Square foot gardening.

[monkeyboy]

Don't overthink it!

Thanks but very hard for me to do. Part of the reason I want to plan is so that I can create an idiot-proof calendar for me to follow eg what am I doing today/this week? It avoids the entire "when did I do xyz? So when should I do abc?".

(I don't now as I found a square was too restrictive and moved towards 2' squares without a grid).

Before I even knew about SFG, I was considering growing 2-3 veg per bed. The reason I'm chosing SFG is to get an idea of how to grow different things, learn about them, about what works and doesn't work, and to maximise success rates (I don't expect everything to fail though I know it's a possibility).

[veggiechicken]

Don't overthink it! Decide what you want to grow, find out how many to plant per square and bung 'em in to whatever square is convenient. That's what i did when I SFG'd. (I don't now as I found a square was too restrictive and moved towards 2' squares without a grid).

[monkeyboy]

I've had another think. I'm still struggling with layout and what should go with what but I've re-read the past few pages and I've come up with this:



I'm gonna go for smaller aubergines and courgettes. I've already planted the garlic in column six, bed 1. The other garlic will be chitted and planted in a few weeks. I've tried to lump together the brassicas but don't know if radishes will sit well there.

Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

[lolie]

I do find it surprising how varied the amount of info there is. Sometimes it feels like if I just pop some seeds in the ground and wait, everything will come out fine. Whereas I know it's not this easy.

Sometimes it is (almost) that easy. That's what makes the years when nothing turns out right so frustrating - you can do exactly the same thing but get different results from one season to the next, depending on what random things mother nature decides to throw your way.

[monkeyboy]

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

I'm attempting to chit garlic (having never chit anything in my life). They were from the supermarket but I've only realised that they're from China. Should I chuck away or continue? Mixed interpretations about whether they're okay to grow or not.

I wouldn't bother with aubergines/eggplant and okra outdoors. They're difficult enough in a GH.

Wife loves them hence an attempt. I'll skip them out.

Don't know whether you mean summer heading broccoli (calabrese) or sprouting broccoli that's picked early in the year. Both are large plants - especially the sprouting ones.
Choose your varieties of all veg carefully if you're growing in a small space/square foot.

Thinking Calabrese. They normally end up in stirfry anyway.

I don't think you're trying to do to much,it's quite easy sowing the seeds & planting out,planning takes longer.

Yeah I've been planning for a while and reckon I'll still be at it by the start of the new year! I'm slowly making my own notes on what to do and when for what things.

Grow what you eat. Not everything will work out but you can't predict in advance what particular gardening problems are going to pop up in any given year. You don't want to end up with a bumper crop of stuff you don't really use.

I've tried to base it on what will get eaten (based on what we buy from the supermarket!).

One thing I didn't think about when I first started was how much single plants produce on average. And that information wasn't in any of the gardening guides.

I do find it surprising how varied the amount of info there is. Sometimes it feels like if I just pop some seeds in the ground and wait, everything will come out fine. Whereas I know it's not this easy.

I didn't know that the variety of watermelon I was planning on growing only produces a 2-3 fruit per vine and had I not found that out I would have thought I'd had a poor result. The first year I grew zucchini/courgettes, I had pollination problems and only ended up getting a few fruit per plant instead of a dozen or more. I was disappointed in my sprouting broccoli harvest but later found out it was entirely normal and I should have planted a lot more given the amount I use (I'm only growing broccoli as microgreens this year because I have some seed left).[/QUOTE]

You are doing really well MB. I agree with VC and choose your varieties carefully. Also, I would recommend looking at alternatives for things such as 'normal' calabrese etc. Some of the oriental stuff is very similar except it tends to grow quicker and in many cases are smaller plants (height wise).

Thanks, and thank you for the tip on oriental calabrese - we normally use it in stirfries so this would go down well.

[Lumpy]

You are doing really well MB. I agree with VC and choose your varieties carefully. Also, I would recommend looking at alternatives for things such as 'normal' calabrese etc. Some of the oriental stuff is very similar except it tends to grow quicker and in many cases are smaller plants (height wise).

[lolie]

Do you reckon I'm trying to do too much or grow overly demanding veg? This will be first proper attempt at growing a veg bed so I'm keen to maximise success. I'm happy to reconsider what I'm growing to ensure a successful harvest.

Grow what you eat. Not everything will work out but you can't predict in advance what particular gardening problems are going to pop up in any given year. You don't want to end up with a bumper crop of stuff you don't really use.

One thing I didn't think about when I first started was how much single plants produce on average. And that information wasn't in any of the gardening guides.

I didn't know that the variety of watermelon I was planning on growing only produces a 2-3 fruit per vine and had I not found that out I would have thought I'd had a poor result. The first year I grew zucchini/courgettes, I had pollination problems and only ended up getting a few fruit per plant instead of a dozen or more. I was disappointed in my sprouting broccoli harvest but later found out it was entirely normal and I should have planted a lot more given the amount I use (I'm only growing broccoli as microgreens this year because I have some seed left).

[Jungle Jane]

I don't think you're trying to do to much,it's quite easy sowing the seeds & planting out,planning takes longer. If some things like cauliflower don't grow,it won't matter because you've got a nice variety of other fruit & veg.

[veggiechicken]

I wouldn't bother with aubergines/eggplant and okra outdoors. They're difficult enough in a GH.
Don't know whether you mean summer heading broccoli (calabrese) or sprouting broccoli that's picked early in the year. Both are large plants - especially the sprouting ones.
Choose your varieties of all veg carefully if you're growing in a small space/square foot.

[monkeyboy]

Courgette like a lot of water,I don't know if the garlic would be too wet,maybe garlic with carrots & onions,lettuce with courgette. Are you planting garlic & onions now because you can if you want

Happy to swap courgette around. I'm chitting garlic as we speak. I was originally going to wait until start of 2018 but decided to get going now. I was going to spend the next few months planning everything, reading etc.

Edit to add are you netting the kale,turnip & broccoli from cabbage white butterflies,they might be better together under one net?

I was going to net both beds (except toms) because of cats and for butterflies and birds.

I would put the courgettes on corner squares so that they can flow over the end and the sides.

Okay I reckon I can put them at the rightmost column of bed 1.

Ive probably really confused things now but if you look at each plant & think what do they want,they want a lot from us!

Do you reckon I'm trying to do too much or grow overly demanding veg? This will be first proper attempt at growing a veg bed so I'm keen to maximise success. I'm happy to reconsider what I'm growing to ensure a successful harvest.

[chris_m]

It would definitely be easier to protect the brassicas if they're grouped together in one bed.

Indeed - of my four new beds for next year, two have netting frames over them, lined with veggiemesh. That's where my brassicas will be going, along with about half my carrots.
The other carrots are either (supposedly, I will find out next year) fly resistant or will have marigolds and/or onions near them to try and confuse the little blighters with other scents.

[chris_m]

I would put the courgettes on corner squares so that they can flow over the end and the sides.

That's what I'll be doing with my new beds - one of them is shorter than the length of my patch because there's a young apple tree in the corner so I don't want the bed too close to it, I've left about 3-4 feet clear. My courgettes will go in the corners of the bed nearest the tree and will be "encouraged" to head towards it.

[lolie]

Ive probably really confused things now but if you look at each plant & think what do they want,they want a lot from us! Seriously though it is worth talking about it all,like my Brussels sprouts leaves are ruined this year,I found eggs on them about two days ago,they're still laying eggs,I'll definitely use netting next year.

It would definitely be easier to protect the brassicas if they're grouped together in one bed. I'd also try to group vegies which have similar needs together.

[Jungle Jane]

Ive probably really confused things now but if you look at each plant & think what do they want,they want a lot from us! Seriously though it is worth talking about it all,like my Brussels sprouts leaves are ruined this year,I found eggs on them about two days ago,they're still laying eggs,I'll definitely use netting next year.

[lolie]

Okay here's attempt 3:



I've left a few gaps for expansion of tomatoes, aubergine, courgette and cauliflower. I've added calendula as companion planting. Other companion plants like basil, mint etc will be put in small planters next to the beds.

I've used this website >clicky< to create the layout. If anyone wants to try a layout, I'm more than happy. Tomatoes are on the left as that's the north end. Radishes and lettuce are at the south end.


Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome.

I would put the courgettes on corner squares so that they can flow over the end and the sides. Unless you're going to trellis them, they're going to take up more than their allocated space.