My first vertical support system

Hi Everyone--

What a beautiful day in southern NH. Last year I grew my first SFG (first
garden of any sort, really) and I can't wait to get back into it.

I just finished putting together my first vertical support system for my 4x4
box. Since I am challenged regarding the use of tools I thought I would
need my husband;s help, but Mel's directions made it SO EASY I did it all by
myself!! Took less than 1/2 hour once I brought home the supplies and the
total cost = $20.27. The hardest part for me was actually tying the
knots. ha ha. I'm not very good at that either! Let's say a
prayer this holds up to our late summer storms!

One question for y'all... What do I have to do to get my box ready to
plant? I've turned over the mix and pulled out any junk left,but should I
be adding anything to the mix? (It's the batch I made last year -- stupid
question -- is it still good?)

I've also been working on my first batch of compost since last year. How
do I know when it's "ready?"


Thanks for your input and enjoy the rest of the weekend!


~Judy in Pelham

That is a dandy!!!!!

I can't help with the compost but your trellis looks great.

Judy,
Bravo on a job well done! It is a BEAUTIFUL trellis! I have the same set up except I weave my own web. It is very sturdy and will last for years. I take mine out of the garden for winter storage.

If your homemade compost is dark brown and most everything you put into it has broken down to smaller bits, if it smells like the Earth and not something foul, you can add some to your garden box and mix it in. I put about 1 wheelbarrow full of homemade compost into my 4x4, as the Mel's Mix had settled considerably.
If you still have room in the box may I suggest picking up a bag of the Quoddy compost and add the entire bag to you box, spread it out over the surface of your soil and then mix it in.
Hooray, it is almost time to plant again!!!

Thank you all for the nice comments, and special thanks to Camprn for the help. Yes I still have room in the box so I'll add a bag of compost as you suggest. My compost is almost there, I think. Since I add to the barrel regularly I guess I need some sort of sieve or something to sift out the usable stuff.

To Ward, sorry I was unable to join your chat last night -- got sucked into watching a disappointing ballgame. [url=http://squarefoot.creatingforum.com/javascript:emoticonp('')][/url] I saw your note on my earlier post re the vermiculite database. Will confirm that those two sources still have it before I post. Thanks for the info as I was not aware of that database.

Thanks again everyone. Off to the Red Sox game today. A win would be a nice way to end a beautiful weekend!

Later!

~Judy

JAB822 wrote:

Thanks again everyone. Off to the Red Sox game today. A win would be a nice way to end a beautiful weekend!

Later!

~Judy

I don't do baseball but I am so pleased my Bruins won yesterday!!!
Have fun at the game!

A walk-off win is the BEST kind of win! Carl Crawford is redeeming himself! Now about those Celtics...

JAB822 wrote:A walk-off win is the BEST kind of win! Carl Crawford is redeeming himself! Now about those Celtics...

You beat my Rams many years ago....Boooooooo! Anyway...

Your trellis looks stupendous. I would add some compost and mix it in. Then, slap that grid on and start-a-plantin'.

The trellis looks good. It should do its job.

If you were short on compost, you could always just add a scoop or trowelful or 2 to each hole as you are planting your seedlings.