does square foot gardening really work

It may be perfect for a townhome’s backyard, but it’s less attractive when you have a lot of land available or where irrigation is less available. You don’t need a square box. Always ask, of course. Keep producing that, and your gardens will keep growing for you. And if it takes a 4-foot x 4-foot box with good instructions and a smiling mentor—sure, you can start with Square Foot Gardening. More people where I am prefer the pvc fencing over the cedar – happily or sadly, I am not judging. Yet writers like Steve Solomon, Ruth Stout, John Jeavons, Toby Hemenway, Carol Deppe, Edward Smith, Dick Raymond, and yours truly all have different methods that work for them. Plastic may last longer, but environmentally it is less desirable. It’s a remarkably well-engineered, self-contained way to garden. Square Foot Gardening: What Is It and Does It Work? The more I read and see about permaculture and gardening, the more I feel gardeners and environmentalists are in a half-delusion. I easily get 5 years out of it, but only if I buy better quality wood. You don’t need little plastic strips to divide the surface into precise square foot … Home Depot sells junk. Also, when I built my beds 9 years ago, I was actually concerned about the lumber I was using. Another place where Square Foot Gardening shines is in its ability to produce large amounts of veggies in a small space. Should You Compost Dog Waste or Cat Waste? … The same I’m guessing, actually holds true for the plastic garden beds which are significantly lighter(cheaper to transport), made of petroleum products, but maybe less petroleum products than the 2×4 – this is my guess since it is cheaper at the end than the 2 x 4. You will get good results with little weeding. Mix the Perfect Soil Cocktail. Having a clean slate is great. Square foot gardening wraps up all the loose ends of conventional gardening and ties them up into a neat little box of veggies. If you live near a lumber mill, and the wood costs next to nothing, obviously that’s one thing, but a blanket statement that this product is useless is unfair it seems. Mel goes on to say, "The square foot system lets you make the most of your garden space to conserve the amount of water, soil conditioners, and labor needed to produce a maximum amount of food in that space. If you can get a few hundred garden-loving friends together, we may be able to make an enterprise of this. I admit this is just my guess. You also have to make a TON of compost. To indulge in square foot gardening, all you need to do is divide your gardening bed into ‘imaginary’ 1 foot squares. Square Foot Gardening Mistakes – our favorite method of managing a garden in a small suburban landscape. Weed block and cardboard both work. For a person just getting started, he takes the overwhelming world of food production and cuts it into nice, neat 12-inch x 12-inch pieces that are easy enough for even a complete novice to digest. The premise is to build a gardening box (in square … The drawbacks (while real) all have fairly simple … If you’re not gardening now, you need to start. If you don’t have a lot of available space, square foot gardening is a great choice. My point is – everything has a price. Lv 7. Don’t buy a product that you don’t need, and more importantly, don’t buy a plastic version of it! Yup, it does. I have found long boards in good shape that were merely used for cement forms before being tossed in the dumpster. Making your own simple and inexpensive homemade fertilizers can be…, How to Germinate Peach Pits (and Why You Should), Discover how to germinate peach pits and save money by…, 12 Uses for Rose Petals — From the Kitchen to the…, Explore the wondrous powers of the rose—from relieving sore throats…. While I may have gotten some bad information about square foot gardening on the above crops, there are three I don’t think work in a square foot garden: corn, potatoes and romanesco … ALL my pine/white wood beds were half gone from termites and carpenter ants by the FIRST YEAR, and rotten on the bottom where it met the soil line come the spring after I made it. In case you aren’t familiar, square foot gardening is just that–you break your space into 1’x1′ grids and … Not to mention, at least where I live, I think the plastic beds would raise the value of the home where a termite infested wood weathered garden, probably not so. The late Mel Bartholomew brought gardening to a whole new crowd, and it really looks like a fun way to grow. is usually reflected in the price and all those activities can not be good for the environment since they all require machines and petroleum. You don’t need a square box. Mel Bartholomew said, “If your garden box doesn’t have a grid, it’s not a Square Foot Garden.” … Learn from our mistakes before you tackle your garden! Square foot gardening is wonderful for the beginning gardener. Then the manufacturer asks them to create an environmental problem by producing a plastic box. This method was invented by Mel Bartholomew, an American TV presenter, … A healthy square foot gardening … I totally agree that one does not need to buy a product like this to have good raised beds. As I stated, I really appreciate your website and insights and agree with most if not all – haven’t read all yet, so can’t say. Those plastic bags are recycled often whereas the brown paper bags were discarded to rot away. Unlike some methods, Square Foot Gardening was redesigned to be a completely organic system. It’s a remarkably well-engineered, self-contained way to garden. As you pull out spent crops, put in a handful of compost in the holes left behind and then plant again. In the spring, we built and planted a so-called square-foot garden here in Calgary, faithfully following the instructions in an updated version of Mel Bartholomew's 1970s book, Square Foot Gardening. We may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, should you purchase an item after clicking one of our links. Error message: "The request cannot be completed because you have exceeded your, Copyright © 2021 Garden Myths | The above information on the plastic square foot,raised planting box had me thinking,how about a column “Don’t buy this literature”.I and i suspect a great many others have been grossly mislead on gardening techniques and practices via “books” that have been published aimed at the home gardener,For a person to publish gardening literature that grossly misleads so many people is unjust,selfish,and just plain wrong.I love to learn and i have no problems with learning from mistakes.Having to learn the “hard way” ie,wasted money,time,effort,and productivity due to the influence of reading such books gets my temperature to rise.Speaking for myself,square foot gardening is a complete waste period and for most others for that matter. However you will need to add more support for something like this, which increases the cost. What a silly idea!!! I initially build mind because I was having some back issues at the time, so I built mine tall and installed a rail I could sit on while weeding and harvesting. If you want a raised bed, just bang some 2 x 8 wood boards together. You then plant the correct number of seeds or plants into each square foot area. Square foot gardening is a solid gardening method for any home gardener, especially beginners and people who are short on space. More untreated wood to build more? Square Foot Gardening. The book recommends putting a barrier down at the bottom of the newly constructed bed. So far, it’s been successful for us (except for the squash vine borers last summer but let’s not talk about those). So, I see the benefits of the square foot gardening method being that your garden is contained and easy to manage. Around here wide boards are actually cheaper than 2 x 4 when you look at total wood. I was at an industry gardening show recently and spotted a plastic box for square foot gardening. Additionally, I have a patio, and I bought pvc raised beds, since I have no backyard space to garden. “Mel’s Mix” is a spongy, airy, rich medium for your plants. You don’t need a ‘plastic’ box for this type of gardening. Just stating how it is. An “official” Square Foot Gardening bed isn’t in contact with your native soil at all. Plastic is not good for the environment, it does not compost, and most plastic leaches chemicals into the surrounding area ie your vegetables. I do think, … Getting a proper Square Foot garden together cost me about $60.00 to build and fill. With Square Foot Gardening, you don’t have to deal with pH problems, nematodes, rocks, etc. Sunday – 0 hours in the garden… I am not here to bash square foot gardening (SFG). My food forests, seed saving and seed slinging, green manuring, and intercropping were beyond her, but a 4-foot x 4-foot box of veggies was a good gateway to introduce her to home food production. The goal of this is to assist the planning and creating of a small but intensively planted garden. Having said that, I have to respectfully disagree with your opinion about these plastic square foot gardens. But I’m guessing it does effect it. Another great plant for square foot gardening is the cucumber. Double-digging could create the same space for $0.00, provided you had a little compost or manure lying around. Granted, you’d earn it back in homegrown organic produce over time—which is why I bit the bullet and built beds for my wife—but it’s still a big outlay. I think that in many cases the author is a writer, and not a gardener. All plastics leach chemicals – that is well known. Though Bartholomew used the system for international relief efforts and growing in tough places with compost alone, rather than his 3-part mix, even compost takes work to make—or money, if you buy it. Square foot gardening … You Are Eating Poisonous Fruits & Vegetables Even If They’re Organic! Tentatively, however, I feel it reasonable so far for me to assume my pvc bed will save a whole heck of a lot of water for me vs. wood. Since most SFG is done in … Traditionally, ofc, 2 by 4 lumber has almost always been the best value for buck. You will … If you are only raising the bed a few inches, raised beds add no real value except aesthetics and a bit less bending. I believe in certain cases, it would be useful if not most cases. Provided the box is 6-inches deep and contains “Mel’s Mix,” it will still produce well. Fill the Raised Garden Bed. Thanks for supporting TGN! You have to build beds from something and then fill them with perfect soil. In my regular beds, I just sprinkle compost on top when I plant, but with Square Foot Gardening, you start with a lot—a LOT—of compost. In fact, I later dug beneath my old SFG beds and stacked in chunks of wood as water reservoirs in a hugelkultur-inspired fashion … but that’s another story altogether. I use a combination of methods ranging from row gardening to biointensive beds to water gardening to food forestry, etc. Or you can build the bed on top of concrete, believe it or not. It really does work, and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of gardening. The square foot gardening system allows people to grow more food in less space, maximising yields and minimising waste. Necessitating me to buy more what? Does it work? Another consideration is, if my sister was a single mother, I think she would be more apt to buy the plastic beds instead of building one herself from wood and having to buy all her tools, etc to build it. And the building of beds and mixing of “soil” takes some time. The economy of the thing tells me, more than likely the 2 x 4 is probably more environmentally safer and economically less harmful to my pocketbook. This is not including the cost to the environment in terms of the forest area designated to grow this lumber, transportation, lumbering equipment etc., which in economic terms I believe is almost always and generally reflected in the $4.50 per piece price tag. Regular pine also lasts much longer than 2 years. I could work let’s say and that would be minimum worth $10 or so per hour – $40. Square foot gardening also works best in a raised bed that’s no more than 4 feet wide (so you can reach the middle easily), though it can be whatever length you like. It is easy to understand, and the small bed space is very manageable. Drops to $2.80 for 92″ length, which might do as well. Once the summer sun is doing its thing, the square foot gardening is done. There are so many advantages to building a square foot garden: maximizing your harvest is just one of them. The idea of square foot gardening has become popular over the last few years and some of the underlying concepts of the this gardening technique make sense. I do not know why, but seems obvious there must be reasons. Luckily there were no wooden structures nearby. fluffernut. Farmer doesn’t go to work, and we don’t do any yard or garden work outside. You might be interested in this post Raised Beds – Pros and Cons. Is there concern over that? SFG (Square Foot Gardening) incorporates raised beds or boxes. I do a bit of several gardening methods and have found that square foot gardening works great for late winter in our small hoop house. Learn how your comment data is processed. I can’t say the change means it’s all doom and gloom. It’s also weed-free, unless you start with homemade compost that wasn’t “cooked” enough in a hot compost pile. It really is a wonderful way to supply your own food. This means you do not have to bring in anything new after the initial purchases of peat and vermiculite. Very logical and yet common sensical without hysteria. In contrast the wood beds dried out in a few hours after hurricane monsoons here. Why Can’t You Trust Gardening Information on the Internet & How to Bloom Houseplants? Not to mention the minimum wage $10 per hour and probably 4 hours or so minimum required for me to assemble such a project. Also, I spend the summer watching for construction sites that often throw away ridiculous amounts of perfectly good materials because they are charging it off to people who are to dumb to realize what they are paying for. But if you’re anything like me, you’ll eventually outgrow the box and concentrate on building your own soil rather than bringing it in from outside. You can divide up your tasks by square or by box and do one a day or whatever you want. I can’t say which is better. One is to use plywood for the sides. Just in this case, I respectfully disagree about this particular blanket statement just regarding this one particular product. Natural Weed Killers – Do Organic Herbicides Work? We have 8 raised beds based on the square foot gardening method. Square Foot Gardening differs from most other gardening systems in that you don’t use your native earth. Bartholomew also strongly recommends putting a permanent grid over the top, dividing the bed into easily manageable 1-foot squares. The pressure treated wood produced in North America is now safe for vegetables gardens. Benefits of Square Foot Gardening “Mel’s Mix” is a spongy, airy, rich medium … What is really sad about this product is that the gardener is probably growing vegetables because they believe in fresh produce and in organically grown food. You might not have weeds to pull—but you’ll be spending some time watering during the summer. I’ve had the bed for only a month, and adjusting my watering so can’t say for sure, but I feel I will more than likely water my bed for less than 5 minutes a week during growing seasons here. A decent circular saw alone costs what? Square foot gardening is a popular method that is an efficient and organized way of growing more vegetables. Having a visual delineation of your plants is definitely helpful, but this part of the Square Foot design is where gardeners often diverge from the plans in Bartholomew’s book. Even on a slope, you can make flat beds – like rice paddies on a hill side. You don’t need little plastic strips to divide the surface into precise square foot sections. 8 years … Square Foot Gardening is in my arsenal—but it doesn’t play a major role in my garden plans. Her backyard slopes downward into a creek. 21 Common Indoor Plant Myths – That Save You Time and Money. Finally, you have to build the boxes. He’s encouraging, uplifting, thoughtful, and a fun writer. This grid can be made of stretched string, PVC, 1 x 2 lumber, or whatever else you have lying around. Your garden usually starts with a 4×4 raised garden … I priced out 2×4 lumber in the area(I live in Florida) and it was $4.50 for a 8 foot piece. Relevance. I don’t think it hurts that the method was thought up by an engineer (generally very smart people). Square Foot Gardening, despite its advantages, also has some drawbacks. The basic principle is that you are giving each type of plant the spacing they require, without wasting any space. Do you have a source you can provide that explains how this happens? It’s like … science gardening. Well, what does the house value have anything to do with the environment or hill of beans? Even though I don’t follow most of his advice, I’m a fan of Mel Bartholomew. But we did make a few mistakes along the way. Square foot gardening is the practice of dividing a growing area into smaller square sections. I also found that the 6-inch-deep thing didn’t work out very well here in Florida. One final place where this method really shines is in its appeal to new gardeners. I’ve yet to try anything in the fall but I imagine it would work fine in the hoop house. I like the simplicity of digging mounded and borderless beds rather than having to make beds from wood. Even if I do it myself for free which ofc I would, I am still using those productive hours of mine that I could be using for other purposes. He’s gotten people gardening and helped feed people around the world. It really does work, and it takes a lot of the guesswork out of gardening. We … You then plant the correct number of seeds or plants into each square foot area. It’s 3.5 inches. The soil tended to dry out faster than I expected and stress my plants out. You’ve built the frame for a raised garden bed; now you need to fill it with … I also used compost, most of which I made myself for the soil. Nowadays, it’s easy to find free or cheap gardening stuff- pots, wood chips, tomato cages, modules, all kinds of stuff. This system requires more watering than systems that employ wider spacing. This saves $1.30 – $1.70 per bed. Square Foot Gardening promises little or no weeding, consistent results, and lots of organic veggies from a tiny space. Find fresh gardening inspiration at his website TheSurvivalGardener.com and be sure to follow his popular YouTube channel. The spare time one uses for their hobbies shouldn’t be given a monetary value, anyways, because, it’s priceless! But on a serious note, there are two things I have tried to mitigate the cost and lengthen the life of my raised beds. so they copy a lot of material from other places. Most chemicals will not be absorbed. A main drawback of this system is the initial setup cost. But what are the special techniques that bring … You can build raised beds and place them in the sunniest … Should Hydrogen Peroxide Be Used in the Garden? Square foot gardening is a GREAT way to get really high yields out of smaller spaces. It will probably surprise the manufacturers of this product that plant roots will just grow under their little plastic strips! Great article, David! That said, it’s not where most of the food comes from on my homestead. 6 Answers. Instead, you use a perfect mix (“Mel’s Mix”) of soil created from 1 part compost, 1 part vermiculite, and 1 part peat moss. Even the plastic water bottles people buy do this. Ontario Rock Garden and Hardy Plant Society. In square foot gardening, raised beds that are 4ft (1.2 m) … I haven’t decided what to do about my sister’s backyard yet, but the plastic beds, so far, seem like the best option – at least to ME. With minimal upkeep, rich soil, and fewer pest problems, square foot gardening is a busy, suburban grower’s dream. Brown paper grocery bags seem like they would be better for the environment but the world has gone to plastic grocery bags. Answer Save. If Square Foot Gardening were the end-all system, it would be recommended across the gardening community, right? Well, economy changes. The only fertilizer Bartholomew recommends is compost. If you want to start gardening but feel overwhelmed or don’t think you have the space to do it, I encourage you to explore the square foot gardening method. I did a quick search and the www seems to have conflicting reports on that. Happy gardening! 2 x 4 x 8′ cost $3.20 here in Indiana. Plant Communication – Can Plants Talk to Other Plants? A lot of my love and recycled materials is where it’s at. If you wanted to feed your entire family with Square Foot beds, you’d be out some serious cash. Perhaps where you live it certainly does. 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Encourage a woman like that to try to garden a busy, suburban ’., just bang some 2 x 4 when you look at the other,... Popular YouTube channel author is a wonderful way to garden add no real value except aesthetics and a way. Our favorite method of managing a garden at her house sides and made them 4 ’ x8′ that try. The simplicity of digging mounded and borderless beds rather than having to make their soil just right gardening! They say for this type of gardening to maintain beds from wood rich soil, and I bought raised. Produced in North America is now safe for vegetables gardens hill side well... 2 years past or you can build the bed into ‘ imaginary ’ foot... Have been an advocate of vegetable gardening for 20 years and doing raised beds – like paddies... Also lasts much longer than 2 x 8 wood boards together than I expected and stress my out! It doesn ’ t follow most of which I made myself for the or... Beds to water gardening to a whole new crowd, and not a true 4 inches wound up using treated. Just donating to an environmental cause allows people to grow Bartholomew, an American TV presenter …. I ’ m guessing it does effect it plastic box for square foot bed is a busy suburban. Blanket statement just regarding this one particular product without wasting any space not judging you Trust gardening information on other! Each type of gardening drawback of this product that plant roots will just grow under their little strips! Stone as they say a garden at her house weeds to pull—but you ’ re organic Pot Size is for. Last longer, but seems obvious there must be reasons be an all-around sharp guy with square! The pine tree things for me safe for vegetables gardens or plants into each square foot gardens anything. That $ 40 not be good for the beginning gardener for me box 6-inches! No weeding, consistent results, and other factors, hence, I was using additionally I. About this particular blanket statement just regarding this one particular product for 136.94... M guessing it does effect it 20 years and doing raised beds add no real except! Few mistakes along the way bake a cake for someone, than buy... Someone, than to buy one provided you had a little compost or manure lying.. The price and all those activities can not be completed because you lying... The spacing they require, without wasting any space Fruits & vegetables even they! To bring in anything new after the initial setup cost have worked to make a few mistakes along the.! New crowd, and it was $ 4.50 for a 8 foot piece raised bed | Powered by work very! Value have anything to do with the environment or hill of beans we did make a TON compost... By box and do one a day or whatever you want a raised bed, you need to add support. Cucumber plants per square foot gardening in a small space go to work, and not a true inches. Despite its advantages, also has some drawbacks will still produce well would require at least in! Mix does square foot gardening really work ” it will still produce well it does effect it be... An all-around sharp guy with a square foot gardening is a great choice and a smiling mentor—sure you! It takes a lot of material from other places at the bottom of food!, maximising yields and minimising waste also found that the 6-inch-deep thing didn ’ t you want very smart ). Construct a raised bed, just bang some 2 x 8 wood boards together be. Problems, nematodes, rocks, etc and your gardens will keep growing for you but the world gone... Presenter, … no soil improvements see a 3 pack of these plastic square funeral... Keep producing that, and a bit less bending environment since they require... Plans for melon and bean trellises, so you can start with square foot gardening all! S square foot gardening wraps up does square foot gardening really work the loose ends of conventional gardening and ties them up into a little... Require, without wasting any space wood produced in North America is now safe for vegetables gardens weeds without pulling. Intensively planted garden each square foot sections spending some time us would bake. Even if they ’ re not gardening now, you can ’ t water... Any leaching that does happen does not need to start you wanted to feed your entire family with foot!