I done done it now!!!!!!! SFG in the back of the house.

15 years ago

SFG newbie here,

I built a 4Âx4Âx6"bed. The North side is up against my house.

It gets sun from 10 am to 6:30 Â 7 pm.

I am in zone 7 (NC).

Here is my plant list:

Green beans - All bush variety (Italian, Roma II Â purple, Bush Blue Lake)

Broccoli (Barbados, De Cicco)

Cantaloupe (HalesÂ Best Jumbo and maybe seed from store bought)

Cucumbers (Burpless)

Lettuce Â (Salad Bowl, Romaine, Mesclin Mix, Bibb)

Onions (yellow from seed)

Garlic (Cloves from store bought bulb)

Peas (Alaska, Sugar snap)

Spinach (Bloomsdale, Teton)

Watermelon (Sugar Baby)

Cabbage

I figured that the cantaloupe, Cucumbers, Watermelon, and Peas would go against the wall on the trellis.

So here is my configuration:

North Side/Trellis/House

Peas(A&B)----Cant----------Cukes----------Watermelon

Broc(A)------Spin(A)-------G-Bean (A)-----Lett(A)

Broc(B)------Spin(B)-------G-Bean (B)-----Lett(B)

Onions-------Lett(D)-------G-Bean (C)-----Lett(C

South Side

Ambitious? Yeah! But I am up to it.

I also have 4 Earthboxes that I love. In those I am planting Corn, tomatoes (roma and beefsteak), Squash (zucchini and yellow), Bell peppers, Eggplant, and Okra. Later in the season, I will plant some collards.

I also have some planters that will have Carrots, tomatoes (purple and yellow pear), herbs.

I already have some strawberries in a pot. I may build another bed (2x1) just for them and transplant them.

I love gardens and have been just trying to fit it all into pots and my Earthboxes because I did not have a lot of space. But now, I think the SFG is going to work out great for me.

My daughter and I mixed the mix for the space and I built the box y myself. I could only find fine vermiculite, so I bought that. I have about a gallon bag of course/medium vermiculite from the gas log fireplace company. IÂll mix about a half cup full into the soil as I plat the seeds.

I am planting tonight. I wanted to do it this weekend, but time got away from me. So tonight (if it is not raining), I will be planting.

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Comments (4)

charlsie142
15 years ago
Choxie-- I don't know what part of NC you are from, but I know near Charlotte we are under a freeze/frost watch tonight and have snow in the forecast (crazy, huh!?). Just wanted to mention it in case you are near this area (or the mountains, since they are actually supposed to have accumulation).

Also, congrats on getting your SFG built...I can't wait to get mine started! Good luck!
sinfonian
15 years ago
I must say, ambitious is a bit of an understatement. You will likely see significant crowding issues with your trellis row, unless you are planning on (spacing from memory)8 peas, 2 cukes, 1 cantaloupe and 1 watermellon plant. Even then, the trellis is going to be even more crowded than my crazy mass 'o vines last year. Of course the cukes will use the space of the peas when they die back. So you could be fine.

I too love my self watering containers. I use them exclusely for tomatoes and cantaloupe. I don't have the bed space for them.

Good luck and enjoy your garden.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sinfonian's garden adventure
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choxie
Original Author
15 years ago
charlsie,

Thanks for the heads up. I am Charlotte born and raised, but have lived in Raliegh since college oh so mny years ago.

We do have a frost warning tonight, but no snow and a very warm weekend coming. It is going to get near freezing again some time next week. That's NC weather, always has been. I have my plants protected so I'm not worried about anything that I am planting.

Sinfonian,
Yes it is ambitious, but I have to prove to my dh that the sfg works so that he can let me have more space next year, or maybe later in the year. He is the one that got me my 4 brand named SWCs. because I made my own out of some pots from Wal mart that I modified in 2007.

Thanks for the info on the trellis crowding. I figured as much, but I'm hoping that by making two trellises, I can at least cut done on the confusion. You are right with your planting counts 8-2-1-1 is the max for each space. I was hoping that by pairing the peas (may not be 8 plants) with the cantelope and the cukes with the watermelon, that I could cut down on too much confusion.

As for my SWCs, I LOVE them, but they do not hold enough. I had them way over crowded last year. If you think my trellis will be crowded this year, you should have seen me last year. I had cantelope, watermelon (bust), cukes, zuchinni, bush beans all in one SWC. In another, I had 3 bell peppers, Okra, Eggplant, cukes, cantelope, and cabbage. Each one was loaded to the hilt. They all produced fine, but I know that they could have all done better had they been more spaced out.

I like fresh vegetables, and I love growing them. If I can get this to work half as well as the pictures I see on the Internet and on Mel's site, then I will be hooked and more boxes will go up in the yard.

Okay, I am rambling again, back to work for me.
choxie
Original Author
15 years ago
Oh, and I have not planted anything yet.

It stopped raining by the time I got home from work, but I have company coming over todnight (Tuesday) and my house was filthy. So I spent Monday night cleaning house, including baseboards and such. I also made a baked spaghetti casserole to serve.

So now, as it stands, I won't be able to plant until Wednesday, if I put off laundry for an hour or so.

I'm making my greenhouse covering out of a clear tarp and an old hula-hoop.

Yep, I'm cheap, um, thrifty.