Square foot gardening...has anyone used this method??

[Nuggetsowner:)]

I have been doing alot of gardening reading lately on square foot gardening or some call it cubed foot gardening. I was wondering if anyone has tried it and could tell me how it worked for them? I have decided unless I hear bad things I want to try this method of gardening this year. I have already made my plans for six 3X4 raised beds to add in a new area I want to garden. I will also plant the traditional way to ensure I have enough to can what I want. Any extra I will sell or do extra canning. Thanks for any info you are willing to share!!!

 

[hcammack2]

I have 6x4 raised beds they work really well we put them in about 5 years ago and we share with all of our neighbors. I can't wait till spring.

Good luck
Henry

 

[Nuggetsowner:)]

Thanks! I was wondering... I would like to start most of what I can inside and then transplant. The book says in the smaller raised bed the soil will heat quicker that the average ground temp. That makes sense but what I want to know is do you think that they are also more likely to be hit by a late frost??

 

[patandchickens]

raised beds won't frost any meaningfully more easily than non raised. The only thing is, if you put your plants out a little earlier b/c the ground warms up a little faster, then obviously there is more chance of catching a late frost because of *that*.

However, it is easy as pie to toss an old bedsheet or whatever over a 4' raised bed (use buckets, boxes, hoops or whatever to keep it from squashing the plants flat) on nights when it looks like you'll get a late frost. Remember your planst will still be pretty small. So, it is really not a problem.

You don't actually have to use *raised* beds to do some or all of the other things in that book, btw -- and be aware that while raised beds dry out and warm up faster in spring, they also need more water throughout the summer.

Have fun,

Pat

 

[Nifty]

How funny! During an internet search I stumbled upon "Square Foot Gardening" and ended up doing a bit of reading on Mel's site: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ Well, I thought I'd search the forum before starting a new thread and saw a bunch of posts on the method and a whole forum thread titled after the same.

This Summer we're going to take it easy We're going to be planting mostly bushy type plants (tomatoes & bell peppers) and each say they require quite a bit more plant spacing that 12 inches x 12 inches! I haven't been able to quickly get info about how Mel solves the problem of having these plants so close together and if it is even a good idea to have a bunch of busy plants so tight up against one another.

We're also going to plant the obligatory queen of the garden, zucchini. Mel says you can work to train these vertically to grow in a sq. ft. garden, but that sounds like a LOT of work and hassle.

So, any thoughts / suggestions / experience in growing these types of plants in such a tight space?

 

[patandchickens]

We're going to be planting mostly bushy type plants (tomatoes & bell peppers) and each say they require quite a bit more plant spacing that 12 inches x 12 inches! I haven't been able to quickly get info about how Mel solves the problem of having these plants so close together and if it is even a good idea to have a bunch of busy plants so tight up against one another.

The deal is, if you plant larger plants at his space specifications, you do get less yeild per plant than if you gave 'em more space, BUT you get as much or more yeild FROM YOUR GARDEN AS A WHOLE, which is the important thing. The loss in yeild from putting (say) tomatoes 1 foot apart instead of 1.5-3 feet apart is more than offset by the larger number of plants you have producing for you. Make sense?

We're also going to plant the obligatory queen of the garden, zucchini. Mel says you can work to train these vertically to grow in a sq. ft. garden, but that sounds like a LOT of work and hassle.

Growing cucumbers on trellis is quite easy IME; I should not *think* zucchini would be any harder. If you have trellising material handy. If you don't, then just don't do it if you don't want to Either grow your zukes the normal flat-on-the-ground way, or don't plant any and sponge off your neighbors' surplus

Good luck and have fun,

Pat

 

[Chellie]

Ive grown zucchini on a trellis of sorts. Only problem with growing zucchini in close quarters , as in square foot gardening, is that the leaves are large and project outward, which can cause crowding. The problem that this causes with zucchini in our area is powdery mildew, which is best avoided by having good air circulation around the plants.

Chellie

 

[Nifty]

Great points!

Yes, I too have had the dreaded powdery mildew on my zucchini so I'm rethinking zukes in the sq. ft. garden and will maybe put them in their own spaces.

I think I'll give everything else a try as listed on the sq. ft. gardening sites. I've got a 2x8 raised planter that I've divided up into 16 areas for tomatoes, peppers, onions, corn, and bush beans.

I'll keep y'all posted as I try this out.

 

[Chellie]

Hey Rob,

I recommend that you either plant the corn elsewhere (it takes up a lot of space for relatively little production) or, plant climbing beans next to the corn so that the beans can use the corn stalks as a trellis.

Another great way to grow beans is to make a teepee structure out of poles and grow the beans on it. It will make a wonderful shaded play tee pee for your little girls and looks really neat, too.


Chellie

 

[rebbetzin]

I love the square foot method of gardening!! You can amend the soil, and adjust the amount of water you use for each square to be just right for what you plant in the different squares. It is easy to make covers for shade if one plants needs it.

There is much less waste of seed, or having too much of one thing growing at a time.

It is great for small familes and people living in the city. I keep a salad/herb garden growing all year.

I store a couple of containers of all different types of flower and vegetable seed in my fridge. They keep for years that way.

:dance