Square Foot Gardeners

[desertgirl]

This is the first year I've done it, and I am sold. Nothing like plucking suckers and staking tomatoes standing up (sure don't miss crawling on th ground...I am essentially a lazy gardener, it seems). It is also so easy to keep an eye on weeds and such. Love it!!!
row

 

[Purple Strawberry]

I am going to have to look into this for next year. I have only heard very little about it.

Keep the post coming so I can learn more and maybe even post pictures of the your setup so I can get a better idea. Isn't there a book about this method?

 

[laurenlulu]

yeah, by Mel Bartholomew. I have the old one, from the '70s and it is my favorite gardening book

 

[Beekissed]

Yes! And it has pictures and layouts for a typical small garden for a family of 4 or 2 and what to plant where. It is a good little book!

 

[momofdrew]

I have been doing it on and off for over 15 years it really works the best...asparagas, rhubarb, potatoes and corn dont work well with this method but all other veggies do...

 

[desertgirl]

Thought I'd post some pics of my square foot garden(now that I've figured out how to do that!!!).

Here it is just after setting it up on the platforms.

Borrowing the puppy's splashy pool for soil/compost ixing. He didn't seem to mind.

Close up of stuff growing (with baby chicks thrown in for unapologetic cute factor!).

Anyone else have pics of theirs?

 

[simple life]

Love the chicks! Your frame is really, really nice.
I do the square foot gardening method but I don't formally square off the sections.
I just plant them in my regular raised beds in the square foot fashion.
I love this method and combine it with the companion planting and I am able to grow alot of veggies in a smaller space, it works for me.
Good luck with it.

 

[laurenlulu]

I love those chicks!! That frame is really nice too.

If you guys were going to plant corn, pole beans and pumpkin/squash in a raised bed, 3 sisters style, how would you space everything? My bed is 4x8, and I have another right next to it I'm considering using in addition. I did it in one block last year, but accidentally planted bush beans and planted way too much way too close together... and the deer ate it all

I'm thinking:
1 corn per sqft
1 pumpkin/wintersquash in the middle of 4ft blocks- so 8 pumpkins total (I have wide paths, so the pumpkins can sprawl out the sides)
and 8 pole beans per square. Do you think that is right? I know the book recommends 4 corn per ft, but I think that is way too much with the pumpkin and beans there too.

If I already posted this, sorry. I'm having a hard time braining this week.

 

[Beekissed]

I don't know how much corn you are planting, but I don't think it does well in the SFG method as you sort of need a block , or some rows, of corn for there to be proper pollination.

You might think of trellising your pumpkin and bean vines in order to free up some space.