square foot gardening after talking to mel

[clearencedaily]

Greetings all I had a chance to speak personal to Mel Bartholomew the creator of the square foot gardening books and system; when was at the
Philadelphia flower show Saturday. First off he is a very nice and pleasant fellow.

As for all the question posted on the previous square gardening thread. since it it appears the moderator mishmashes several threads to create that one
I think a new thread is needed. I got long list of improvements to system when went to the lecture. I ask Mel most of the questions that were asked in the other thread. So if you still want know some answers to those old questions
please post them on this thread.

As for some of the improvements to the system
here are five that stood out.

1. Mel now recommends path 2-3ft around bed so you can easily get to the plant in the bed as well having enough room to kneel and to allow for plant that may hang over the edges of the beds. Basically, he said he was to efficient for his own good.
2. Mel seriously recommends put weed cloth under bed to prevent need for weeding.

3. placing a grid over the bad during the planting season keeps the bed more organized. grid should be made of a solid material not string or rope.
4. depth of soil in bed only needs to be 6 inch for most plants.
beds should be made of a material that will last whole season. what material you use depend on you budget.
5. except for the previously listed exceptions in the book most plants should be planted either 1,4,9,16 spacings per square mentioned in the book.

Feel free post your questions here since do the volume of info i got from Mel
it would take to long to post all the info here.

[snohare]

Thanks for that Clearence, I have just realised that I have a bed suitable for square foot gardening that I was intending to put salad plants in, and a piece of stock fencing with 1 foot squares that will do excellently as a grid.
Wasn't particularly planning on doing the bed on the square foot system, but it is a no-brainer I think, now that you mention it.
Having used raised beds for a good few years, I'll bet Mel has discovered the need for weedproofing ! Couch grass is pretty good at following contours and appearing halfway up the bed...usually I use a thick layer of newspaper or cardboard placed under the bed and either protruding outside it or going up the sides a bit. (That way rhizomes do not have the option of going sideways into the soil of the bed, they can only go up between the sides and the cardboard.)
But only good quality mulch sheeting or fencing mesh will keep out moles if they get interested.
I'll bet Philly was chilly...

[clearencedaily]

Mel suggests that you use real weed cloth not newspaper or cardboard due to the fact they degrade with in year and then you have weeds sneak though in the next season.

[Woofster]

I have used weed suppressing fabric for the bottom and sides of my raised beds but STILL the blooming couch grass made its way through. I dare say it would be worse without it but I wish it would take the hint !

[chris]

Edit: no point in my reply - the chap isn't with us anymore.

But to summarise for those intrested - I believe all the above points are common sense.

[Hazel at the Hill]

What did he do??

[Nicos]

Historical probs Hazel.

I'm going to close this thread as I'm sure we agree on what was said was common sense.