Square Foot Gardening

I WANTED to share this simple and affordable way to start growing food for you and your family. It is called ‘Square Foot Gardening’. So what exactly is it? The term was coined by author and gardener Mel Bartholomew in his book ‘Square Foot Gardening’.

Square foot gardening is the practice of dividing the growing area into small square sections (typically 12″ on a side, hence the name). The aim is to assist the planning and creating of small but intensively planted vegetable garden. It results in a simple and orderly gardening system, from which it draws much of its appeal.

With this method you eliminate the need for rows and columns, which ends up giving you a lot more room to grow in, and ensures your soil doesn’t get trampled on. With this method, fertilizer is not needed, thanks to a specially formulated “Mel’s Mix” which is comprised of equal parts compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. All three of those things can be found at your local home improvement store or nursery. Your garden beds will be almost completely weed free, thanks to the weed cloth at the bottom of your garden bed. You can also make your garden beds portable if you are going to be moving around a lot. To make this method even cheaper, go to a construction site, and speak with the foreman about taking some of the scrap lumber off his hands, and re-purposing it for your garden beds. Just make sure that the wood hasn’t been treated, because you don’t want chemicals leaching into your food.

The chart below shows the number of plants that will fit in your square.

Another great thing to know when planning your garden, is what plants grow best together. Not every plant does well in the company of another, and it’s important that we place them in a way that is appropriate for each plant’s needs.

Here is a great how to video on how to get your square foot garden started. Happy growing!

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Source: Renegade Tribune