Good afternoon all. I am new to this thread. Tomorrow my lovely and I will be starting a Square Foot Garden. Can anyone provide some advice for the new gardener?
I am in San Antonio so what is good to plant? When to plant? So many questions, so little time...
I'm in Massachusetts, with around two feet of snow still on the ground, but we have gardening aficionados here who live all over the country.
I’m new here, too. I’m in the Northern part of Houston. I have two garden spots ready to go. One is around 1200 sq ft and the other is big enough for 12 tomato plants. I’ve got 24 tomato plants that are about to be moved from the garage to the garden. I just made tomato soup with my last package of frozen tomatoes from last year.
In a few days we’ll be setting out some, pepper, squash and cucumber plants. And we’ll be planting some green beans, raddishes and green onions and some cucumber seeds so I can harvest a few weeks longer. I can’t wait to get started! Tomorrow will be the day if it doesn’t rain.
The only advice I can give you is you’ll need to pick your tomatoes when they’re starting to turn pink and let them ripen inside. Otherwise the squirrels and birds will get them. I put up a temporary fence then cover the plants with bird netting. I want them to ripen on the vine.
We get an early start here but our gardens burn up fast, too.
Good luck!
Welcome. I’m a bit north of you and just came in from putting out tomato and a few pepper transplants I started from seeds. It’s kinda too late to start yours from seeds so get some transplants this year and save seeds for next year. Now is the time to start getting things in the ground. I’ll try to FR-mail you a Zone 8/8b growing guide since it’s really too long for a thread. Check your local agriculture extension office website or stop by their office and they’ll give you lots of free info.
Welcome to the thread. I have added you to the ping list per your request.
Try the website:
www.squarefootgardening.org
Sq. Foot gardening is what got me started a little over 3 years ago. I started with one 3’x8’ bed next to the patio. Hubby laughed the whole time he built it for me.
It was a great success, so hubby offered to build more and encouraged me to expand. Which I did.
I used Mel’s mix. Vermiculite is expensive, but superior to Perilite. You must have compost to use to replenish the mix. I plant crop covers in the fall to plow under in Spring, and add compost from my pile, and manure from various sources.
My suggestion is that you try one with Mel’s mix, and one with top soil to see which you think does best.
Several of us are using the sq. foot methods or raised beds, so just chime in as you go. I found the sq. foot divisions helpful at first. Now, all those divisions just get in my way.
I just mark the wood around the beds in 12” lenths and visualize the sq. foot. It’s close enough for my purposes.
The Texas Gardener Magazine is a good source of veggies, flowers and trees.
Our county provides a nice list of what to do each month. I didn’t see anything on your county site, but I did find this page which might interest you. Be sure to click on the Horticulture tab, as there is a phone number and email address for questions.
http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/backyardbasics/
You can grow just about anything if your soil is properly amended. The caliche soil in the San Antonio are has a high pH. I use a lot of horse manure on my property. Millbergers and Rainbow Gardens have a lot of quality plants.