Reply #10: Ohhhhh...wonderful! And it looks very thought out. I like the use of the structure

[Dover]

as a framework for shade cloth and other things. Don't know where you are located, but the shade cloth will likely come in very handy as things heat up heading into June/July. A minimal shade cloth can really help lower the temps in the garden.

I don't have my garden inside a 'cage', but did create a kind of box frame around each 4'x8' bed so that I can attach various things to it like shade cloth along the top, bird netting, plant supports, etc. I prefer the lightweight bird netting to chicken wire or other structures because it's easy to remove and at least so far keeps out all but the butterflies and insects. Some row cover cloth is also very handy for various uses and can double as shade cloth, though high winds can cause it to tear sometimes.

So far the soil mix recommended for SFG is working great and I don't think I will even need to add mulch because it retains moisture very nicely. However I am adding worm castings and particularly when I transplant some new addition which they seem to really love.

What kind of tomatoes are you growing?

I'm amazed how rewarding it is to have just a little piece of earth cultivated. I love gardening, whether for veggies or flowers. And posts like yours and bvars and others are such an inspiration!