Anyone using the Square Foot Gardening methods?
Curious as to whether anyone on here is using/following the SFG (Square Foot Gardening) methods/practices?
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CharlieBear
- Green Thumb
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- Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 5:19 pm
- Location: Pacific NW
Yes, in many of my boxes I do and even in some of the wide beds. Basically my spacing in the 3 foot wide beds is roughly the same as he uses. My only beef with the method is that the spacing turns out to be too tight for large heads of cabbage, I have found.
There are many similar variations on this practice. Basically if you mix it up you have intercropping pure and simple. If not you have minimum spacing for box gardens.
There are many similar variations on this practice. Basically if you mix it up you have intercropping pure and simple. If not you have minimum spacing for box gardens.
Have used this in many of may raised beds for quite a while with success.
People say the spacing is too close for tomatoes,which it would be to place them just one foot apart, but for some reason I remember that the "squares" can be subdivided or enlarged based on the plant. This was from what was probably the first editions,so maybe later ones have changed.
It's been a good way to grow a lot in a given space. Then add succession planting, and a few raised beds can really result in an abundance of produce.
People say the spacing is too close for tomatoes,which it would be to place them just one foot apart, but for some reason I remember that the "squares" can be subdivided or enlarged based on the plant. This was from what was probably the first editions,so maybe later ones have changed.
It's been a good way to grow a lot in a given space. Then add succession planting, and a few raised beds can really result in an abundance of produce.
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rainbowgardener
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You can type square foot gardening into the Keyword Box that comes up when you click on Search the Forum in the black horizontal menu above and get over 300 hits. Here's a recent one talking about soil:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=216011#216011
What I have read here suggests Mel's Mix may be too heavy on peat and hold too much water and that his depth of soil suggestion is not nearly enough.
I don't follow his formulas, but I do garden in densely planted beds, densely planted with a lot of different stuff though, intercropped. I think that works a lot better than densely planting a bed all of the same stuff, which makes that bed very attractive to and easy to spread whatever diseases/insects like that particular plant.
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=216011#216011
What I have read here suggests Mel's Mix may be too heavy on peat and hold too much water and that his depth of soil suggestion is not nearly enough.
I don't follow his formulas, but I do garden in densely planted beds, densely planted with a lot of different stuff though, intercropped. I think that works a lot better than densely planting a bed all of the same stuff, which makes that bed very attractive to and easy to spread whatever diseases/insects like that particular plant.
Just to cut down on the Search results, I used the criteria SFG and my own logon as author. Even so, there were...ah..."many" 
hits. Here are three of them:
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=143196
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124760
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=82476 (if weeds are a concern in your future garden area)
Please do have a look around the forum. Many of our enthusiastic Square Foot Garden followers aren't active this season *or* were active earlier but seem to have been taken out of action by Mother Nature's storms and other weirdness. But there is a TON of info at The Helpful Gardener about SFG, many of our members' individual modifications, and how helpful it has been to those of us with very little arable space.
Happy gardening!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
hits. Here are three of them:https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=143196
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=124760
https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=82476 (if weeds are a concern in your future garden area)
Please do have a look around the forum. Many of our enthusiastic Square Foot Garden followers aren't active this season *or* were active earlier but seem to have been taken out of action by Mother Nature's storms and other weirdness. But there is a TON of info at The Helpful Gardener about SFG, many of our members' individual modifications, and how helpful it has been to those of us with very little arable space.
Happy gardening!
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9