The garden is growing really well. I could see the plants needed support so I order some of the nylon grid Mel offers on his website.

I'm seeing evidence of some sort of pest. I think I finally found them.

Vertical

This growing vertical thing is new to me. I thought I'd just use what I had around the house to see if it would work before I went forward with investing in a vertical structure. Here, I've just used some bamboo and plant wrap.

Dividers

According to Mel, a Square Foot Garden is merely a raised bed unless it has clear dividers. I purchased these vinyl dividers from his website.

Wow! There are a ton of material options for square foot boxes and raised beds.

We finally settled on Orcaboard

We had several needs that directed us to this product. Termites are an issue here, so having wood on the ground isn't the best choice.

We wanted something that would last a long while. I saw them as an investment. 

 

I also wanted something earth friendly and liked that they were recycled milk jugs.

We got the weed barrier and plastic underneath them, and filled them with Mel's Mix of 1 part Compost, 1 part vermiculite, 1 part peat moss.

Square Foot Gardening ?

Moving to the low desert I have had to toss out most of what I knew about gardening.

This is a whole new experience.

Mush (My Uber Sweet Hubby) taught me all about this new thing called caliche. We have spots of caliche where even Bermuda Grass won't even grow!

How to grow vegetables and flowers when an invasive species of grass won't even dare?

Oh, how I love the library! For many reasons, but this particular trip I found a few indispensable books.

Desert Landscaping for Beginners by Arizona Master Gardeners
and
Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.


Though very different from the way i've gardened before it seemed the best option. Square Foot Gardening teaches us we don't need to use our soil, (quite a relief) and that our yield  will actually be higher with less work. (we will see). It sounds a bit like an infomercial, but hey, it's worth a try.

Backward Beginning

We started our garden a bit backward I suppose.

My Uber Sweet Hubby (Mush) was asked by his employer what kind of Christmas gift he would like. Imagine their surprise when he requested a composter instead of the more popular option of a gaming console. And oh, the interest and surprise such a large box garnered at the annual Christmas party.

That is how we came to be the pleased owners of the Cadillac of composters, the  Mantis ComposT-Twin Compost Tumbler. And what a composter it is! A far cry from the composting days of my youth, watching my Gramps with his pitchfork and piles. So, easy to load, turn and harvest such delicious compost! We add to one side, while the other side cooks.

Most of what I learned about compost came from watching Gramps and what he did. He taught me equal parts of green and brown, or wet and dry. I've turned to this great resource on compost now that he isn't around when I have questions. 

So, yes, we had a composter before we had a garden. Considering compost is a vital component in the Square Foot Gardening method we had chosen I suppose, though backward, it made sense.

More on that later though.

Laters!