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Square Foot Gardening

I love Square Foot Gardening!  It’s the easiest way to grow a lot of food in a small space.  I don’t have a big backyard, so growing the food I love to eat is important to me.  I first heard of this method years ago by reading Mel Bartholomew’s book “Square Foot Gardening”.  He has a preferred soil mixture, but for me, I use a good mix of garden soil and compost.  Feel free to choose what works best for you.  

 

The basics of this method is really quite simple; know what you can plant in a sq. ft.  For example, I plant one tomato in a square but I also grow lettuce around the bottom of the tomato.  I put 8 pea seeds in a square and 4 pole beans in the one next to it.  I’ll put 12 onions in a square and one Basil in another.  You can find planting plans online, or buy the book to learn more about this easy method of growing healthy food.

 

I like to keep it simple.  My raised beds are 4’W x8L’ the perfect size to reach in from either side to plant seeds, harvest or weed.  I take a black Sharpie marker and my tape measure to mark 12” marks along the top of my 8’ board, then do the same on the 4’ boards.  I have a 4’ yard stick that I use to line up those little sharpie marks to find my squares and plant away! 

 

I keep a garden journal of what I planted.  I get two plantings of beans, peas and broccoli since they are cooler season veggies. I like to plant them early in the season and again later for a second crop.  I love to plant carrots around the edges and leave them until we’ve had a few frosty nights. It makes them sweeter!  This is a great gardening method to enjoy yummy veggies!

 

We’re holding Square Foot Gardening classes if you want to learn how to use this easy method sign up for our free class!

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