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Square foot gardening
1/28/2012 3:04:56 PM
Picked up the book. Anyone else use this method of gardening?
Any advice?
Any advice?
1/28/2012 4:04:36 PM
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
1/28/2012 5:59:32 PM
Originally Posted By 1shott:
Any advice?
Any advice?
Gotta be on top of your weeding.....more so than with conventional planting. Because you're planting intensively in SFG, you just can't let the weeds got a hold.
1/28/2012 8:22:20 PM
Follow the directions that Mel gives in the book and you'll do fine. Last year was the first time I tried Mel's mix and Square Foot Gardening and I had loads of tomatoes, cucumbers,etc.
The hardest part was finding some coarse grade vermiculite. I finally got a bag from Green House Mega Store
but shipping was atrocious. A few months ago, a friend of mine clued me in to a local co-op that was selling those same bags for only $13.00
Also make sure you put your squares in a sunny spot. I thought I had done just that but once the trees came into bloom and got covered with leaves, I had to move the squares into a sunnier location. I moved them closer to the house and my mom got a kick out caring for the squares since she didn't have to walk as far to the traditional row garden which is further from the house.
Here's some pictures from this past summer
My 90 year old mom doing some weeding
My mom harvesting just one days worth of cukes
The hardest part was finding some coarse grade vermiculite. I finally got a bag from Green House Mega Store
but shipping was atrocious. A few months ago, a friend of mine clued me in to a local co-op that was selling those same bags for only $13.00
Also make sure you put your squares in a sunny spot. I thought I had done just that but once the trees came into bloom and got covered with leaves, I had to move the squares into a sunnier location. I moved them closer to the house and my mom got a kick out caring for the squares since she didn't have to walk as far to the traditional row garden which is further from the house.
Here's some pictures from this past summer
My 90 year old mom doing some weeding
My mom harvesting just one days worth of cukes
1/28/2012 8:48:40 PM
Originally Posted By ColonelHurtz:
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
Due to scale and budget I've adjusted down the ratio of both peat and vermiculite in my beds without negative consequences.
To the OP, square foot gardening works well. Weeds aren't a big problem, because the seeds don't generally start off in the soil, and when they do blow in, they are easy to pull out.
1/28/2012 8:59:07 PM
Originally Posted By Demeroma:
Follow the directions that Mel gives in the book and you'll do fine. Last year was the first time I tried Mel's mix and Square Foot Gardening and I had loads of tomatoes, cucumbers,etc.
The hardest part was finding some coarse grade vermiculite. I finally got a bag from Green House Mega Store
but shipping was atrocious. A few months ago, a friend of mine clued me in to a local co-op that was selling those same bags for only $13.00
Also make sure you put your squares in a sunny spot. I thought I had done just that but once the trees came into bloom and got covered with leaves, I had to move the squares into a sunnier location. I moved them closer to the house and my mom got a kick out caring for the squares since she didn't have to walk as far to the traditional row garden which is further from the house.
Here's some pictures from this past summer
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/051511_17121.jpg
My 90 year old mom doing some weeding
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/060211_10431.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/061511_17401.jpg
My mom harvesting just one days worth of cukes
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/062811_17411.jpg
Follow the directions that Mel gives in the book and you'll do fine. Last year was the first time I tried Mel's mix and Square Foot Gardening and I had loads of tomatoes, cucumbers,etc.
The hardest part was finding some coarse grade vermiculite. I finally got a bag from Green House Mega Store
but shipping was atrocious. A few months ago, a friend of mine clued me in to a local co-op that was selling those same bags for only $13.00
Also make sure you put your squares in a sunny spot. I thought I had done just that but once the trees came into bloom and got covered with leaves, I had to move the squares into a sunnier location. I moved them closer to the house and my mom got a kick out caring for the squares since she didn't have to walk as far to the traditional row garden which is further from the house.
Here's some pictures from this past summer
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/051511_17121.jpg
My 90 year old mom doing some weeding
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/060211_10431.jpg
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/061511_17401.jpg
My mom harvesting just one days worth of cukes
http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u226/DemeRoma/062811_17411.jpg
Great pics, thanks.
1/29/2012 3:02:00 AM
Thanks for the advice so far everyone. Any others with pics?
1/29/2012 9:54:47 AM
Helpful hint: Don't make your squares as close together as I did. Also, I dug my beds down about 15 inches into the ground to conserve water and allow me to grow root crops.
1/29/2012 10:34:06 AM
Here's some prefabbed squares I picked up at Lowes
Mel's Mix
These squares I had to move once the leaves on the trees completely shaded the area
I took the two squares and made them into one deep square
The compost bin
Turning the compost
My friends cherry tomatoes and cabbage
Another picture of my friends SFG
My friends harvest for one day. No, he didn't grow the tropical fruit.
Mel's Mix
These squares I had to move once the leaves on the trees completely shaded the area
I took the two squares and made them into one deep square
The compost bin
Turning the compost
My friends cherry tomatoes and cabbage
Another picture of my friends SFG
My friends harvest for one day. No, he didn't grow the tropical fruit.
1/29/2012 12:10:11 PM
My other bit of advice?
Stick to the 4'x4' like Mel says.
My 4'x8' was in fact, too deep to reach comfortably in to the middle.
1/30/2012 4:55:47 PM
Originally Posted By ColonelHurtz:
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
I am about to put in a large square foot garden and the only local vermiculite is HIGH. Has anyone tried using perlite instead?
1/30/2012 5:01:10 PM
Originally Posted By JeepGunR:
I am about to put in a large square foot garden and the only local vermiculite is HIGH. Has anyone tried using perlite instead?
Originally Posted By ColonelHurtz:
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
Don't skip on the vermiculite.
I am about to put in a large square foot garden and the only local vermiculite is HIGH. Has anyone tried using perlite instead?
Perlite will float right out of your mix.
Check with your local pool companies for both vermiculite and diatomaceous earth in bulk.
1/31/2012 3:19:26 PM
I'm planning on trying this for the first time this year, thanks for all the pictures and the great information.
2/2/2012 11:28:10 AM
Just ordered a can of the SHTF seeds from LaRue and plan on attempting to do the square foot gardening SHTF style using homemade compost mixture and water from only a rain barrel.
