Nashville Newb with plenty of questions

greeting from nashville, where the weather is absolutely glorious today!

i stumbled onto the SFG website yesterday while researching raised beds, and am convinced that this is the route i want to take. picked up the book today at lunch, and can't wait to get home tonight so i can crack it open.

i took a stab at a very small garden a few years ago, and grew a few variations of tomatoes and peppers before it got out of control and was later destroyed by two curious boston terriers. i'm ready to give it another go though, and am hoping that this method (and a fence) will yield much better results.

hopefully i'll have a better idea of what (and when) to try to grow after doing some reading, but i am looking for recommendations of plants to try (and to avoid) for a beginner. a salsa garden is a must, and i'd really like to take a shot at some herbs, a salad garden, and trellising some watermelons.

i look forward to your responses, and to see what this growing season brings!

dave wrote:greeting from nashville, where the weather is absolutely glorious today!

hopefully i'll have a better idea of what (and when) to try to grow after doing some reading, but i am looking for recommendations of plants to try (and to avoid) for a beginner. a salsa garden is a must, and i'd really like to take a shot at some herbs, a salad garden, and trellising some watermelons.

i look forward to your responses, and to see what this growing season brings!

Welcome Dave:

Tomatoes, Peppers, salads, herbs and watermelon are very doable in a SFG. It is recommended that you do not go too big the first year. Let the first year be a learning year. It is easy when looking in the seed catalogs to go overboard (I did) and order seeds or plants that you usually don't eat. So plant what you eat the first year and then add something different the next year. After you have read the book please ask more questions so we can help you be a successful Square Foot Gardener in your first year with the gardening system that is the best that there is.

Again welcome and God Bless, Ward.

Welcome to SFG and the Forum. I think you'll have a much better idea of what you want after reading the book. A "salsa SFG" and a "salad SFG" are very doable and planting everything for your salad or salsa in the same box makes preparing a meal so much easier. Feel free to ask any questions you have after reading the book.

Welcome aboard! When I bought the book last year, it was all new to me but I was willing and have enjoyed it immensely and learned a lot.
Being in Maine has its own little quirks, like late starting.
I'm making some changes this year, but that goes along with trying your first garden to so what works best for you.
Enjoy the esperience.

first suggestion, make sure to go to the "middle south" forum........we have a rather large crowd there. This is my first year SFG and I plan on trying a watermelon, cucumbers and tomatoes, chives and some flowers. I've been gardening my whole life but so excited about SFG. Just finished my bed which I made of blocks, mixed my soil today with help of children, got it particially fenced and worked on my trellis. Keep us posted as to how you are doing.....we are interested!

Welcome. As mentioned above be sure and visit the Middle South Region Forum frequently to keep up with what others are doing in your area.

The quest for a Salsa garden is what brought me to the SFG method last year. I had tried some container gardening in the years before but never seriously. I went at it last year with four 4'x4' beds and filled them with mostly peppers and tomatoes. I did dedicate some space to herbs, cucumbers, squash, and cantaloupe though. I canned for days and still had peppers to spare. I had good luck with Pablano, jalapeno, Serrano, cayenne, sweet banana, and Hungarian wax peppers. I had mixed but ok results with bell peppers.

Those pepper plants are really resilient and most are very prolific so you should have no problem with them. Tomatoes need a bit more "tending" than the peppers but I had very good results with them as well.

I gave away many jars of salsa, pickles, and pepper jelly as Christmas gifts last year and they were a big hit. We should have a little salsa exchange at the end of the growing season this year for those in the Middle Tennessee area that can get together.