Square foot gardening.

[elsie-scot]

there was a thread on this just the other day http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...gardening.html and links to an older thread http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...awareness.html

sorry having probs with the links!

[oldie]

Just a thought for planting out a square foot bed. If you make cut some 12" squares from plywood and draw lines at 4" spacing both vertical and horizontal you could drill small holes at the intersection points and you have a template that you can drop you seeds/plants through at the correct spacing. Another board could be made for your 3" spaced seeds/plants.

[Suky]

Thanks for all the links, lovely way to spend a rainy evening. I saw a plot using these when I was researching raised beds but didn't know what they were. Now I know I will maybe put one of my 4 new raised beds to this method and give it a go. One bed will be mixed beans (runner, french etc), one brassicas and one potatoes. That leaves one for everthing else this way I should get a better harvest. The beds are /will be 4ft x 8ft.

[Bigmallly]

I hope to grow carrots, corguette, tomato, sweet and chilli peppers, herbs (about 12 kinds), beans, peas, beetroot, leeks, spring onions, lettuce.

If one of your 12 herbs is mint---keep it in a pot. Don't put it in your bed, it'll take over.

[weekendwellies]

Great link BM . Will add it to my to-do list.

[maypril]

And with Moon Planting if you follow the biodynamic way of certain types of plant depending on which constellation the Moon is in you can get some exceptions. Earth type plants are supposed to be root veg, yet you can get jerusalem artichokes, a root and globe artichoke which I guess would count as a flowering veg which is a Fire type.

Do you plant when the earth is in the vicinity of uranus?

[Bigmallly]

Just thought I'd put an update on with a pic. I'm doing my best to beat the label fairies by pinning some polypockets onto each bed with the plan inside.

[Suky]

Good idea,I might just copy that I ordered the book today but am waiting for the rain to stop so I can build the bed,

[Bigmallly]

As it's my first year with this metod, I'm really looking forward to it. Must remember to keep 1 or 2 squares free for my marigolds.

[organic]

Great looking setup.

I'm using the square foot method on my plot. Just put in the first bed this weekend, though the soil on my plot is really good (by look and according to the site's resident expert who with a smile said, in no uncertain terms "you can grow anything there) so I'm doing it all at ground level rather than in raised beds.

I read the book cover to cover on the first day I had it out from the library and I'm going to get it out again this week.

I got about 1 or 2 chapters into the book and had already decided that it's the system for me. Less work, less effort, no thinning... what more could anyone want?

[organic]

Oh just to add this:

Unlike in the book, I've not made 4' x 4' beds. It may change as the position of the path I need to move is not certain yet, but the beds will be 4' (as expected) by 13'. It could end up as much as 4' x 16' but won't be any less, at least.

The logic of a 4' bed, is that you can comfortably reach 2' without stepping onto the bed, so 4' gives you a 2' reach from each side... well if that's the case, I reasoned that there's no need to have a path on all 4 sides, but just on two.

After planting up one bed (this one is 4' x 9') I can say with confidence that it's easy enough to get things in place. Whether it'll prove as easy through the season remains to be seen, but if I'm right, I'll gain 12 squares per bed, and with 8 beds on my half-plot broken into "square feet", that's just shy of 100 more squares!

If at some point it proves to have been a mistake, I'll keep the current setup but put some small "stepping stones" in the middle of the bed so I can stand astride, with one foot on a stone and one on the path and get to anything I end up being unable to reach. I don't expect to need to do that though.

[Bigmallly]

Sounds good in theory but you then have to walk around the whole bed to get to the furthest or front squares on the opposite side.

[organic]

That's very true - and I did consider that when planning it, but in the end decided that I'd rather walk up to 32 feet to get around (it won't ever be more, and likely to be less) than lose the growing room. I know it's a ludicrously efficient system for use of space, but I plan on growing a surplus for canning and preserving so the extra space will be handy. Even one row of squares in the middle of each bed turned over to use as a path means 32 squares gone.

I might change my mind and go for paths at some point over the coming months, but I don't anticipate it being a big issue.

There's always jumping too.

[Suky]

You could always put a plank across to walk over. You'd still need to wheel a barrow round but then I find the barrow is never where I want it anyway
My beds will be 4 x 8 ft 'cos that means I can fit 4 in the space available. Any smaller and I would have far less space.

[organic]

Suky - I've just checked my plan (so far I've only put one bed in) to confirm.. I've left 500mm (20") between beds so might not even get a barrow between the rows! Haha.

I'd thought about that at the start and figured it's really not the end of the world to lug things a few feet further, and besides, the square foot method should seriously cut down on barrow use anyway... in fact, the book suggests you need nothing more than a watering can, a hand fork and a trowel.

It could be that my paths are WAY too narrow and I'll end up moving things around next season, but for now I think it'll be alright.


I did think about putting a plank across, but for some reason thought it wouldn't work too well. No idea why as I can't think why not. Ah well - it's still an option anyway.

It'll be interesting to see how they shape up in use for sure.


Thinking about it, I did notice that when at the end of the bed, I put one foot on the path and one at the end and found it a bit easier to get to the middle squares than when working just from the path, but I don't think it's bad enough to want to change things yet. Time will tell.