Square foot garden - Useful for a new gardener?
excuse my mass posts today. Excited to start gardening. What are your thoughts on this? Is this something useful for a new gardener to do?
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hendi_alex
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
Square foot gardening had a major impact on how I garden, but the precise method given in Mel's book is too precise, too prescriptive for me. IMO drawing from Square Foot Gardening, drawing from the more general theme of 'intensive gardening', and drawing from companion planting, all with the attitude of embracing what is the best match for your own temperament and planting situation will help you to develop a more personal style. This in turn will give both a better result and a better experience with your gardening activity.
It *can* be. I re-entered gardening in 2008 after a hiatus of 10 years or so due to a car accident.
DH and I put together four raised beds with lumber I accumulated via FreeCycle.org and cement blocks gotten likewise (three beds of wood, one of blocks). I filled the cement "box" with 6 inches of improved medium to Mel's specs, over several layers of newspaper, over native California clay soil.
Believe me, and spare yourself the experience: 6 inches of soil is NOT repeat NOT! sufficient. For my second planting, in October or November 2008, I added 4 or so more inches, for a total of 10 inches of improved planting medium (I added compost only that time, no peat ever again due to education on this forum, and no vermiculite that time due to $). Much better results.
At which point DH decided that we absolutely needed a fifth box, and he purchased lumber
to build a 12" high, narrow box. It works well for greens and some tomatoes, since it's in the sunniest place in our yard--not much sun, but more than the rest.
Keep a record of when plants go into the soil, when they're harvested, etc., and how many of them you plant. Somewhere in Mel's 2005 book he says how many 4'x4' boxes will yield a salad per day per person, but I've only found that sentence once or twice, and it's not in the index.
Be sure you plant veggies you like to EAT. DH said, "Let's plant lettuce!" This from a man who never met a salad he wouldn't leave on his plate, no matter how colorful or yummy.
So we planted Lolla Rossa and, yep, a few leaves went into sandwiches and a few more into salads for me, but most of the lettuce just went...into the compost, since I was absolutely not going to feed slugs/snails with it. Not willingly, anyway. 
OTOH, shelling peas, sugar-snap peas, kale, chard are all eaten quite happily, so they get planted more than once a year. More like two or three times a year, given the cool, windy conditions at our house. Fava beans, too.
Happy gardening! And take a look at Sunset's Western Garden Book for your Sunset climate zone. Lots of info on gardening--when to plant, what to plant, how to take care of things--in the Western Garden Book.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
DH and I put together four raised beds with lumber I accumulated via FreeCycle.org and cement blocks gotten likewise (three beds of wood, one of blocks). I filled the cement "box" with 6 inches of improved medium to Mel's specs, over several layers of newspaper, over native California clay soil.
Believe me, and spare yourself the experience: 6 inches of soil is NOT repeat NOT! sufficient. For my second planting, in October or November 2008, I added 4 or so more inches, for a total of 10 inches of improved planting medium (I added compost only that time, no peat ever again due to education on this forum, and no vermiculite that time due to $). Much better results.
At which point DH decided that we absolutely needed a fifth box, and he purchased lumber
to build a 12" high, narrow box. It works well for greens and some tomatoes, since it's in the sunniest place in our yard--not much sun, but more than the rest.Keep a record of when plants go into the soil, when they're harvested, etc., and how many of them you plant. Somewhere in Mel's 2005 book he says how many 4'x4' boxes will yield a salad per day per person, but I've only found that sentence once or twice, and it's not in the index.
Be sure you plant veggies you like to EAT. DH said, "Let's plant lettuce!" This from a man who never met a salad he wouldn't leave on his plate, no matter how colorful or yummy.
So we planted Lolla Rossa and, yep, a few leaves went into sandwiches and a few more into salads for me, but most of the lettuce just went...into the compost, since I was absolutely not going to feed slugs/snails with it. Not willingly, anyway. OTOH, shelling peas, sugar-snap peas, kale, chard are all eaten quite happily, so they get planted more than once a year. More like two or three times a year, given the cool, windy conditions at our house. Fava beans, too.
Happy gardening! And take a look at Sunset's Western Garden Book for your Sunset climate zone. Lots of info on gardening--when to plant, what to plant, how to take care of things--in the Western Garden Book.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
For a first time gardener, square foot gardening is a great way to start from the ground up. Mel's mix and the grid system will help you keep your garden neat and productive. After you have more experience, you can experiment with other plants.
If you expand, then you could try experimenting with other types of planting beds, biointensive or no til gardens, containers, keyhole, or aquaponics. It is always best to start small and make sure your garden is manageable before adding on.
Mel does not use an irrigation system, but it really helps to have one.
It also helps to put in the hardware to attach hoops and trellises to the bed for growing plants vertically and also for row covers.
As was suggested it is a good idea to keep a garden diary and have a garden plan. The diary will be useful in determining the best times to plant, how much to plant, productivity, and notes.
Having a well thought out plan can make the garden more efficient and in the long run a lot less work.
If you expand, then you could try experimenting with other types of planting beds, biointensive or no til gardens, containers, keyhole, or aquaponics. It is always best to start small and make sure your garden is manageable before adding on.
Mel does not use an irrigation system, but it really helps to have one.
It also helps to put in the hardware to attach hoops and trellises to the bed for growing plants vertically and also for row covers.
As was suggested it is a good idea to keep a garden diary and have a garden plan. The diary will be useful in determining the best times to plant, how much to plant, productivity, and notes.
Having a well thought out plan can make the garden more efficient and in the long run a lot less work.
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applestar
- Mod
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- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
It totally depends on your temperament.
I have never been successful at following instructions exactly. Precision is not my thing. For me what little of the square foot gardening I gleaned made me shudder.
But I did try using push pins to run strings every 12" and divide my raised beds into squares one time. They did help me visualize the planting areas according to what I had planned on paper (I do tend to obsess and plan to minute detail ahead of time, but somehow, when I get out in the garden, things never quite go according to plan) -- the strings were often where I NEEDED to plant, so I planted under the strings anyway. The strings helped to hold up the pumpkin vines above the soil that year.
From what I have observed here, I think some people end up planting things too close by following square foot gardening concepts. Maybe it only works if you plant exactly the varieties recommended and prune the plants rigorously. Maybe it depends on if your climate matches Mel's.
On the other hand, the square foot thing can help new gardeners avoid planting too many things way too close together, too, and avoid planting things that shouldn't be planted close to each other.
I have never been successful at following instructions exactly. Precision is not my thing. For me what little of the square foot gardening I gleaned made me shudder.
But I did try using push pins to run strings every 12" and divide my raised beds into squares one time. They did help me visualize the planting areas according to what I had planned on paper (I do tend to obsess and plan to minute detail ahead of time, but somehow, when I get out in the garden, things never quite go according to plan) -- the strings were often where I NEEDED to plant, so I planted under the strings anyway. The strings helped to hold up the pumpkin vines above the soil that year.
From what I have observed here, I think some people end up planting things too close by following square foot gardening concepts. Maybe it only works if you plant exactly the varieties recommended and prune the plants rigorously. Maybe it depends on if your climate matches Mel's.
On the other hand, the square foot thing can help new gardeners avoid planting too many things way too close together, too, and avoid planting things that shouldn't be planted close to each other.
I think the biggest mistakes new gardeners make in their enthusiasm is to over plant or over "dream" what their garden plot can accommodate. When seeds or seedlings are planted as recommended, it does look like there is a lot of space left and it is hard to resist the temptation not to fill it in or plant closer.
If the grid is not for you, then at least use a yardstick or ruler. The notched seed board is easy to make and does keep rows straight, if you plant in rows. BTW, I don't plant in rows. I use a modified wide row technique.
New gardeners, and old ones too, often buy more plants or seeds than they can use. Even seed packets often have more seeds than you need. That is why having a garden plan is helpful.
Most people go out and buy many plants on impulse and then wonder where they are going to put them all. This happens to me still, and I should know better.
Having even a rudimentary plan, is good for a new gardener. If plants are crowded, even when they are well cared for, they will look good in the beginning. Eventually though, between the crowding, pests, disease and competition, the garden will decline and you want your first experience to be a rewarding one.
It will in the long run cost less not to buy more plants and seed than you need. It saves you time and energy down the line since it is hard for any gardener to give up on any plant. There will be a lot of energy wasted trying to save plants that would have been better off if they had more room to start with.
If the grid is not for you, then at least use a yardstick or ruler. The notched seed board is easy to make and does keep rows straight, if you plant in rows. BTW, I don't plant in rows. I use a modified wide row technique.
New gardeners, and old ones too, often buy more plants or seeds than they can use. Even seed packets often have more seeds than you need. That is why having a garden plan is helpful.
Most people go out and buy many plants on impulse and then wonder where they are going to put them all. This happens to me still, and I should know better.
Having even a rudimentary plan, is good for a new gardener. If plants are crowded, even when they are well cared for, they will look good in the beginning. Eventually though, between the crowding, pests, disease and competition, the garden will decline and you want your first experience to be a rewarding one.
It will in the long run cost less not to buy more plants and seed than you need. It saves you time and energy down the line since it is hard for any gardener to give up on any plant. There will be a lot of energy wasted trying to save plants that would have been better off if they had more room to start with.
As with any endeavor, there are those with 'Ways to do things'. That is well and good, and for many successful, especially for the person who wrote the book. Gardening of some sort has been around since Methusala, all continents spare Antarctica.
My suggestion, for whatever its worth, look at your own situation. Experience, area to use, time, oh and that climate factor! Then very important what do you like to eat?!
I tend to cherry pick from all the factors, and then may be putting the wrong parts together! Just this afternoon was mixing stuff in the cart. Some each of a bag of this, bag of that, etc. Measure? Nah. I did put in some enriched dirt from the compost along with a few worms for each of the 3 large containers.
My suggestion, for whatever its worth, look at your own situation. Experience, area to use, time, oh and that climate factor! Then very important what do you like to eat?!
I tend to cherry pick from all the factors, and then may be putting the wrong parts together! Just this afternoon was mixing stuff in the cart. Some each of a bag of this, bag of that, etc. Measure? Nah. I did put in some enriched dirt from the compost along with a few worms for each of the 3 large containers.