Square Foot Gardening Basics

Alright before getting started, I will first of all say that all of this information either comes from the book All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew, copyrighted 2005 or from his website, http://www.squarefootgardening.com/old/index_2.html. I might make notes or tell it my own way, but the information and ideas are his.

The reason for doing a square foot garden is simply less time, maintenance, effort, watering, and weeds. Plus getting a larger yield in less space.

First of all you will need a roll of weed blocker paper, which is black and can be bought at Walmart for less than $8. It covered my entire area, with some left over, so it is well worth the money.

Next you will need something to clear the area you want to put your square. We used a hoe, small pickax, and old newspaper to cover the ground inbetween sessions of clearing. For most people it doesn't take this long, but we have some persistant vines growing through our yard.

Next you will need four boards that measure 6" wide and are 4' long. Don't get pressure treated but untreated boards, so the stuff won't seep into your soil. The book has some ideas on how to acquire these, but we just bought them at the lowe's and had them cut the wood for free. So you need 2 boards that are 2" x 6" x 8' and have the boards cut in half to four feet long.
Purchase some deck screws to join the boards and alternate the corners to get a square box.
Okay, now I will admit a goof up I made. You are supposed to make a grid to go on top of the box using thin strips of wood, such as lathes (the boards in lattice fencing). Well, even as adept as I might be in construction material, I goofed when looking at the price of the wood I bought. I couldn't find the lathes in home depot, which would be somewhere about a dollar a piece ( you need six), and instead settled on flat pine moulding for what I thought said 73 cents. It was instead that price per linear feet (lf) and it cost $23 for all the wood I got. I was so sticker shocked it almost ruined my day (I am that way). Make sure you get cheap stuff or use unclaimed stuff from a construction site.

To create the dirt inside your box you will need peat moss, the bigger size the better. Mine cost $9.99 at walmart and I had a five dollar gift card so it cost me even less.

Next you will need coarse vermiculite which improves the drainage of your soil mix. I bought mine at Hanna's Garden Shop in Greystone area for five dollars less than the other guys.


If you don't have any compost already going on your own, you will need to purchase some. Don't get the dirt cheap stuff, because it usually is not well rotted and is mostly cow manure. The best kind to me says it has at least 7 ingredients and limited weed seeds. Sometimes you can find compost at waste management places, etc.
I already had compost started last year. I now have five piles going, and will talk about composting on its own at a later time.

Alrighty, step 1:
Screw your boards together
Step 2
Remove the weeds from your plot of level well drained ground
Step 3
Cover area with weed blocker
Step 4
Place box on top of weed blocker
Step 5
Take a large tarp or old blanket and mix together your three dirts on top of it to where there is a 1/3 of compost, 1/3 of peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite to fill your box. Mix the three together with a garden rake, hoe, or shovel, while misting or spraying with water from a hose.
Step 6
Place dirt in the box and level out
Step 7
Create a grid with your strips of wood, making even squares on top of your box. Screw into the frame and where the strips join.
Step 8
Plant!
Your finished product will look like this:

Square Foot Gardening Finished Product

Woo-hoo! I have at least partially finished something!! Yea!!

Here is what the ground looks like after it has been de-weeded and the black weed blocker fabric put on top. I held it down with rocks since I haven't decided what to cover the unused portions, or walkways, with yet.


This is what the dirt looks like in the box without the grid on it.


This is when we had planted almost all the squares. My oops is showing again! I don't know what happened; if we didn't put the box together square or if I had the strips cut to the wrong size, but after I screwed the first row of strips on, the second row didn't reach from end to end. So, like all true southerners, I improvised. You are supposed to screw or bolt the pieces together where they meet at each intersection, so I suspended the pieces where the screws at these points is what keeps the strips together. I really do think we did the box wrong, because I wasn't able to get all of the squares the same size, which you will notice if you look hard enough.


Here are the things planted in our garden; I had lots of help from my five year old daughter and it will be a great learning experience for both of us.

First I have three Atchison Tomatoes my grandfather gave me, but the internet refuses to believe there are actually tomatoes named that, so I don't know what to call them. I will post pictures of them later as tomatoes start forming on them.
At the base of each tomato plant, we planted seeds of Cracker Jack Marigolds,


Next to the tomatoes is a Ghostbuster Eggplant,


On the opposite corner from the eggplant are three green bell pepper plants in the same square,



We planted 2 lemon cucumber seeds in another square,


Also, we planted 2 Early Yellow Crookneck Squash,


And, we planted 2 Straightneck Early Yellow Squash,


In between the squash and bell pepper, we planted a square full of Common Sweet Basil seeds,


On the other side of the tomatoes, we planted 4 Golden Cross Bantam Hybrid Corn,


Next to that, we planted 4 Ruby Queen Hybrid Corn,


Next to that, we planted 4 Blue Lake Stringless Beans


Its neighbor is 4 Tendergreen Improved Beans,


In our pesky ditch for run off, I took my neighbor/cousin-in-law's advice, and planted Jack O Lantern pumpkins, which I have promised my daughter for two years we would plant.


We also scattered red poppy, morning glory, and zinnia seeds in various other ditches around our property. I will make certain to post pictures of them at a later time if they grow.