Square Foot Gardening Tips

Square foot gardening,like Patio, moss and Companion gardening or Frugal and Shade garden is more popular than ever since more people with limited space started gardening. You build box frames that are 4 feet by 4 feet. Put in the soil mix and then add a grid that separates the area into 1 by 1 foot squares. This method uses 50 percent less cost, 20 percent of the space, 10 percent of the water, 5 percent of the seeds, and because there is limited ground work like weeding, 2 percent of the work.

You simply need to build a frame to begin the process. Use boards 6 to 8 inches wide and 4 feet long to build the box. Donot use treated wood or it leaches toxins into the soil and they are absorbed into your crop. When you eat the vegetables you grew, you eat the toxins they absorbed. Lay the framework on a cleared spot. Remove any weeds and grass from the area first.

Fill your box with a mixture made from equal parts of compost, peat moss and coarse grade vermiculite. You donot need any soil since the vermiculite holds water; the peat moss and compost provide all the nutrients that your Citrus tree,sugar baby Watermelon or any plants need.

Make a grid of thin wood, similar to that used in a trellis. You will lay three four-foot boards vertically one foot apart. On top of them, and perpendicular, lay the first board one foot down from the top of the other boards with 1-foot overlap at each end. Put the next two boards 1 foot on center from each other. Connect the grid where the boards meet with small nails.

Plant Spacing in the Square Foot Garden

Here is where the seed savings appears. You only plant one to two seeds per grid area in the garden. Simply poke a small hole in the soil, lightly cover the seeds, and share your seeds with a neighbor or store them in the refrigerator. If you use starts, you can use one or two per area, depending on the type of plant.

Watering

At first, you will need to water frequently. The great part is that you simply set buckets of water in the sun, then when they are warm, hand water your garden using a cup to dole out this warm drink to your plants.

Square Foot Ideas

Pests are easy to keep at bay in a square foot garden. If you have bunnies that love to nibble, the compact and raised area makes it easy to put a small plastic mesh fence around your garden.

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