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Re: starting out in the garden

Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

Jannette:

Thank you for your information.  All of it made allot of sense.

I have never grown vegetables before, so it is a bit overwhelming when you
read a book and soooo much information is thrown at you all at once.

Everyone has had great ideas and advice.  What I have gotten so far.....it
is my garden, so what if there are mistakes and things don't work
out...there is always next year..and maybe I might learn something along the
way.

Peg
-----Original Message-----
From: Davis, Jeannette <JDavis@Actium.com>
To: 'Square Foot Gardening List ' <sqft@listbot.com>
Date: Friday, August 27, 1999 5:38 AM
Subject: RE: starting out in the garden


>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>Hi there.  I agree with Patricia in that you shouldn't try to plan
>everything your first year.  This year was my first year at truly
attempting
>a planned garden.  We just moved into a new place, so the first thing I did
>was choose the garden site and fence it in.  The area is about 12 by 24
>feet.  I decided to do 3 foot wide beds, 3 foot wide around the inside
>perimeter of the fencing, and another 3 foot wide bed in the middle of the
>area.  Frankly, because of a lack of money at that point (the fence cost
>more than I thought, not to mention the cost of soil amendments and
>mulch...), we only marked off the areas of the beds with string.  That
>turned out to be a really good thing.  I learned quickly that reaching in 3
>feet for the outside beds was a little too far for me, so this fall, we're
>going to make the outside beds 2 foot wide, and the inside bed 4 foot wide.
>
>As far as what to plant, I started with the basics, mainly what I like to
>eat a lot.  So I decided on how many plants I needed, and the spacing of
>those plants.  I got some graph paper and marked off the areas where I was
>going to plant.  What I found was that I had a lot of squares left in the
>garden!  Similar to what Patricia did with her extra space, I grew some
>sprawling plants, watermelons and canteloupes, mainly to give the garden a
>"full" look.
>
>I did not worry about succession planting initially.  Rather, I decided to
>only focus on the original crops.  Then, once a crop was close to being
>"done", I thought about what to plant there next.  This kept me from being
>overwhelmed in the beginning.  It also helped me to "see" how succession
>planting works.  For example, when the first crop of beans were done, I
>looked around to see what made sense to plant next.  In that case, I
noticed
>that my last batch of lettuce was starting to get to a good size, so I
>planted some more lettuce in the squares where the beans had been.  It
>really helps the learning process to "see" things, versus trying to plan
>everything on paper.
>
>I think gardening as a whole is trial and error.  I learned a lot this year
>just by watching what was happening with the plants.  For next year, I can
>plan more than I did this year since I know what works and what doesn't
work
>to some extent, but I still plan on experimenting with just about
>everything.  For me, that's the fun part of gardening, and what makes it
>truly enjoyable.
>
>Jeannette
>SW PA Zone 6
>
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Patricia J. Santhuff
>To: Square Foot Gardening List
>Sent: 8/26/99 10:26 PM
>Subject: Re: starting out in the garden
>
>Square Foot Gardening List - http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html
>
>>On 26 Aug 99, Kevin Henson wrote:
>>
>>> I am reading the original book, and am feeling somewhat overwhelmed.
>>> Any suggestions on how to plan a garden and keep the rotation up?  I
>>> am guessing it must be trial and error, and it would be a good idea
>to
>>> keep a journal.
>
>Aw, Kevin, just wade right in. ;-)
>
>Personally, I find I can make myself just CRAZY (and get nothing DONE in
>the
>process) by thinking too hard about what to do and how to do it. You
>know:
>follow the rules, don't make mistakes, plan for this that and the other.
>
>
>LOL. Just do it. I literally wasted opportunities to be
>learning-by-doing
>this year (my first at gardening at all, let alone square foot) by doing
>just that -- trying to figure out WHAT to do and how.
>
>As for crop rotation, I thought Mel had some info in there about that?
>(Might be wrong about that -- I've read so MANY gardening books this
>year
>trying to become an experienced gardener overnight.) If not, perhaps
>some
>good folks will share their plans and experiences on the subject?
>
>I was a little surprised that you're feeling overwhelmed. I found Mel's
>book
>exactly the opposite. I had been feeling totally overwhelmed by
>*learning
>gardening* this year UNTIL I found Mel's book. He made it seem
>manageable to
>me. Maybe when you get a little further along . . . ? But then, he had
>MY
>attention (and excitement) from the get go when he explained why
>gardening
>has always been done in rows before, and why that's not necessarily the
>best
>way. Hey, I'm for *easier*as it applies to almost anything.
>
>How 'bout starting a Fall Garden (or are you already planning to do
>that)?
>
>And I'd vote for raised beds, myself, which I love. For one thing, we
>grew
>some corn and melons in an area that we hadn't prepared the square foot
>way
>(just needed to get something PLANTED and quick! before time completely
>ran
>out on us this spring), and I could see how easy it is to walk all over
>it
>all unless the areas are thoroughly marked off.
>
>Plus all the other advantages I read about -- including not disturbing
>the
>soil (except the first time if you do it Mel's way, which I'm rethinking
>slightly these days). On the Organic Gardening List there's been a HUGE
>discussion about not disturbing the soil (and the mycorrhizae fungi
>which
>are incredibly important) by tilling and so forth.
>
>And yes, I think a journal is a good idea (if you're the type --
>otherwise
>maybe just a calendar with annotations, like my dad used to do). I'm
>keeping
>a journal -- and I've learned recently it's not *extensive* enough. For
>instance, I prepared two beds one way (soil amendments), and two beds
>another way and I don't think I kept track of the details. Phooey. Oh
>well,
>live and learn -- and for me, that's never been truer than with
>gardening. :-(
>
>This is a great list, though, and some very nice and knowledgeable folk
>will
>hold your hand (if you want that), answer your questions, provide a
>little
>morale support. Can't beat that. (Now if they'd just come do a little
>weeding -- scratch that. What I really need is some shovel work. <g>)
>
>Patricia
>Zone 7b, West Georgia
>
>
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