Best Square Foot Garden Ever!

I have never planted a garden and had such success as I am having with my square foot garden this year.   I am convinced that the secret is the homemade soil, Mel’s Mix!   The soil is so wonderful.  It is like the perfect soil.   I keep meaning to test the soil to see if it has all the right nutrients, but so far everything is growing so well that I have not slowed down and conducted the test.   I just want to share some pictures I took this afternoon to show you what I am talking about.   

 

You are looking at lush brussel spouts and cabbages.

Cabbages, lettuce, spinach, pole beans, and red potatoes!

I harvested spinach today.   This was my spinach squares just before I picked them today.   This was my second harvest.

 

Two of my four spinach 12 inch squares just before harvesting!

My potatoes have reached the top of the box.   I may only have to add soil one more time or maybe not.   They look beautiful and healthy.  On one of my Internet browsing journeys I read where some people grew potatoes in a box or container and all they ever got was a beautiful plant above ground, but no potatoes below ground. I sure hope that doesn’t happen here.   Waiting for my potato harvest will be like waiting for Christmas morning when I was a little kid.

I will probably add more soil one more time.
The potatoes will have 18 inches of soil to spread their little feet!

 

  My brussel sprouts are finally starting to produce sprouts!  

It's a baby brussel sprout!

 

One whole 4x4 square has been dedicated to GS90 Sweet Corn!   Sweet little corn seedlings peeked their heads through the soil this week and they are shooting up quickly.    Once the corn gets a little bit taller I am going to build a horizontal trellis to use a support for the corn.

 

If you look really close you might be able to see my corn shoots
 planted four per square.

 

 

 

 

Growing Potatoes in a Square Foot Garden

 

 

One of my favorite homegrown vegetables is new red potatoes cooked with fresh snapped green beans.   For the past several years I have had to rely on my brother-in-law to supply the potatoes.   This year I am raising my own potatoes in my square foot garden.   Since my raised beds are only six inches deep, they are too shallow to grow potatoes.   My husband built three 12 x 12 inch boxes from some scrap wood we had left over from rebuilding our deck.  I am really proud of my potato boxes.   Good job honey!  You really are becoming a pretty good carpenter. 

 

We placed the boxes over the three squares in my SFG where I planted my potatoes.  They fit perfect.   As the potatoes grow taller above the soil, I have been adding more soil.   The potatoes have grown almost to the top of the potato box.   Hopefully, when it is time to harvest, the potato boxes will be full of new red potatoes.   

Potato Boxes

As the potatoes grow, I add more dirt (Mel's Mix).

 

Ridding my Vegetable Garden of Fire Ants

Battle of the Ants!

 

 

I have been at war.  The enemy…Fire Ants.  When I first discovered fire ants invading my garden, I realized I needed to take action immediately. !    If fire ants invade my lawn I know what works, but that solution would not work in my vegetable garden.  I needed to find something safe and nontoxic.   On one of my favorite gardening forums, Garden Web, I learned several interesting suggestions for ridding your vegetable garden of ants.    I cannot speak to the validity of any of these methods except the two I tried.  

Ways to Rid Your Vegetable Garden of Ants-

Orange Oil

Instant Grits

Dry or Gardening Molasses

Coffee Grounds

Cornmeal

Sugar

Diatomaceous Earth

Pots of boiling water

Ant Poison with the active ingredient Spinosad

Being a true Texan and a former 4-Her I knew the Texas A&M extension service must have some valuable information for battling the pesky little critters.  I have included the link to their fact sheet.  It was interesting to see which of the above suggestions from the garden forum were actually on their fact sheet.  I was surprised to actually find boiling water on the A&M Fact Sheet.     

https://insects.tamu.edu/fireant/materials/factsheets_pubs/pdf/fapfs004.2002rev.pdf

I treated the infested area twice with cornmeal and although it seemed to slow the ants for a day or so, they never vacated my garden.    I treated the ants this past weekend with poison containing the active ingredient Spinosad.  On Monday there were still a few ants crawling around, but not many.   If I see any more ants I may try the boiling water method next.  

 



Cornmeal treatment for fire ants slowed them down,
but did not eradicate the pesky fella's.