My 3ftx3ft square foot gardening experiment!

[rachyrach]

I am so excitied!
I had pulled my spuds up and wasn't sure what to put next as I have already got the usual suspects planted for winter veg. This is my first year so everything possible has been in at the earliest time (will learn for next year!). So after a quick plant of some borlotti beans, I was having a lurk and saw some threads about square foot gardening and thought well why not? So have plotted a 3ftx3ft bed and in the nine squares I have anything that i thought i could get away with planting in July according to my seed packets so have got:

1 x savoy cabbage
4 x kale/chard/spinach
16 x beetroot (really 16, but that what was recommended)
16 x radish
16 x carrots (autumn king)
16 x leeks (hannibal)
4 x lettuce/mizuna
16 x spring onion mix
16 x parsnip (gladiator)

Am really excited to see what happens!

[solway cropper]

16 beetroot sounds a lot but if you pull alternate ones to use as baby beets you can let the others grow much bigger. If you've just sowed the parsnips you'll not get anything much this year.

I have a variation on the square foot theme going this year and for spring onions I've just broadcast the seed and pull the onions as needed. There's probably at least 50 or 60 in the square foot. It's a very efficient way of using space but you need to keep the soil fertility high.

[Patchninja]

1 x savoy cabbage
4 x kale/chard/spinach
16 x beetroot (really 16, but that what was recommended)
16 x radish
16 x carrots (autumn king)
16 x leeks (hannibal)
4 x lettuce/mizuna
16 x spring onion mix
16 x parsnip (gladiator)

Am really excited to see what happens!

you have some odd spacings there. You should have, IMHO,
1 cabbage, 1 Kale, or 5 spinach, (don't know about chard), 9 radish, 9 carrots, 9 leeks, 5 lettuce, 16 spring onions, snips - not sure. Max 9 I would have thought.

[oldie]

I have tried one bed with the sqare foot method. 16 carrots has been absolutely fine, 16 beet a bit close but as solway cropper said pull alternate ones. The leeks look O.K. at 16 but not the parsnips. Can't comment on the rest as I have not tried them. Sorry I did have spinach and 4 was too much, might be all right with 2 but they do get big fast. In my case they were too close to the carrots and were shading them out.

[chris]

I put 9 beets (double sowed) in, thinned out - I missed one or two and they've pushed apart, forgot about them all really. They're pretty much all tennis ball size now, bar the 2 that have 2 growing at the same spot, they're slender and long, sort of dancing as they're curling around each other.

[rachyrach]

hmmm.....i had a quick look on some websites and some plotting plans and there were a few different recommendations. I thought 16 beets was too many especially and it also said 16 raddish but then I saw a picture of 16 onions in one square so thought maybe it would work.
I thought I'd try parsnips as I had seed left and didn't think it would last until next year. If I get a few mini one to roast whole I'll be happy!
I can't believe one of them said to plant 9 dwarf french beans!

[Patchninja]

The ideal spacing for dwarf french beans is five but I have more than nine and they're fine. Just rather a job to harvest - lots of furtling involved!

[kingkano]

Dwarf beans grow fine when crowded though - they aren't as bushy as they seem I've gone for 5 as well but because I have squashes sprawling through them. Darn it is alot of furtling tho!

Agree some of your spacings seem close. Carrots fine for me, beetroot I think 9 works better, leeks will be small I imagine - i am testing 4,5 and 9, chard etc if you pick small fine but you can't let them get big like pictures!, lettuce again same pick them small. Parsnip shocks me - 16? lol. I thought maybe 4 - they get huge!

But its all an experiment isnt it?

[El Greeno]

Parsnip shocks me - 16? lol. I thought maybe 4 - they get huge!

I grew 8 parsnips in a medium (12" diameter) size tub trug last year.
Pulled a few early as I couldn't resist, but had 5 ready for Christmas dinner.
They were short but fat - like a swede.
They weren't woody either.
I assume the length issue was more to do with root depth than space available.

My wife (then girlfriend) said I'd put too many in but I proved her wrong!