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Square Foot Gardening

Pictures of my (small) Garden So Far...

15 years ago

This is my first year with SFG. My husband bought me the book for my birthday in March and I was planting stuff by April. These pictures are of our first little area - it was already a raised planter, though everything was dead when we bought the house. So we built the boxes on top - which is great for keeping our three dogs from tromping through them. So... it's not a big space, but I've really enjoyed it so far. I have several more boxes made and plans for plantings in August.

So... thank you to all of you on this board, as you have been every bit as helpful as all the books I have. Things are a struggle in the first year... and in Florida - the heat and the bugs, but you all help keep this really interesting and positive. So - much thanks!

And sorry about the pictures - I couldn't get them to post the rotated image...

Pumpkin on the far left, empty square after something ate zucchini seedlings, and Kentucky Wonder pole beans

Cucumbers, yellow squash seedlings, cantaloupe

Yellow peppers... turning from green to reddish/brown though. Not sure why...

Cantaloupe close-up. It's doubled in size since I took the picture and is now growing happily in a home-made sling.

Tomatillos I started from seed. Also, doubled in size since a week ago.

Tomatoes in SWC

Determinate:

Indeterminate:

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Comments (7)

Melissa Houser
15 years ago
Your plants all look great! My cantaloupe is nowhere near as big as yours, even though I used a transplant and have it in full sun! I just re-planted cantaloupe and I'm hoping to get a better result with that one from seed!
kristimama
15 years ago
Really nice pictures. Thanks for sharing. I'd love to see the pic of the melon in your sling to see what you've done.

Also, I can't tell from the photo but does the canteloupe have 1 or 2 shoots coming from the soil?
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Very nice photos---I love the little house--garden shed? in the back yard---it is really cute. Your flowerbeds are beginning to fill in and look nice. Susy
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The plants look pretty darned nice to me! I don't know that it is optimal, but, that wrinkling / puckering on the leaves is very common on the chinese varieties. re: bonemeal - I have heard many recommendations to use it, and just as many saying it takes so long to break down / be available to the plant that you are wasting your time and any anecdotal evidence is more likely attributed to time for it to grow out of it or some other environmental factor and not really the bonemeal. Jiffy pods - are you talking about the peat pellets and their netting? I would and always do remove that netting. But, if they're already growing into their new home, it might not be worth the potential damage digging it up to remove it. Same thing with the peat pots that you can just bury - I always remove that thing. Probably personal preference more than anything, but, I have seen where they had problems growing through either, so, I just get them out of the way.
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No sweat. Glad to have you on the list. I was surprised you were able to figure out how to post pictures. usually, new members have a lot of trouble with that. Check my response to your other identical post. Bruce
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Comments (22)
Michael, it's extremely dry here too, Dad's been running the sprinkler nearly every day. We've had less than an inch of rain in the last 6 weeks. I do need to check those tomatoes, though, I'm down to my last two jars of salsa. The deer here drink from the pond with the cattle but the grass and forage is so sparse that we are feeding hay already and the deer are at the feeders with the horses and cows. I told Dad we need to shoot a couple, if we're going to feed them, we should be able to eat them! Jessica could help me.... Maureen, I forgot to answer your question. Yes, those beans turn green as soon as they hit boiling water. The kids call them Aunt Annie's Magic Beans because they can change color. LOL They love them, so it's all good. Nancy, I think I need to plant my herbs in planters too, it's nearly 20 miles to the garden if I need basil. :-( Annie
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sarahs_eden
Original Author
15 years ago
Kristimama-
Thanks! I will take a picture of the melon this week and post, so you can see the "sling" my husband made for it and how much it's grown!
It was one single cantaloupe plant we bought from Lowe's (I think). So... it's one main stem, but it definitely has another big stem branching off the main stem. It actually had four branching off - a squirrel (I presume) took care of one, I pruned the other and left the two. I wish I had left one, though. That's a really hard lesson learned! It was the best growing thing in my garden when everything else was dying, so I really didn't want to prune it! But now I know for next time.
sinfonian
15 years ago
AMAZING work in such a little space. Gotta love ingenuity! You've really accomplished something. I also love the SWC. I notice you haven't caged your tomatoes yet, they'll need the support so a trellis or cage (or both like mine) is in order very soon.

We'd also love to see you over at Ft2Garden.com. Great folks both places for sure!

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfoinian's garden adventure!
engineeredgarden
15 years ago
nice little garden sarah - very good craftmanship on the corners - I also, am wondering about the sling for the canteloupe. Can't wait for more photos
crystabel
15 years ago
Great pics of your garden Sarah! Things really seem to be growing well for you. That is encouraging since I'm in FL too :)
medontdo
15 years ago
very nice!! i can't wait to see more!! i agree, the ingenuity!! :') ~Medo

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