I feel like a troll

I've been reading the forums but never introduced myself (or posted for that matter). Oops.

Hey! I'm in Ohio and I'm new to being in charge of a garden. We always had a garden growing up (we had more garden than lawn!) and I was in charge of the rose row, the mailbox row (random flowers and bushes), and the bushes near the house. We all helped with the food garden. I have wanted a garden ever since I left home but haven't done it yet. Now I live in a house and I'm TOTALLY READY for a garden. It's April and I still don't have my beds made. But I made a list of supplies I need including the stuff for Mel's Mix. My seeds list is started but I have no specific garden plan yet. I feel a little overwhelmed but I'm so excited to be starting and be able to eat homegrown, fresh vegetables this year.

Welcome aboard, troll.......errr, slotti. (My sarcasm got the best of me there.)

It's good to have you posting. I'm sure you know your way around. And, I'm sure you realize how friendly everyone is. Feel free to add questions or contributions as you see fit.

I can remember when I made the plunge and built my first garden. I was so excited! Like you, I had waited YEARS to jump into the waters. I never looked back, and I'm sure you won't either.

Welcome Slotti!! I am not in your area or anywhere close to it. I am over the border to the north and west of you in British Columbia, Canada. But I wanted to welcome you to the forum. This is a great place to hang out as you have discovered. Thank you for introducing yourself to us. We LOVE getting to know our new members.

It is wonderful to live in a place where you can have a garden....even a small one. If you are feeling overwhelmed, may I suggest that you start small this year. Maybe only one box and a couple of container pots. Maybe you are not at all like me. I start off with lots of enthusiasm and energy and grand ideas and it is not too long before I find I have plans and ideas that I don't have the time or the energy to carry out. Then I get discouraged and end up feeling like a failure for wasting money and product and so on.

But I would suggest that for this year you keep it small to see how you like gardening this way. I have a sneaking suspicion you will be totally hooked on it but there is always next year too. I would encourage you to follow the book closely. Use genuine Mel's mix for your boxes so that you don't have to worry about weeds and so on. Sometimes just rounding up all the ingredients for the mix can be a bit of a chore and depending on what is available in your area can be pricey too. But it is only the first year that you will have that expense. And it is worth it.

Make a list of the veggies you like best and plant some of those. When we are converting from row gardening to sFG it can be tempting to still plant the same way but it is not necessary. Follow the planting charts in the book and you won't go wrong.

Feel free to ask any questions and join in the conversations. The more the merrier. And if you can post pictures, that would be wonderful.

Thanks for introducing yourself.

Gwynn

Welcome Slotti!

From your neighbor to the South!

Thank you for the welcomes!

I think the overwhelming feeling is more from... oh, how to explain. I've never really thought about it. I'm super gung-ho about the garden. I am VERY motivated to start with more than one 4x4 but I am limiting myself at three boxes and I have a suspicion that I will want to increase next year. I have Mel's book in hand (and I've read it about three times in the past six months). I am so following him to the T. I guess it is the plant placement that stresses me. And my mind hasn't quite wrapped itself around crop rotation. But hey, that's what I'm on the forums for. For HELP! Tomorrow (hopefully) I am sitting down with my list of vegetables that I want and try to figure out good placement for them.

Good luck. I am in the same spot as you. I have an overwhelming desire to plant stuff! I'm starting with 3 beds and a bunch of pots, I have MM out the wazoo, I just need to figure out the seasonal crop stuff and grid location!

Welcome. Old Hippie is just full of it...full of the right advice, I mean!

For me, the last line of your post is the most important.

...I'm so excited to be starting and be able to eat homegrown, fresh vegetables this year.

That's why I grow veggies. That's why I'm hooked on SFG. It's simple and fool proof.

Happy gardening the SFG way!

Welcome! I am new here, too, and can relate to Old Hippie about starting with grand plans and not having the time or energy to follow through! SO... I started with ONE... just ONE... 4x4. I don't get crop rotation or succession planting yet either, but am counting on having time to read about it before actually needing to do it, lol... I still have a couple squares to fill... but I've got a start. Anxiously excited!!

kerriejo1961 wrote:Welcome! I am new here, too, and can relate to Old Hippie about starting with grand plans and not having the time or energy to follow through! SO... I started with ONE... just ONE... 4x4. I don't get crop rotation or succession planting yet either, but am counting on having time to read about it before actually needing to do it, lol... I still have a couple squares to fill... but I've got a start. Anxiously excited!!

Well, welcome aboard to you, too, if I haven't said so yet.

Succession requires some experience imo. But, it can be done with some note tracking until you get into a rhythm. You'll look back in a couple of seasons and think it's no big deal. But, until then, it requires a little concentration......every two weeks....lol.

If it makes you feel any better, your not a troll, you were a lurker ...

A lurker is a person who reads discussions but rarely or never participates actively.


A troll is someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum

So welcome to the forums; we're glad you were never a troll and glad you are no longer a lurker ..LOL

Oh, yes, I quite like that distinction. Plus, lurkers are just dirty and need a shower. Trolls start o ugly so there's no hope for them anyway.

Thanks for the welcome, BBG!!

Nice definition of lurker and troll! I hadn't even heard of a troll... don't wanna be one!!

Kerriejo, off subject question: Are there still huge rose gardens in Tyler? I've not been there for over 30 years.

Yes, Acara, thanks for the distinction - and Welcome Slotti-never-a-troll-no-longer-a-lurker!

Nonna.PapaVino wrote:Kerriejo, off subject question: Are there still huge rose gardens in Tyler? I've not been there for over 30 years.

Yes, there are!!! It's beautiful here in the spring!! Here are a couple links:

Tyler Municipal Rose Garden Center

Tyler Azalea Trail