Square foot gardening.

[Noosner]

I got mine from B&Q. It wasn't exactly cheap - I think about a fiver for 10L, but it did seem to go a heck of a long way when mixed with the other ingredients.

[maverick451]

Where are people getting their vermiculite from? looking to buy cheap in bulk

[Bigmallly]

It's good to know you are enjoying it Noosner, yes you do see it in a different light & also treat it differently. I find I pay more attention to the SFG bed due to the different maturity days.

[Noosner]

Thanks BM and Tadpole. I'm noticing how SFG deepens knowledge and appreciation. Picked the last of some lettuce yesterday and really enjoyed digging more stuff into the vacant foot, picking out the little stones that had materialised and replanting. Before SFG, I had a more general view of the garden, not so detailed.

[Tadpole123]

My chives are perennial. I stick a few radishes in at the start and end of the year around them. Makes it feel more productive.

[Bigmallly]

I can't imagine any problem with perennials in SFG apart from it tying up that square. Plus remembering that it is there.

[Noosner]

What's the feeling about putting perennials in one of the squares? I am thinking of putting a lupin in, but knowing me will get impatient somewhere down the line because it will be one square that never changes.

[Noosner]

I am all agog to know how you get on Rhonsal. I will post a piccy of my square foot beds when they look better. My spinach (in 3 squares) is a bit of a disaster as it is wilting in the heat and even the stuff that isn't wilting is bolting. I think I'm going to have to take all that out and start again.

[rhonsal]

Thanks BM - i suppose from the cabbage front i was thinking more spring greens, and it's really the leaf you want! I'll bung in some seeds and see what happens - nothing to loose as the seeds were a freeby!

I'm also trying a moderated 3 sisters approach, minus the corn! - i have used those spiral frames to grow my squashes up and am trying a climbing bean up the supporting cane!

Will be interesting to see how it goes!

[Bigmallly]

Like you say Noosner, experiment and see what happens. You may be pleasantly surprised.

[Noosner]

Yes, it's fun to experiment! I am wondering whether it would be okay to put 3 climbing beans in at the back of a square (and on a trellis) as opposed to the recommended 1?

Have 22 squares now - 16 in an existing raised bed and 6 new ones in my cold frame. The cold frame is more or less 'Mel's Mix' but with a bit less vermiculite since it's so pricey. I'm really interested in whether the stuff grows better there than in the raised bed which is just normal soil and compost.

[Bigmallly]

You may be able to risk 4 Sprouting Broccoli or 4 Sprouts but not Cabbage or Cauli. As BF says, you would end up with all leaf before they heart up...........but hey, give it a go & let us know how it goes.

[rhonsal]

Thanks bertiefox - my beds are nearly full hence the reason for trying to squash more in where I can!
Might start some off in big pots n plant when I lift other stuff!

[BertieFox]

For some seed, like turnips for example, the closer spacing automatically produces 'mini veg', but for the F1 hybrid caulis and similar greens, they are designed to come to a head at a certain size and may not work well if forced into a smaller spacing. I find the square foot is more than enough for a large cauliflower, if it is really well watered and fed. I think with mini veg of this kind, a greater proportion of each small plant is just leaf and stem and even less the 'curds', so I would always go for a larger head. You can after all break it up and freeze some of it, or just keep it in the fridge for a day or two. I find many kales do really well on a very tight spacing, as well as beetroot of course which does well in a clump to make mini veg.

[rhonsal]

I'm loving this thread and finding it really useful - i have raised beds for my veg plot as soil really clay and waterlogged in my garden.

I used a variation of Sq Ft gardening last year (my beds aren't exactly to size and were built before i discovered the concept) but would love to try using up some the free seed from the magazine, but as i only have limited space could the same seed be used to grow mini veg - for example rather than having one huge cabbage/cauliflower, would planting 4 in a sq ft work?

May just have do some experimenting!!

Cheers.