, too.

Get active and get involved! This forum loves pictures that brag about what you've accomplished. The starting up, mixing Mel's Mix, and building beds is the hard part. So, when things start growing, you've earned the right to brag. However, the best part is that you never have to rototill again!



Stop by your regional forum and say hi again. We have several ongoing "reports" that you would be more than welcome to jump in on. These types of things have a way of keeping me going when there isn't much going on. Maybe it will do the same for you.

Glad you found us; hope to see lots more of you.

Boy, I can identify with the sand that eats the topsoil/compost and drinks water faster than you can apply it. It was the reason I viewed all the self-watering threads on this forum and then came up with the "pond" beds built on my son's sand dunes. https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t5716-experiment-to-deal-with-pure-sand-and-high-water-bills#49172

You don't have to go to these extremes though, because the Mel's Mix is designed to help hold water. Once you get your beds built and your Mel's Mix made, the backbreaking work is done. So start gardening.

Kay

UpstartGardener

We are really glad you joined us. This is a great group of people who enjoy growing veggies.

Marvelous that you found the ALL NEW SQUARE FOOT GARDENING book. I have to say it certainly has made gardening a lot easier for me. Once the beds are built and filled with Mel's Mix, the hard work is done.

Last year my husband and his father rented a rototiller and plowed up a 4 x10 plot of our backyard so that we could get growing. I had a sneaking suspicion that this would not be the glorious Eden my husband visualized. And, my fears were not unfounded. We dumped bag after bag of compost on that "garden" and all that it did was disappear into our soil which is primarily sand. I think that garden produced a handful of cherry tomatoes, 2 tiny bell peppers, and weeds, unless you count our attempt at growing a pumpkin which did not bear fruit but I think the vine that began in our midwestern backyard, ended up on the West Coast.
This year, I purchased the All New Square Foot Gardening and I love the reader friendly format. I have just built two gardens and am starting a third.
Wish me luck,
The Upstart Gardener

Hopefully this will be the year of the glorious Eden your family visualized. By the way, I think I saw that pumpkin vine crossing Interstate 5, in Oregon last year.

Please keep us posted on your progress and share pictures if you will, we love them.

Again, Welcome!

Upstart,
You will need little luck with this method but I will wish you good luck anyway. GOOD LUCK!!!!! and again