A few years ago Hubs and I took a "square foot gardening" class from a certified SFG teacher. That means the teacher went to an official training workshop from the master of the square foot gardening technique...Mel Bartholomew. I think Mel knows his stuff! It is an easy and efficient system and anyone can pull it off. I highly recommend reading his book "Square Foot Gardening". I truly believe it makes it possible for anyone to be a successful gardener.
Square foot gardening and container gardening are often confused or considered the same thing. Container gardens usually use a much deeper box or structure for the garden. This in turn requires a lot more dirt. Container gardens don't usually section the box into the one foot squares used in SFG as well. I have seen some lovely and functional container gardens. I'm just happy to see any kind of garden being utilized and enjoyed. I say whatever works!
Every spring I see SFG classes cropping up around town. Often free introductory classes are offered at your local library or garden center. Hubs and I took a 4 week course through the local high school continuing education classes. It was well worth it.
We have built several gardens since taking the classes. The SFG method is perfect for urban settings and can fit into most any size space.
Our preference is to build the garden boxes with untreated cedar. We feel this is the healthiest choice. We aren't convinced that PVC and vinyl boxes are safe for your food source. We are thinking of experimenting with boxes made out of flat stock steel this fall. I'll keep you posted!
This spring we had the pleasure of constructing an awesome square foot garden for a novice gardener. We wanted something sleek, streamline and unobtrusive to meet the needs of the homeowner. Once again this method is the perfect choice...
We went with 2' wide boxes so they didn't interfere with much lawn space. We "stepped" them from one end of the deck to the other to follow the slope of the yard.
I LOVE this garden! It was just the right size for this family. It was totally doable with their busy schedules and completely low maintenance, yet they still had an impressive crop of organic yumminess.
Okay, it's not exactly "square feet" where it fits into the corner...but, this method is totally adaptable and this just looked really cool. It also gave them a sweet tomato patch.
See! Anyone can have an amazing successful garden!
HA! Look at the giant tomato plants this "novice" gardener pulled off! The whole garden was equally impressive and yielded a surprising amount of produce. (This tomato plant is growing in just 6" of planting medium)
They had dozens of cucumbers! Aren't these gorgeous???
They loved the beets so much they want to plant a lot more next year...
Just a sampling of some of their crop. Pretty little carrots...
The first early picking of a variety of tomatoes. You saw the plants! Obviously they will be eating tomatoes until the cows come home! That's a good thing!
I was excited to share this perfect little garden. The possibilities are endless...and really...there is no excuse for not having your own little piece of heaven!
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