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An Introduction to Square-Foot Gardening
getrichslowly.org — Grow your own food and save money. "The square-foot gardening concept is simple: Build a raised bed, divide the space into sections of one square-foot each, and then plant vegetables (and/or flowers) in just the amount of space they need..."
kevinrose- 737 diggs
- digg it
- kutateli, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2Cool concept but it's hard for some people living in urban areas to do something like this... not to mention it would be time consuming.
- geekchic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Just one "bed" was the same size as my entire balcony. I do grow my own herbs though - that I can manage in a small set of pots.
- Claw787, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5It's one of those things which I really like to do, but probably won't do.
- TheWalkingDude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+6That's not the kind of "digging" I had in mind, although it might make a good DS game. Now pass me a multivitamin. /nerd
- johnpaul191, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5@Kutatell - it's amazing how non-time consuming it is. i started doing this last year, and it's very little effort. it's actually great for urban areas. if you have a tiny back yard, this works great. you can follow the vertical growing ideas in the SFG method.
@ geekchic - you don't have to go 4x4, you can go 1x1 or 1x4. the stuff you use for growing media (NOT dirt) weighs so little that you can easily make table top gardens, or use planter boxes that hang off a railing. you can also try to get roof access, and the stuff is so light weight (and only 6" deep) that it is not a risk to damaging the roof.
i don't know what that link is, but go straight to the source: http://squarefootgardening.com/
you can also go to Borders or something and flip through the book. the author of the book is regularly on You Bet Your Garden on NPR. that's where i first learned about this. sooooooooooooo much easier than using a shovel in the dirt. - PhillipJFry, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1What a stupid comment. Gardening of any type is ***** difficult in an urban area
- jabab, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8Get rich slowly: grow vegetables
Get rich quick: grow weed - stinkypyper, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I see a lot of talk about home gardening being expensive, a lot of work, and difficult.
Expensive - Bags of dirt, manure, and compost, are only a few dollars. Landscaping wood to build raised beds is only a few dollars a length at home depot, seed packets(good for years) and started plants(cells of 4) are around a dollar each. The rest of the supplies can be salvaged, old sticks for staking for example. The first is really the only expense, and even then it is a tiny amount. After that you dig in a bag(s) of compost or manure every year, a couple of bucks.
Work - Digging up a piece of land and building beds is easy. Maintenance is nothing more then a bit of weeding(5 minutes) and watering. If your too lazy to water you can build a homemade watering system out of old plastic bottles, just google it to see how.
Difficult - Anything you need to know is on the Internet. The square foot system here is probably the best. Take out a plant and get a put in a new one, very easy, very productive. Ignore the spacing they tell you on store bought plants and seed packets, you can always cram in way more.
For spacing visit:
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/html/body_PlantSpacing.htm
http://www.essene.com/Vegetarian/PlantSpacingsInASquareFootGarden.htm
You'll be amazed at how much organic produce you will get out of small area, you'll will be fedding yourself and allyour freinds, makes you realize how much energy the sun showers us with. The first year the garden will pay for itself three times over. Following years it's just a whole lot of fresh, very tasty, organic, and free food. Don't forget to smuggle some weed in your patch too. - 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1You can grow a garden on your rooftop(if you have a flat strudy roof), or under skylights.
I have a feeling Mr. Rose wants to turn his Digg Headquarters into a arboretum(cheaper than redecorating), or at least a Hops and Barley farm(free beer to all visitors?).
- hiPpymIck, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3im planning to plant some window boxes with mixed salad leaves..
should just about be a daily supply if i stagger the planting and pick carefully
this site has US/UK weather settings - its got a beginners corner thats easy to follow
http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/beginner/start_vegetable_patch.asp - allaboutdatiki, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Kevin must be getting ready to hit that mid-life thing. Next thing you know, he'll be terrorizing the neighborhood with a big red Troy-Bilt garden tiller!
I'll bring mine right over ...
http://www.geekbooks.com/loading_ramps_pt_ii_444.html
One thing to consider with raised beds ... avoid using treated lumber.- 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Kevin must be getting ready to hit that mid-life thing."
I think he's doing some planning for his Digg Headquarters.
Maybe a rock climbing wall and some gardening areas, and maybe a rooftop grill?
- 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Kevin must be getting ready to hit that mid-life thing."
- chumprock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8Dont forget to note the most famous SFG there is, Mel Bartholomew.
His book is worth owning if you're serious about this. Not only does he give advice for garden planning and space allocation, he has a guide for how to plant/grow/yield/replant many popular varieties.
I just moved this weekend and building my new sfg next weekend!
http://www.squarefootgardening.com/ - bobcorrigan, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I'll second chumprock's recommendation - the book is a must-have. But for those who don't want it, I can summarize SFG quickly:
1. You'll be gardening in one foot square blocks - as many of them as you want/need.
2. You'll be planting exactly as many plants as can be successfully raised in each square foot block.
3. As you harvest crops, you augment the soil a little (some fertilizer, maybe), turn it over a few times with a trowel, then plant another crop that's appropriate for the time of year.
4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 until frost - even later if you have a cold frame.
You'd be amazed how much productivity you get out of a 3 foot by 3 foot space - that's 9 active "squares", each of which is growing different crops, each of which is dead-easy to manage. My raised-bed SFG is exactly this size, and works every year.
Low fencing for critter control is a must-have too... - MisterFlaut, on 10/12/2007, -5/+3I dunno, it's kinda uneconomical to grow your own, unless the plant keeps on giving.
For ex, you grow a few tomato plants, wait months, and you might get 15 or so. Why not just buy them at that point?
Or if you were to grow corn. Great, it takes many many months and you get.. maybe 6 ears per plant?- chumprock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8There is the reward of ingesting the fruit of your efforts.
There is the benefit of knowing exactly where your food comes from.
And there is the value of the recreation of gardening yourself.
Economical? The example you provided is perfect. You take one seed which costs pennies, and yield a couple dozen fruits. How is that not economical? - nixfu, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5>A lot more than if you paid for them at the store.
Well, actually not really IF YOU CARE about organic, and having stuff very fresh and tasty.
1) You can grow organic and if you factor in the retail price of organic produce which costs many times more than "regular" mass market product then the cost/benefit is MUCH better.
2) You can grow TOTALLY DIFFERENT and much tasier/nicer varieties of food. Commerical growers use varietys of food that is optimized for output/shipping/shelf life etc... TASTE is about 15th on the list. THIS IS what makes a huge difference in the quality of food you grow yourself. - bpmox, on 10/12/2007, -5/+2Don't digg him down, he's completely right. Home gardening is completely uneconomical, which is perfectly fine, it's now why I or other people do it. The first words of the description are 'Grow your own food and save money' and that's a fallacy that deserves to be pointed out
See: The 64 Dollar Tomato. - MisterFlaut, on 10/12/2007, -4/+0I just mean from the standpoint of... if I want corn, why would I wait months to grow it just to get a few ears?
It's easier and more effective to just head up to the store and buy a bunch for just a few bucks. What are you gonna do in the meantime if you want some corn? Go without it?
It's one of those things that sounds good on paper, but when you actually try to do it, it leaves you wondering, "Eh.. maybe this isn't the best way."
It just seems like a lot of time and effort that goes into something that doesn't provide as much as you think it would. Now if you had an entire field to devote to it, that's one thing... but the average backyard? It'd be more for the "I grew my own food because I could, not because it really makes any sense." - chumprock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Yeah, but the whole point of square foot gardening is to create an easier, less time intensive gardening plan with a relavtively small amount of space.
I understand where you're coming from, but to be able to spend 1-2 hours a week (so says Mel) on a 4 sq ft space is a very small amount of labor for a pretty good yield. And other methods employed by the article and the author I mention has the planting times staggered so many of your crops will have a continuous output throughout the summer as opposed to planting all the corn at once & having 15 ears in one week and none for the rest of the summer. - 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1If you grow your plants from seeds - such as tomatoes. It's a lot cheaper.
We have tomato plants in our lobby indoors(as well radishes lettuce & strawberries and herbs) thanks to our skylights - we pick tomatoes(and everything else) year round.
- chumprock, on 10/12/2007, -0/+8There is the reward of ingesting the fruit of your efforts.
- JiMiThInG, on 10/12/2007, -1/+4Much to small for me. I have a 15ft x 12fx veggie garden. It is a lot of work,. but I personally feel a veggie garden is good for the soul. I always end up growing way more then I can eat but its fun to give stuff away to co-workers, family, and friends.
- 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Do you go around putting whole zucchini and squash in seats of cars, whose windows are left open in the Summer?
If so, Thanks!
- 0crabby0, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Do you go around putting whole zucchini and squash in seats of cars, whose windows are left open in the Summer?
- hotdog8000, on 10/12/2007, -14/+2umm ***** stupid why the ***** are you morons digging this *****
square foot gardening hahahha wtf you bloody fracking pussies
im burying this *****- therealrico, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2ummm, I hope you realize how dumb you sound there.
- m4v1s, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3This type of gardening works great. We grow everything from squash to corn, to various herbs in a 10ft by 5ft area. There are also quite a few books on square foot gardening that explain how to rotate crops and make the soil last longer.
- ablez3, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1no thanks
i grow my weed in an underground tunnel complex - flooker, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1"Some have a way with people. Others have a way with the land. Organic farming pioneer Mario Levi has a way with both. At 81 years old and with plans for the next 50, his name has become a legend among international large-scale growers, small-scale farmers and young American university students.
He doesn't speak much, yet small gestures - a squinty smile, a wave of his expressive Italian hands, a ride in the red tractor that matches his cheeks - allows one to feel an immediate closeness to him and the culture that surrounds organic food.
"In my life I have always been searching for the truth, and through my exploration, I found that conventional agriculture is a tragedy for the earth," Levi told ISRAEL21c during a visit to his home on Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu where he settled after fleeing a Nazi regime from Trieste, Italy 64 years ago.
After researching the basic principles behind organic farming for several years, Levi started a 20-acre farm in 1974.
"When I said I was going to grow organic agriculture, everyone thought I was cuckoo," he chuckles as he motions circles around his head. But over 30 years later, the great-grandfather is now recognized as Israel's pioneer of organic agriculture...He has over 950 mouths to feed on his kibbutz, therefore his purpose is to produce as many vegetables as possible without disrupting the environment."...His expertise draws volunteers to the kibbutz from the United States - more than 150 per year - who come hoping to have a chance to work alongside the legend that they heard about back home."
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enDispWho=Articles%5El924&enSearchQueryID=5&enPage=BlankPage&enDisplay=view&enDispWhat=object&enVersion=0&enZone=Profiles& - RapidEye, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I've been Square Foot Gardening for 5 or 6 yrs - its great! Much easier to keep up and less intimdating to keep weed free!
- obsequies7, on 10/11/2007, -0/+1i've been doing square foot gardening since 2003. In my old-fashioned veg gardens, weeding took 6 hours per week. Now, it's down to 30 minutes. It's a real time-saver.
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