Hi Greenbean,

I thought I'd post over here, since I am not really a SF gardener.

I really enjoyed the garden tour! It looks like you are maximizing your available space. It is amazing how much you can squeeze into a small area, if you plan carefully! Is this area your sideyard? I couldn't tell from the photos if the area behind where the strawberries are, was a neighbors property, or your backyard? Also, the area where you are putting in the long narrow bed (2 1/2 x 11), is that an alley that the general public has access to, or does your property go up to where the splitrail fence is?

The beds do look like little covered wagons with the hoops on, which I think is charming.

Your list of what you harvested made me realize that I didn't keep any records of what came out of the garden, other than a note about which tomatoes where the best producers. I'm going to keep better track next year though.

Thank you for sharing. It was inspirational, and with all of the new areas you have put in, you will have a huge harvest next year. I hope you have a deep freeze, or know how to can, LOL!

Bonnie

Thanks Bonnie. It is my side yard. The area behind the strawberries is my backyard. The fence behind the long narrow bed is my neighbor's yard. The "alley" between the two, I believe is my property, based only on how the front yards are set up. The covenants say your fence isn't to be on your property line, but about half of them are. There is an easement along the property line, and a lot of the fences are built with that "alley". Last year there were a couple kids who walked to school through there, but not this year, just the meter reader goes by now. I decided to use the space, but that's why there is an opening in the picket fence, and there is no gate.

I actually sold my deep freeze about 3 years ago, but I suspect I will be getting another one... I do much better with freezing than canning, I guess you could say I'm a beginner canner. I made pickles once, and raspberry jam twice, and canned raspberries in various forms when I had a ton of them in Alaska (there were times I was picking about a gallon a day...). That's about it for my canning experience.

Here is a photo of mine early in the summer. You can see how neatly everything was spaced when I started.


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By the end of the summer, it was a bit of a jungle.

The only other edibles I grew this year were my herbs, which I really enjoyed.


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Next year, I'm adding grapevines over the new pergola, and I'm planning on planting a peach tree, in addition to the two apple trees I put in this year. I'd love to find a spot for some perennial edibles, like asparagus, rhubarb, and blackberries, but I just don't think I have the space.

This was my first year to can, and I loved it. I did salsa, pickles, and several jams and jellies. Most of my family will be getting homemade goodies for Christmas this year. I would have done more than I did, but I ran out of jars, and couldn't find any at the stores around here. Next year, I'll stock up as soon as the stores start selling them!

Bonnie

Such a nice garden!

Does the square-foot style mean it is above the ground or does it go into the ground a bit below the wood? I ask this because up here it can be too chilly if it is raised.

I had thought about using some old fence lumber that is laying around to make some beds that are higher than the ones I have now but was too lazy at the time.

Now, the guys at Harlequin Gardens thought if I went too much higher there would not be enough soil to protect things from getting too cold.

I don't really know.

Those are great pictures and the documentation is super helpful. They look like real square-foot gardens to me!!!

Thank you for sharing!

J

Bonnie,
Your garden looks great! It doesn't even look like the same bed in the 2 photos!

What variety of apples did you plant? I have a gift card to the Colorado Tree Farm Nursery, and I'm planning to use it in the spring to get 2 apple trees. Since they pretty much carry semi-dwarf types, I'm going to put them in the backyard. I think I'm going to see if they have Honeycrisp apples. I've eaten them a few times this fall, and I really like the flavor. They say Golden Delicious is about the best pollinator. I need to test-eat some more of those too. I really want peach trees too, but I'm going with the apple first, as it seems they may be more reliable producers out here. Plus I know more things I like with apples than peaches...but I have a spot planned for them later too.

One of the new 4x5 beds is for the strawberries and one of the 4x4's is for asparagus. My DH has always wanted to grow asparagus. I'm going to put in some rhubarb for him as well. I have definite plan for raspberries, but if I come across a freebie thornless blackberry or blackraspberry plants, I have a spot in mind for those too. I would like to try grapes too, but I'm not sure where those would go. I can't grow them along the back fence b/c my dogs will eat them, and they aren't good for dogs. Aah, but there's always next year to figure it out...

J,
I don't know what the SF "rule" would be (I've never actually read the book), but my beds are primarily above ground. Because the garden is on a slightly sloped area, I guess the west side of each box is slightly below ground. There is nothing actually stopping anything from growing into the actual ground, but the beds are about 12" to 15" high (except the long skinny one, it's shorter). I built them that way b/c the ground didn't look like it would be fun to dig. I did try to break it up some before I filled the boxes, just to try and avoid having a drastic change in the soil but I don't know how good a job I did.

I never thought about raised beds getting too cold. I've always read they warm up faster in the spring. I guess the same attributes that make them warm faster, probably makes them cool faster too?? It seems to me though that they would suck up the heat from the sunshine during the day, and would hold that through at least part of the night. I don't really know... Guess I'll find out when I plant the asparagus & strawberries in their beds.

The reason I say I don't have a "real" SF garden is:
1) I've never read the book
2) I'm not planting in Mel's mix
3) I don't have a permanent grid system
4) I think there are some other "rules", but I don't remember them.

So, I don't really call it a SFG, because there are people out there who do follow the book pretty closely, and I think they might be upset with me if I claim to garden in a way I don't (exactly).

Other than being raised bed, I think I garden in a modified version of a few styles. I'm aiming for what I think would be considered a "high yield" garden, and I may change the way I plant things to make it work for me.

How funny, Greenbean, that is exactly what we picked - a Honeycrisp and a Golden Delicious. I love the crisp, sweet but tart flavor of the Honeycrisp. Our trees were too small to produce this year, but I bought enough at the farmers market to make a batch of homemade cinnamon applesauce and it was delicious. I have always thought Golden Delicious were a bit bland and mealy, but one of my sons specifically asked for a yellow apple, and when I asked about that variety here on the RMG forum, someone said that the homegrown ones will have much more flavor than the ones at the grocery store, so I went ahead and planted it. I'll have to get back to you in a couple of years about the taste on that one, LOL.

Bonnie

It's funny you guys are talking about Colorado Tree Farm. I passed them today in my travels and was wondering if they carried any fruit trees. I live closer to Harding, their main office and home is just down the road from me, but the last few times I checked, they are not stocking any fruit trees out here and their in town location is too pricey. If you get things from Ellicott, they charge less, at least they used to.

I will have to find some Honeycrisp to try. My favorites are Pink Lady and Roma which I have not been finding so much anymore. I use a lot of apples when I make pies, and they have to be somewhat tart, but everyone here likes to eat them fresh too.

As far as SFG goes, I really don't think you have to do everything exactly as Mel does it to call it a SFG. The main principle was to make people realize that when you read a seed packet, like radishes, it tells you to plant spaced every 3 in in rows 2 ft apart. The plants don't know if their nearest neighbor is 3 in away or 3 ft away as long as they have enough room to grow without being stepped on, crowded, etc it does not matter. Mel used 4x4 beds in his show, but told everyone that any bed size would work, as long as you could reach the middle without stepping on the soil. And the main idea was to make every inch of garden soil productive, with no empty time.

I watched the SFG show when it was on PBS many years ago. I had already questioned why everything had to be planted so far apart, so Mel's ideas just reinforced my theories. I believe PPLD has copies of the SFG book, in #636. area, if you really want to read it. I can even tell you what area of the Union library that is, scary huh.

Billie

Thanks for answering me!

I think I remember there was a show for Square Foot Gardening on PBS...back when the Frugal Gourmet show was on. Oh, and the Cajun Chef, too. Those were good PBS days!

I think the style is great and it looks tidy. I do remember something about using a grid, but I don't see how anyone can be That organized.

I actually bought one of those long-handled soil turning things, "The Claw" or something. It really helped when I started my second bed. Digging or shoveling into hard clay and rocks is not exactly easy! I did have to soften the earth up with water first.

I hope your garden grows well next year!
J

J - funny I forgot about the grid. Years ago, I had built my garden out of lumber and I put roofing nails in every foot, so when I planted, I could mark the squares out and keep straight lines. I still use string to keep straight lines, but I am not so strict on the exact spacing anymore.

Billie

Billie, I mailordered my trees from Stark Bros. and was very pleased with their service. They even called me this fall to see how the trees were doing! I will definitely order the peach tree and grapevines from them too.

Mine's not really a SFG either, I didn't use a grid, but I did take a yardstick with me when I planted my stuff out, so I could get it pretty close to the map I drew out ahead of time. The other thing I tried to do this year is have something ready to plant as soon as something else was finished. Still need to fine tune that, but I was pleased with how much food I got out of 60 sq.ft.

Bonnie

I've linked to the home site of a fruit tree nursery that has all kinds of stuff - and some links from there where to order things from. I've ordered them from Peaceful Valley. Seeds of Change.

This year, my trees didn't do well, although they flowered. Bought 3 bushels of Romas from a local orchard, $15 a bushel, and made enough apple stuff to last until next year.

I made a couple pies for T-day using a sack of frozen, sliced apples and a couple pints of apple butter mixed up. Knock 'em dead at the end of the meal. Along with a couple squash pies. They won't starve.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dave Wilson