LOL i am not the only one like that!! LOL visit krinsta? she has some and so does engineerdgarden, and jbest,jeni, and jeff and jessica, some of the OLDER and i mean older posts have some magnificent pics in them!! LOL but ya have to be bored and dig!! sometimes i do that and find some good stuff!! LOL ~Medo ps those aren't the only one's, they are the only ones i remember off the top of my head. LOL

i forgot to tell ya welcome!! duhhhh!! i can't believe that!! you'll love it here, most of us are very nice!! some are very talkative!! HHMMMMMM.....wonder who???? LOL Good luck on your gardening and YAY for driving that hubs nuts!! i do that alot to mine!! LOL ***huge grinn*** ~Medo

Laura - welcome to the twilight zone of gardening. It is the best forum on here, as we have learned how to grow things in mid-air. You can even turn a boat into a garden, if you want people to think you're mental. Anyway, there's lots of designs on here, and many of them are excellent. Mine looks like the hurdles at the Beijing summer olympics, but it grows stuff like crazy. If I were you, I would build a trellis...like, 100 feet long - if I had the real estate. More trellis is better...believe me. Ok.....stop throwing things at me.....i'll stop. All jokes aside, look at everyone else's design, and take things from all of them, and you will be happy with the finished product. Research and planning is the most important part, in my opinion. Feel free to ask questions, as we are all here to help one another become a better gardener....and maybe have a few laughs - if there's any spare time for it.Tee hee hee

EG

yes Mental here (LOL) Lord knows he'll give ya all the help ya want!! and more!! **snicker, snicker** and of course i like to poke fun!! Hee Hee and Tee LOL :') ya just build what ever floats your boat!! LOL i couldn't resist that one!! LOL ROFL!!! ~Medo

Heh. I did read medo's post about the...er..."repurposed" boat. I think it would be kind of cool. :)

Thanks for the warm welcome y'all.

Hey Medo....didn't know you were listening. Sorry! hee hee

Laura - here's a picture of my " Beijing 2008 summer olympic games hurdle garden", before it was filled with mel's mix. Just click on the link below.

EG

Here is a link that might be useful:

YA baby!! now that box i can dig!! LOL now i see how that's done!! thanks!! freaky box or not i totally love that!! LOL
i had to show that to the very uninterested hubs!! LOL who is not into this as much as i am. gotta go!! the new Rambo is on!! Awesome box ~Medo

Eng - that's a great garden structure! It does look like hurdles! :)

Medo - you crack me up!

Ok.....thanks......for both the compliments and refraining from calling the little men in white coats.
Medo - yeah, I can dig it too....as a matter of fact, I did dig it. Each post is set in 18" of concrete, below the ground level. Talk about work!
Laura - maybe some more people will be kind enough to put some more designs and pictures on here for you to look at. The pictures in the book are not bad at all....I just prefer using something stronger for a trellis than 1/2" conduit, and netting. It usually comes down to how much money you want to invest in it initially, what materials you have readily available, and what resources you have for constructing it. If I can help you in any way...feel free to ask.

EG

Welcome Laura!

I don't know how to post pics yet. I'm a bit hindered b/c my hubby is in internet security and is HYPER about what I download/upload, lol. Well, someone in our household had to have all the good sense.
EG: Your garden rocks, but I didn't see where they agreed not to call the little men...

Grace,
Carolyn P.

Welcome here!!! I love this board. Its light and fun and incredibly helpful!!

I have a confession to make. I never read the SFG'ing book. I have done it all from my own brain and reading this board. So far so good. My mix isn't to the book either and all seems to be well so far. I do have a few things I want to change next year, but I'm assumign that will be the case no matter what.

Wow that is really nice! And what a great spot you have. My yard is sloped with lots of trees and I only have one spot that is sunny enough.

Would love to see updated pics!

Carolyn, if any little white coat people have any bright ideas, i've always got my flashlight and liquid sevin with me! And of course, then i'll take their picture.

Jeni, I've only had the book for about 2 months....I did just like you, and made it just fine. I like to save the threads from here to my hard drive, so I can read them later without having to get online. They're good for future reference, also.

Maureen, hey again! Are you tired from your trip? Heh! Wanna try out my hurdles? I'm trying to remember....something...about..a recipe..hmmmmm

EG

Hi Jeni, Laura and Carolyn - better watch out because the other 2 posters start to rub off on you! Haha!

OK funny man - I am tired, so forget the hurdles. The darn recipe. I just decided to look up the girl I worked with online(she has a very unusual name) and lo and behold her parents are still living at the same address. I might just pick up the phone..... Problem is, they only speak Italian!

Maureen

ROFL. Can you get a translator??? Its worth it, no?

ummmm hmmmmm that's the story i'd stick with!!! LOL
soooo jeni ya say ya don't have the book, or use mels mix?? (lots of whispering going on) and you do this off the top of your head, (lots more whispering) hmm..... well.....that's just great!! and your garden looks just great tooo!! what an accomplishment you have done!! (umm ya'll know i never say anything right, so just do the words for me,please!! LOL)

actually that's just great!! i've had the book for quite a while, but my idea of reading is the look thru and see what i like and then read it, then go back and see if i like something else and read that, and if i see something else read that then usually they'll say something about something else and i'll have to look it up and then i'll have to read the whole dang book!!! ahhhhh but i tell ya one thing, its very well read!! LOL i just have to do that on this one, LOL i did read some of it though. :')

Well you see, here is how my year started. I was bored one day with the then 1yo and 3yo. And went, yknow, maybe we'll go get some seeds and play in some dirt.

So off to Walmart we go. I get a flat long rubbermaid bin and some sugar snap peas and some cucs and ask the lady what I needed to grow them. She says here, some soil and some compost (cheap $1 compost there at Walmart).

So we come home and we start mixing up the dirt and planting some seeds. Like planting.....all of them. ROFL. I have the blackest thumb so I figured if I planted 50 I might get 2 to grow. And the kids were having fun.

So a week goes by, I move some dirt (a bit impatient) and holy crap, wouldn't you know it, EVERY seed is sprouting. EVERY LAST ONE.

So now I'm like "OMG! They are never all going to survive in that little container."

So while googling some landscaping stuff I come across this picture of raised beds and go "ooooooohhh now that looks pretty AND grows food!"

So I google more and find out that it was "SFG." So I read a lil bit. Go to Menards, grab some wood and some deck screws. And some soil and compost and came home and put it together.

Then I realize when I start squaring it off that I grabbed 10' boards in the lumbar shed thing rather than 8'. So now my already big garden is HUGE.

Then I decide that I wanted separate ones for peas adn tomatoes to trellis up.

And well yeah, here I am at 110 sq. ft. of bed space. ROFL.

So thats right, my stuff is growing great in a mix of Menards and Walmart cheap compost and all different soils I grabbed over a few days at the 2 stores until I had it filled up.

Welcome Laura!
The planning part is very fun, but I found that after a few weeks of planning I absolutely had to get started building beds even though it would be a month or two before I could plant in them. Then I decided to plant in them anyway, early LOL.
I have a few pics on my blog site (that I have not posted on in a few days and really need to - bad me!!). I work very visually and need to "SEE" things to make them work well.
You can check it out at the link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Crystabel's Garden Blog

Maureen, I understood the pickled tomato lady just fine....Funny man huh? Hee Hee

Crystabel - I checked out your blog, and everything looks great! The rain barrel looks so happy! Did you learn that from Bob Ross? lol
(Bob, at the end of each show) "from all of us,to you at home.... we'd like to wish you happy painting, and god bless- my friends"
hmmm....speaking of bob, I wish they would have like....auctioned off his afro, after they buried him. It would have made some darn good mulch. Ok! Who threw that? Ok....stop hitting me people! I'm sorry... Hee Hee

Medo - uh.....ok..

Maureen - when you get through with the translator, could you send them to me? I need them to translate what Medo just said....Hee Hee

So EG what yer saying is that ya can't understand me?? hmmm....ya, me either!! LOL half the dang time my right side of the brain and the left side of the brain just fight to much so ya know, LOL
i went out to the garden and got some HUGE tomatoe's!!! from a tomato/potato, i seen it on the seed exchange, someone was offering them, i was game. LOL so when the tomato's are done, i'll pull up the plant and see if there are any potatoes down there. LOL i doubt it though. but i love how big them maters are!! LOL ~Medo

Medo- oh, ok. I have the same problem....kinda...The voices inside my head are constantly tormenting me....They're always saying "pick me, pick me!" Lol

What the????? spit it out...did you plant tomatoes, or potatoes? Both together? I've never heard of that.
I've been getting a good harvest, my self. I've been blanching squash like crazy, then freezing it.

dude, it's all one plant!! ya, i was like no way, are you serious!!?? ok, i'm game, so we'll see, so when the tomato's are done, i'll dig it up and see. supposedly she got them from her proffessor and he was working on this for a while and supposedly the thing produces both. but i had heard from one of my neighbors, the one who does the planting of potato's on top and the staw on top of them, well he was telling me about that, so i looked and finally came accross them. i was like "NO FRIGGEN WAY!!!" so of course i traded for them. i was a trading junky til i ran out of stamps, LOL i'd trade for anything, LOL Tee Hee Hee, *bigg grinn* and if it was wierd, i was ssssoooooo there!! and this was soooo down my alley, not to mention a friend was looking for it. LOL yep, so sometime i'll have to take a pic of these tomatoes, i've never seen anything like it. of course other people have, but not me, we've always gotten the smaller ones. LOL also my fav's are like different colored fruit and vege's!! so i had to trade for them!! LOL ~Medo

Just popping in to see how everything is going. It's confirmed - everyone is still crazy!

Translator....hee-hee!

Medo - that's very interesting. Looks to me, like it would take alot of plants to get many, though. You'll definitely have to post pictures of it.

Maureen - hey there! Thanks for checking in....i'd rather not have to hunt you down again. hee hee

EG

ya, ya know i will!! LOL i hope it does produce potatoe's, do ya think it would hurt to push some dirt aside and see if there's any potatoe's? ~Medo

Medo - have you seen the potato bins on the site? Very cool. I've never grown 'taters but my neighbor does and he has critter issues.

EG - I can run but I CANNOT hide. hahaha! Now I have to ask you to return the favor and follow me to my favorite forum....Going Green. Hmmm.....Soil & Compost too. Take your pick.

M.

Medo - I don't know anything about taters...sorry

Maureen - I visit the compost forum quite frequently, it's a pretty good forum. Are you driving? or me? Yee Haw!

LOL funny i never see you there!! i do however see maureen there. :') dang rednecks!!! LOL (as if we aint too!!! LOL) **HUGE GRINN** ~Medo

How about hurdling your way over? Hee-hee!

Compost is a wonderful thing! I got some from my neighbor to start off my new beds this year and wow! My tomato plants are 6-7 feet tall - not sure how tall but I have to look up to them. That inspired me to build my own bin in June and I've already side-dressed with some of my own compost. Amazing, amazing process. My trash has been cut in half, my garden is in heaven - what's not to love!

Grrrrr why arent MY tomato plants growing tall? I'm getting a few tomatoes and all, but they are still tiny. I have added some Miracle Grow and have added some new compost. Still not doing anything. I'm in WI so maybe its just early yet?

Now my celebrities are doing well. There's gotta be like 50 tomatoes on them. Those are about 4ft tall. But yeah, the resto f mine? Maybe 3ft tall.

Jeni - Mine are tall with lots of GREEN tomatoes. No ripe ones yet so you are ahead of me. Lucky duck.

Jeni3004, that is TOO cool! Thanks for sharing how you started in gardening. It's hilarious as that is almost exactly what happened to me!!! I did end up buying the book a couple days ago, though, as I feel if it helps me overcome even one costly mistake, then the book has paid for itself in one season, right? ;-)

~Angela

i added 1 T epsom salt to (Each of) mine the tops of the dirt and then watered them they did good. also we added 5 tums. they are doing just great. i am waiting on the bigger ones to redden!!! it takes TOOOOOOOO LONG!!!! ~Medo

Hey.....don't throw anything at me...but, my plants are between 7 and 8 feet tall, and i've been eating tomato samiches for 2 weeks. Hee Hee. But....GOD IT'S HOT!!!!! You can't even walk to the mailbox without sweating your butt off! I'm used to it, though.....

Medo, us "certified" rednecks know alot about dirt and stuff. I got me a big ol' barrel full of compost! Woo doggie!

EG

I went outta town for a few days and came back to all this funny banter. :) I go in fits and starts on pretty much everything, including gardening, and checking forum threads...

Y'all are all crazy...I feel right at home!

Laura - belly laugh! My Italian friend with the green tomato recipe (this post?) used to say "outta town". Welcome back to this crazy fun forum. Absolutely the best that I have come across here.

Jeni - curious as to where you are located? Weather has been so whacked out all over I was wondering where you are.

Maureen

EG, Imma come and throw YOUR tomatoes at you! I just don't get it, my celebrity's (a bush variety?) and my actually "Bush Tomatoes" are all producing a crap load of tomatoes. But my other plants (sweet cluster, better boy, etc.) aren't growing for crap. Each has a few green tomatoes (anywhere from 2-12) and ONE plant (the sweet cluster) has an almost red tomato on it. My sweet baby girls are doing well though and I've been eating those sweet lil things for a few weeks now.

Maureen: I'm near Fond du Lac, WI so Imma 5a kind of girl ;)

jen, are ya feeding them? watering them enough? i'm 5a to. so you should be eating them too. i'm fixing to go eat me a mater sandwhich now, with HOMEMADE bread. mmmmmm mmmmm yummy!!! LOL
ya, i was wondering what happened to you laura, i mean you posted, then all of a sudden, BOOM, or in this case POOF!!! your gone!! LOL nice to see more of us nuts here!! LOL ~Medo

Crazy Medo always adds some fun!

Laura - welcome back to the forum of craziness. Yep, we're still here!

Maureen - the pickled tomato lady WASN'T in this thread....but guess what? She is now! All you have to do, is click on the little link below - and you'll be magically transported to your "place of eternal happiness" hee hee

jeni - you better bring a ladder with ya.....the biggest tomatoes are about 6 foot off of the ground...heh Oh, and they're better boys!

Medo...lol BOOM! POOF! hee hee.....hows the boat project?

Here is a link that might be useful: maureen's

I have no idea what I'm doing. The plants are healthy looking. Just not really growing. What should I feed them? I did give them some miracle grow and I did give them some new compost. I have no idea what I'm doing!

i just give mine the epsom salt and the tums, that's it. 1 T per plant at the base, and 5 tums.

ahhhh not yet, i have to let this stuff grow first. but i think i'm gonna get it and use it for my fall crop, if not for my spring. LOL **big grinn** can't wait!! although my neighbor helped get me started on my green house!! YAY BABY!! and he's a stoner, i could smell it a mile a way. i was thinking please don't come home now sweetie@!! this will not go over good!! but the good news is, he won't be working for the cop thing anymore!! YAY!!! only the corrections!! so i'm really happy about that!
i think i'll find a cute little fisherman/animals (LOL) to put in the boat, LOL to fish off the side, and do like ya said and have some pole beans or peas growing up it!! LOL ~Medo

another newbie here....
You really use salt and Tums? I was told I may have a calcium deficiency in my soil and a coworker teased me and jokingly told me to give it tums (we work in healthcare). I seriously did not think you could use actual human supplements. guess it makes sense though... the veggies are for human consumption!

A.Ling

i guess so, it does seem to be working!! i do love how it perks them babies right up!! Oh by the way, i just read my last post, i am not a stoner, i was making a comet. geeze. like i always tell ya'll, my stuff never comes out right!! LOL i used to puff but never inhale!! (uhhhmmm....ya right **big ohnery grinn**) then i had to grow up and be a mommy.

i have some expired vitamins. and i was thinking about grinding them up and spraying them over all of my garden area. but i didn't know if it would be a bad idea, its childrens chewables. we stopped using them this past year, and you wouldn't believe it, they only ate the fruit and veges and ya know regular foods, and if they wouldn't eat it, i'd sneak it in, can you say food processor??? LOL "hey mom what is that flavor????" must be that new spice from nana's! LOL aren't i just bad!! LOL **big grinn** and absolutely NO colds, pnemonia, flu, or any of that stuff, so i'm inclined to believe that one doc who said less supplements and more natural and more healthy foods. hmmmm.....i did NOT just say that!!!! LOL ~Medo