I have only come across a handful of people who have ever heard of square foot gardening which, in my opinion is a wonderful, thriving, and weed-free way to garden! I tried it when we lived in Kansas City and absolutely loved it. It is a great way to have a big garden in a small amount of space. I first heard of it 3 or 4 years ago on the BYU channel while visiting my parents and was anxious to try it. I was so successful with it a few years ago and so I have been excited to get my garden going again this year.
Some of you may remember seeing pictures of our last house in Kansas City, which didn't have a tree or bush or anything for landscaping--therefore, we had a lot of sun in our yard vs. our home here in Columbus which has so many trees in the backyard that I look outside and I think I'm in the forest (which I love), but it doesn't exactly lend itself for a thriving garden (which I also love); talk about wanting your cake and eating it too--which I somehow always find a way to do:) Here is the only spot in our backyard which gets 3-4 hours of sun a day (right by the house), so, here is my attempt at a small garden. I'll let you know how it goes. So far my veggies are growing well and I've noticed some good growth in the past week. If you have ever wanted to start a garden, and didn't know how to or didn't think you had the space, here is a great solution that has worked well for us!
Start off by building a box. I have used 1x6's (I would prefer to have used 2x6's) and mine is 4 feet by 4 feet. Then place cardboard or plastic down on the ground (this prevents weeds from coming through your soil.)
Next I fill the box with 1/3 peat moss
then I add 1/3 vermiculite
Then a 1/3 compost and mix (make sure it is really full because when it's wet it settles; fuller than mine looks.) It will cost about $50-$60 dollars to build a garden about this size with your soil and wood--then whatever seeds you want to plant but it is well-worth it and you can re-use it every year.)
Then you make 1 foot grids on the box. I used kite string and tacks and hammered the tacks down hard on the string. It can be whatever you can find.
Then you plant. The planting guide can be found on the website. But you can plant either 1, 3, 9, 16 seeds in a square foot (depending on the vegetable.) It is amazing how much you can grow in such a small space.
The boys had fun helping me plant.
Then water and enjoy your veggies!
6 comments:
We did a square foot garden at our old house and got good results. In this house I built Penni four of those boxes but nothing seems to grow. Granted we have a dog that eats some of it and now the girls tell me that the cat next door is getting in the garden. So good luck! But the fruits are worth the labor, nothing like a fresh tomato.
Todd
Hey - I got your message...I will be calling you...sorry it wasn't sooner. My dad was here over the weekend and we headed up to Kirtland...all the same stuff you did with your in-laws a few weeks ago. I just didn't want you to think I had forgotten you. Talk to you soon!
Ya, I've been reading up on the square foot gardening. I will have to give you a call when we get into our new house. You look like a pro!
What a great idea...Thanks for the info. I think we might try that
Great updates, looks like some fun things :)
Lisa, I wanted to thank you for turning us onto Square Foot Gardening our first summer in our new house - we're still doing it with 2 garden boxes. So far, tomatoes and lettuce grow best, but we're trying other things too.
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