Square Foot Gardening

msarro

Hey everyone!
This past weekend we went to a health fair held by the local hospital as a fundraiser. They had a book tent where you paid 2$, and they gave you a reusable bag that you could fill with books. Luckily my town is the home of Rodale Press (runner's world, organic gardening magazine - lots of health stuff) so there were a bunch of Rodale's books. We also picked up a copy of Square Foot Gardening from the mid 80's. I've been trying to get into growing my own food more and more because I seriously am starting to take issue with the amount of crap that gets sprayed and used in our foods before it gets to us. I trust myself not to put anything I don't like in my food.

Since I'm still fairly new to gardening, I thought that even if its not the best system, its a good place to start.

So, have any of you played with the square-foot-gardening book? Have you had success or not?

u2fergus

bump (I'd like to know what you find out!)

Kimbie500

Bump for later

Madgiebee

Hey.

Used this technique in my container garden this summer and it worked out really well. My mom has used it for a couple of years in her raised beds as well. I think it's a really good method. If you don't already have a compost system you might want to consider starting one now since it's getting near the end of the season or investing in a worm system (like http://naturesfootprintinc.com/worm-factory-360). With square foot gardening we have noticed we use a bit more compost than usual - i guess this depends on your soil though. if you prep your beds now you'll be ready to go come March/April when it's time for planting!!

Good luck, friend.

CakeFit21

It's so easy and economical. I highly recommend it. I had tons of success with the method. Much higher yield than the traditional way and easier to navigate.

msarro

Hey.

Used this technique in my container garden this summer and it worked out really well. My mom has used it for a couple of years in her raised beds as well. I think it's a really good method. If you don't already have a compost system you might want to consider starting one now since it's getting near the end of the season or investing in a worm system (like http://naturesfootprintinc.com/worm-factory-360). With square foot gardening we have noticed we use a bit more compost than usual - i guess this depends on your soil though. if you prep your beds now you'll be ready to go come March/April when it's time for planting!!

Good luck, friend.

Hmm, good to know. We're actually still house shopping, so it wouldn't be for at least another 2-3 months before we'd be able to start. The first year we'd probably be using the municipal compost heap to start until we can get our compost heap going. Appreciate the feedback!!

Kimdbro

My husband's parents have been doing this for years, but they built quite high boxes so you don't have to bend down low to pull/weed. They have the best veggie's I've ever seen. Because their boxes are much deeper than than the average "square foot garden" box they can accommodate the larger root systems of potatoes. However, plants such as cucumbers and squash can be trained to grow up obelisks or lattices. My Husband's Parents have a lot of little "tee-pee" structures for their veggies to grow up. My husband is building me boxes for this spring so we can start our own in our back yard, we have some space, not as much as his parents so we won't have as many boxes, but probably about 4 boxes each 4ft X 4ft. . In apartments with balconies or smaller back yards there's obvious space restrictions. I used to use large planters on my apartment balconey. I had a wood box about 3ft long 6 inches wide and 4" deep, designed for flowers. In it I planted peas which grew up the lattice I had behind, on the other half I grew herbs (Dill and Basil and Cilantro) and onions. Then I had a variety of sizes of larger planters and I had tomatoes and Carrots. It worked very well. It didn't produce tons, but I lived on my own so there was always enough for whatever I was making for supper for myself. Good luck. If you scour the internet you should find a lot of further information to meet your growing needs.

Kimbie500

I love my square foot garden. It sounds like you bought the original book. I would suggest you go buy the "All New Square Foot Garden" book - or at the very least check it out of the library. I like the planting charts in the back of the original book better but use the "raised bed, make your own soil, go vertical" method from the new book. I also think the original book does a little better job describing the organization of your squares. Read the original book first then read the new one. The square foot concept is much easier to keep up with than the huge traditional garden I grew up with. I couldn't have a traditional garden on my suburban lot - not enough sunny areas - but the intensive agriculture of SFG lets me grow some tomatoes, strawberries, peas, carrots, radishes, and onions in one 4' x 4' box (all that I've had time for this year, although I've got an absolutely massive volunteer cantelope taking over the whole thing!). You really need to plan and organize what you want to plant - even if you have space for several 4' x 4' boxes, still take the time to plan because you can do successive plantings, for example spring onions followed by fall kale. I would also suggest that you start much smaller than you think you want to. If you think you want 5 four foot square boxes, start with two and get the hang of it for a season before you build more. SFG has a pretty decent website with tips and pointers - should be easy to google. Best of luck!!

bcattoes

Yes!! I don't have a lot of property so I've used this for years. It is absolutely a great way to maximize gardening space.

sunkisses

Is square foot gardening like container gardening? If yes, then I've had much success.

ryokostarwind

Sounds interesting you'll have to keep us posted. However, I have done all types of gardening since I was a kid and any place to start is a good one. My advice is you need, good position for a great source of sun-light, good soil, and of course plenty of chicken wire and sevin dust to protect your plants. Give them lots of water, sun, love, and protection from the bugs and animals and you will be successful!! Happy growing!!!

bcattoes

Is square foot gardening like container gardening? If yes, then I've had much success.

It's not the same exactly, though much of the same principles apply. It's basically planting plants closer together than normally recommended and training some thing to grow up instead of out. Many of the plants will produce less fruit than if given more space, but since you can plant more plants you end up with more produce from a small area. It's great for raised or small gardens.