Good evening everyone! I am in Arlington, TX, and putting in my garden now. I am using raised beds, the steel ones that are oval, but utilizing the SFG method. Last year I tried tomatoes, which did fine until something (hornworms?) ate them all over three nights I was at work. I am hoping I can avoid that this year, and I am looking for tips on how to prevent the sphinx moths from laying eggs. Any tips are welcome ..read more

Rhubarb Rhubarb , A few days ago I purchased a packet of rhubarb seeds , on seeing the state of the seeds I thought I'd be lucky if I got six out of the thirty seeds to germinate . I treated them like my first date at a Valentines dance . Now can anybody politely tell me what to do with 30 rhubarb plants ...without giving them away or composting the excess We only have a pocket handkerchief sized garden that has over 2/3 of it under SFG beds , a glasshouse , an office , garage ..read more

The 4th edition of the book is coming right along.  I am part of the review process and have learned so much about the process of putting together a "how to do it" book.  Errors from the 3rd Edition are being corrected, and new information included. I am asking all of you to think about what helpful hints or answers you would like included. For the first 3 Editions, 6" lumber was recommended for making the wood frames.  Well, in reality a 6" wide piece of lumber is only 5 1/2", not enough ..read more

Hi all, excited to join. Wish I’d found this group before I blended my mix! I just finished setting up two beds and used the following composts. I’m worried now that it may not be a good mix. I tried hard to get five different kinds but didn’t pay attention to additional peat in the composts I bought. I bought high quality composts from a local feed store with the exception of one mushroom compost from a local nursery. I’d love reassurance on my choices —  or suggestions ..read more

I know it's not Thursday, I meant to do this last week, and I know I'll get busy this week and forget again, but I thought it would be fun for those of us who are trying the Three Sisters Method (corn, beans and squash) to post pictures of the progress of our gardens. You don't have to post on Thursday, it's just a catchy name to help us (me mostly) remember the thread. And so someone who wants to try this next season can remember the name too. Some of my boxes have grids, some have big ..read more

I am new to gardening and live in a townhome in a master-planned community where we can rent garden plots for the growing season. My choices are limited and the spot I have is about 80 sq ft. without a raised bed frame. They bring in garden soil from a company that delivers it in a giant bag but I don't have any information about which exact product it is. I am waiting for more info on that. BUT my question is, is there a way to sort of modify SFG to fit a situation like this? What can I take ..read more

Can anyone identify what type of seed and/or seedling this is? This seed sprouted in some compost that was made mostly from juice bar pulp, so I assume it must be some type of fruit, maybe a tropical fruit of some kind. But, I am curious what it might be ..read more

I had some alpaca manure that I got Feb 2023.  I didn’t use it all, and after a couple of months, my husband shoveled what was left into a bucket and it sat, forgotten until now.  It was outside so it filled with rainwater.  When I saw it, I thought maybe it would make a good fertilizer.   I put some on my strawberries, but then got worried.  I know that alpaca manure generally does not carry E. coli, but is this safe to put on my garden since it’s been sitting, uncovered, in water ..read more

I started with a compost tumbler last November.  I've been adding stuff all winter, and it has yet to get warm.  Most of what I add is kitchen scraps: vegetables, egg shells, and coffee grounds.  I fill up about a gallon a week with these scraps, and dump them in the composter.  I have a pile of mulched leaves and grass from the mowing last summer that I keep next to the composter.  Every time I dump in the kitchen scraps I add a handful or two of the leaf/dead grass material.  I first filled ..read more

I am in my first year of SFGing.  I am in my first year of vegetable gardening altogether.....I planted two tomato plants last week in my box, that I bought at a local nursery.  They are both about 12" tall now, and both are starting to blossom.  I don't think they should be flowering already, should they? Two big confusions for me: 1. What do I do with the plant?  How do I "train" it onto a trellis?  There's talk in the book about weaving tomato plants onto a trellis, but I can't find information ..read more