Well, this is my first year as well, but I admit I didn't follow SFG precisely. First off I didn't trim my tomato plants down to a single stem. I also planted my corn bed in rows rather than using the SFG method (though the numbers of plants are about the same). I guess that's about it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure

First year with sfg also - the only thing I would have changed is planting sooner.

First year for me too. Like engineeredgarden, I would have planted sooner, and would have used some indoor sprouting as well. I planted everything on the beds directly this time. There is still one more bed to be planted :-)

The plus side of the late sowing was that I forced myself to read some books on extending the gardening season :-)

We built my beds as we went this year, so I automatically had to space my plantings. Next year, I will probably plant more of some things at the same time, such as green beans. I have 1 square planted and producing, but 10-12 beans at a time isn't enough to make a mess of beans!

I will probably also go ahead and put Sevin dust down around squash plantings as soon as I put them out because of the fight I've had with squash bugs this year. And, I'll probably plant my squash much sooner.

Of course, since I'm in FL, my "next year" is going to be sooner than for many others. I'll be doing a full replant on my main bed at the end of August and, possibly, on the side beds as well.

I need to move my beds further west in my yard. This is my first full year in this house, and I missed the full sun location by about 10 feet.

I will be able to get early spring crops out next year, since my beds will be ready and waiting. I tried to catch the tail end of spinach & radish planting, but I missed - they all bolted this year.

I am going to rework my fencing / bird netting / row cover system. It has been cobbed together this year in response to various veggie threats. Next year I want to be ahead of the pests instead of running damage control.

I am also scrapping the square foot grids in favor of another intensive / companion planting idea.

10 feet....that sux. I feel for you.

SFGing for 1st year, my only regret is not starting to SFG about 35 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of time and effort.


John

Here is a link that might be useful: Johns Journal

--tornado6

Sooo... what exactly IS your other "intensive / companion planting idea"? Come on, fess up!

More like Sally Jean Cunningham's "well mixed look." I want to really interplant my companion plants instead of having them in adjacent squares.

Instead of
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I am going to do more of
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My regret is not writing my own book, though Mel would probably do better anyway. When I was a teenager I was growing in the usual family bed but wanted some extra room for squash. I dug out a 4X4 in ground bed and filled it with peat and manure a foot deep. I had to weed the other bed daily. Did I weed my new bed? Never needed it. My family before me allowed the original bed to become infested with weeds. I then always added growing space in 4x4 sections in separate in ground beds because anything more meant walking on soil and then weeds in the rows. When I picked up Mel's book I noticed he was doing an improved version of what I already discovered. I had no trouble converting. So I have been doing some of this for 20 years on and off when I did not live in apartments or in school etc.
I only noticed SFG when my sunny space was limited and looked into compact methods. I should mention that by doing it compactly that paying attention to sun exposure is important. Tall plants need to go to the north and that was something I noticed the first year.