square foot gardening

[Evelyn]

I was reading about square foot gardening recently i.e. square foot raised beds. Has anyone done this?

Evelyn

[RoseMary]

We are going to try it for the first time this year. We've been interested in it for several years. I bought Mel Bartholomew's book, Square Foot Gardening last fall.

We are going to put our square foot boxes together in the next few weeks (we're starting with three 4x4 boxes). We also are trying to get some more compost going, so we won't have to buy all of it that we are going to use.

If anyone on here is already gardening this way, I'd love to hear any advice:)

[Evelyn]

Yes! That was the book that I saw. I was intrigued for several reasons but a couple are that 1) it is interesting to know that a small piece of earth can produce more food than you think and 2) Keeping the garden beds weed free is a big issue. To me a defined space is easier to maintain.

I will look forward to hearing how the project works for you.

Evelyn

[CohenCottage]

We are reading the book right now too, and it's fantastic. I noticed that his most recent updates are listed on his website (www.squarefootgardening.com), and now he doesn't recommend using your own soil at all...he says you should do the raised beds with his soil mix.

Has anybody started yet?

[ChapterTwo]

Evelyn and Rosemary...you've gotten me interested in this square foot gardening! I'd never heard of it, but went to Mel's website - what a great concept!

I'm dreaming of digging in the dirt...um, 'scuse me - "SOIL". :o

[CohenCottage]

We are going to go ahead and get our beds constructed now, and then I'm going to start looking at seeds. Any good ideas for places to get organic, heirloom seeds? I'd like to plant enough stuff to freeze and can this year since food is so $$$ and I like to cook.

[Lisa S]

Yes! I've purchased from this company before...

http://www.heirloomseeds.com

They offer a book called "Saving Seeds", which I recommend. If you believe that we're headed for a global food shortage, this is the perfect way to provide for your family.

Did I mention that I got a double burner propane cooker for Christmas? It's perfect for setting up in the garden and canning. What a glorious way to enjoy a fall afternoon!

[RoseMary]

Lisa, what a great gift! I need to do something like that to save my house from all that heat in the summer.

Here is another link for heirloom seeds: www.rareseeds.com I'd love to visit their place~I'm hoping we might get up there sometime next spring.

[Evelyn]

Canning in the garden sounds wonderful!!! Great idea lisa.

I canned for the first time this summer. I was amazed at how simple it is and how rewarding.......and beautiful. I love looking at all my jars full of good things to eat.

Evelyn

[rubyslippers]

I planted tomatoes and peppers in a 3 x 3 self-watering planter from Gardener's Supply a couple of summers ago. This book, along with other conversations with the gals around Cottage Living, led to a rather elaborate container garden experience a couple of summers ago. (Bare root raspberries, climbing roses, veggies, bulbs ... I got a little container-happy.) Anyway, we are pretty much settled in our new cottage ... pictures to come ... but, it has been freezing here. I have A LOT of yard work ahead of me; however, I'm ecstatic. It will just have to hold off a little while. Keep posting as the spring comes about this adventure. I really like this method of veggie gardening. It really helps you control your soil. The first year is a pretty big investment ... I won't kid you. However, if you keep your containers in good condition and/or grid off your actual garden ... you will be able to rejuvenate the soil in a more affordable fashion in years to come.

[RoseMary]

Have you made your beds yet, Cohen? We have had trouble finding the Vermiculite in our area, so we ordered 3 bags and will pick it up today.

We haven't constructed our beds yet, but do have the boards. We're still working on our compost and hope to be able to do enough for 3 4x4 beds ourselves.

[CohenCottage]

No, we haven't done anything yet, but it's great to hear you are well on your way! I'm having trouble getting all my projects done b/c I have 2 jobs, so there just aren't enough hours in the day or enough weekends.

[Lisa S]

And you're building muscles!

[RoseMary]

Have any of you got your square foot gardens planted? We have one bed ready that I planted some onion sets in today. We also have a 2x4 foot bed that I put some strawberries in. It has just been too cool and wet to do much else.

Also, did any of you change up the 'mix' of the 'dirt'? We used Mel's recipe for our beds, but I've read on other forums that people are making up their own.

[cheapdiva]

I had raised beds (about 3' high) at the old house in my herb garden. Loved them and miss it!
The church across the street has community garden plots and last year I took one. My plot is good size, about 8 x 20 but it need a lot of work because of neglect. I divided the plot in two and created a path between the two with little pebbles. The soiled got tilled and good stuff was added. Then I covered both areas with that weed blocker stuff and covered the areas with about 3" of mulch. There were already raspberries growing in it and I planted some tomatoes but that was about it.

I want to use one side for veggies and the other for growing cut flowers. What I really think would be wonderful is if every plot had a specialty thing grown in it - lettuce varieties in one, tomatoes in another, squash varieties in another - and you could just go pick what you wanted. A true community garden. So many of us grow the same things - and people don't understand you don't need 6 tomato plants for two people!!!

When I get things in the ground this year and they start poking up, i'll get some photos.

[Lisa S]

All I can do in my garden at this point, is gaze at the weeds through the rain. I can't believe the crop of weeds that came up over the winter! It was a beautifully tended garden until late last fall.

I plan to throw cow poop into the soil this year. My veggies were just so-so last year, so it must be time to amend the soil.

We lost two trees on the other side of our yard. I mourned those trees ~ I'm telling you. But now it's a new season and visions of extending my garden are running through my head. I think this might be a great spot for a super huge pumpkin garden.

I don't have very many sunny areas in our garden, so I plan to incorporate more herbs into the flower beds. I like how they drape over the edges of things and smell pretty when you brush against them.

Speaking of herbs ~ spring must really be at our doorstep. I have a pot of mint that coming back. It's so pretty!

[CohenCottage]

My inlaws visited this past weekend, and we constructed two 4x4 square foot gardens. They aren't planted yet, but the soil is in. I've got photos that I need to download and post, so I'll try to do that this week. We are hoping to get veggies in this weekend!

[chyna]

CheapDiva

That does seem like a waste that everyone is planting the same thing and not just pulling together to share. Can you maybe talk to a few of the other "landowners" and maybe work out among yourselves to do so and see if the idea takes off?

There used to be a community/block veggie garden across the alley from me but when the husband died that owned the property the wife pretty much ran everyone off. Now it just sits there empty because she doesn't garden. Her family comes over once a year and tills it and there it sits. Sad really. Not sure I would have participated in the first place because one of the people who would use it are huge pesticide/herbicide users but still. :(

[CohenCottage]

Here are some photos of our two 4x4 square foot gardens. We are finishing/planting them on Sunday, so I'll have prettier ones soon!

[Nikki]

Cohen, your beds look great! I'm a bit late to chime in here, but I tried square foot gardening for the first time last year. (Even though the technique is similar to "intensive" gardening that I have been doing for a few years, without the fancy soil mix).

I really liked the special soil mix.....the soil was light & airy and wonderful to work with. It didn't need to be watered as often since the vermiculite helped hold water in the soil. It was, however, quite an investment, since the supplies were not exactly cheap.

We made the mistake of adding a plywood bottom to the boxes, aas suggested in the book, since the only strip of extra yard I have left is next to our garage and filled with several layers of gravel. Also, I figured it would make it easier to move the boxes if needed. Lettuce & herbs grew fantastically in the box, but larger plants like tomatoes & corn really needed more depth IMO. Also, it was frustrating that I couldn't add any stakes to the inside of the box, since the soil wasn't deep enough to hold them up.

[oxide]

I don't like the "new" square foot gardening book. It's too glossy. When I'm in a position to garden, I'll use Mel's revised book from the 1980's or so. I can't wait to make my own compost from leaves and coffee grinds. And try my hand at combining cool and warm weather crops.

Mother Earth News developed a type of gardening where you grow plants directly in bags of potting soil. Just lay the bag flat, slash open the front and poke holes in the back for drainage.

[CohenCottage]

We didn't find the materials to be too $$...I wonder if the price varies on your region? We used 1.5 big bags of vermiculite (15 each), 1 bale of peat (12 bucks), and 4 bags of compost (5 bucks each). And that filled up both of our beds.

[RoseMary]

Cohen, I just now saw your pictures~your beds look great!

I think the best thing about Mel's Mix is that after the first year, you just add compost. Like Cohen, we didn't find it too pricey. True, it is more than it would be to just put seeds in the ground, but then you'd have to have a tractor or tiller, which isn't cheap at all.

I'll try to get some pics of mine on sometime this week. It's finally quit raining (I think:p) and I can get some more plants in. My green onions are coming up and my strawberries are looking good. I'm very excited about this square foot gardening adventure:).

I've heard a lot of people say that Mel's new book isn't as good as the old one. I've never seen it, since I ordered the old one off of Amazon and love it. I also like his web site.

[oxide]

Mel's new book really isn't very good. It's a short and incomplete rehash of the old books, with 10 new hints, like use 6" of soil and use a soil box and soil mix.

And sorry to say, Mel got really full of himself. It seems that each page he goes on about how great he is.

But the biggest blasphemy is that he leaves out the planting charts from the back, which I thought was the most important part of the book!

[CohenCottage]

we've been using the website for a lot of the detailed information...

[yarborough house]

I have no idea what book you all are talking about. I just had hubby make 2 - 3x3 foot beds. We'll see how they do and if they do well then we'll make more. I have so much shade in the back yard that finding sunny spots is hard. I divided my 3x3 foot beds into quadrants and put something different in each area..
One bed holds- cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cucumbers and beans
The other holds - pumpkin, watermelon, cantelope and lettuce.
We'll see - I hope they do well. So, next year they can be bigger and maybe I can grow enough tomatoes to make spaghetti sauce to can.

[RoseMary]

Hi Tammy. We are talking about Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. I'm sure there are many ways to do this type of gardening, but we found that several on here were using 'Mel's' method.

Keep us posted on how your beds do. This is the first time that I have gardened this way, so I'm excited to see how it goes.

I planted ten tomato plants today and nine bell peppers. I hope to plant some seeds tomorrow, but my back has had it for today:(.

[RoseMary]

I posted a few pictures of our square foot beds in one of my albums. It's only the beginning~we still have a lot of work to do. We have fencing 'cages' around them and still have to staple a side to the back of the sides where tomatoes are growing in two boxes. The tomatoes are so small right now that it doesn't really matter, but eventually, (hopefully:)), they'll be growing up the fencing!

[Evelyn]

I too missed your photo's Cohen! Your beds are beautiful.

Oxide, I am finally using some of my own compost this year. I have had a compost/worm bin for years but never did much with it-the main purpose was to keep my food scraps out of the landfill!! I also rake some of my leaves and put them in wire bins.....with no effort those to break down into a lovely substance for the garden as well.

Evelyn

[CohenCottage]

Rosemary - Your beds look great!! I like the fence that you put up around your beds. Is it to keep deer or rabbits out? We are worried about cats using our beds as a litter box, so we've laid wire panels over them until we get them planted.

[oxide]

Evelyn, keep us posted on how the compost does!

I hope you're saving your coffee grounds! Coffee grounds make really good compost, and worms will flourish on coffee. Starbucks gives away their grounds too. Ask the local Starbucks how to get them.

http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/compost.asp

[CohenCottage]

Evelyn,

Is your compost pile in the sun?? Does anyone know if a shaded pile can reach appropriate temperatures? We are about to move ours, but its current location and potential location are shaded. One of our gardening friends said he didn't think it would get hot enough to "cook". I'm having trouble believing that it won't get hot enough since we live in the south and it's 90 in the shade through most of the summer:) We have one of those small spinning ones that is in the sun, but it doesn't have a very large capacity and you have to have a separate pile to use when it is full.

[RoseMary]

Rosemary - Your beds look great!! I like the fence that you put up around your beds. Is it to keep deer or rabbits out? We are worried about cats using our beds as a litter box, so we've laid wire panels over them until we get them planted.

Thank you, Cohen. We have the fencing up to keep out cats, dogs, chickens, and rabbits. I hope they work! We have one made like the 'cage' Mel shows on his web site, but decided to do the others without a top, so we can keep them around the beds without having to take the whole cage off--this way we just open them up to work inside and can keep them on after the plants are bigger, if we need to.

We had to buy most of our compost this year, so you girls are way ahead of us on making compost. We did have some leaf compost that we used. I really need to read up on compost piles:) and get some going.