Update! Check out our new Square Foot Gardening Infographic for even more tips, diagrams, a plant list and much more.
I recently stumbled upon a book (All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space! by Mel Bartholomew) with an interesting gardening method called square foot gardening, and decided we would give it a try. I’ve always thought the idea of having a vegetable garden would be a lot of fun. Walking out to your square foot garden and picking a fresh tomato for tonight’s dinner appeals to the self-sufficient nature of most frugal individuals.
I know just enough about gardening to know that I am not very good at it, and that it is a lot of work. My kids have always been fascinated with the idea of growing things, but our soil and our dog make planting anything in the yard impossible. Enter square foot gardening.
What is Square Foot Gardening?
The idea behind square foot gardening is that you can plant fruits, vegetables and flowers in raised beds, above infertile soil and even out of the reach of pets. Seeds are planted in 1X1 square foot plots, and when harvested a new plant is installed in the square. Raised beds can sit directly on the ground, or include a bottom layer and be placed on patios, decks or porches. Because of a bad back, and a dog with a propensity to dig up our new plants, we decided to build a 4×2 foot table-top design.
Materials Needed to Set Up a Square Foot Garden
Material costs are variable, depending on the size of garden you plan to build. I personally opted for a 4′ by 2′ configuration because it fit the table we were planning to use. Most people typically start with a 4′ by 4′ design for their first square foot garden. I’ll share with you what materials I used, but keep in mind the pricing could be higher or lower depending on your local costs of lumber, soil, etc.
(1) Sheet untreated plywood – $0.00 (leftover scrap from a previous home improvement project)
(2) 2x6x8 pieces of untreated lumber – $7.38
Don’t get treated lumber because treatments can seep into the soil and contaminate your planting area.
(8) #8 x 3″ Wood Screws (or deck screws) – $2.94
Use these longer screws to connect the corners of the 2×6′s after cutting to the desired length.
(8) #6 x 1″ Wood Screws – $0.98
These were used to anchor the nylon line to create a grid system for the 1×1 planting plots. I also used a few to fasten the sheet of plywood to the 2×6′s to create a bottom to my container.
(1) Pack of Twisted Nylon Line – $4.43
I used this and the smaller screws to create a grid system on top of the container, in 1×1 square foot patterns.
(2) 2cu ft. bags of Miracle Grow Garden Soil (for flowers and vegetables) – $13.54
There were more frugal recipes here for soil, such as 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite. However, I could not find the ingredients packaged locally and the individual ingredients bought separately at the larger home improvement stores were more expensive the bags of Miracle Grow. If you have some compost to mix, such as soil generated from a Mantis ComposT-Twin composter, it would really help your soil.
(10-pack) Strawberry plants – $3.98
(1) Burpee Seed Pack Super Sugar Snap Peas – $1.57
(1) Burpee Seed Pack Tomato, Early & Often Hybrid – $2.47
(1) Burpee Seed Pack Cucumber, Burpless Beauty – $1.88
(1) Burpee Ambrosia Cantaloupe – $1.57
(1) Burpee Danvers Half-Long Carrots – $1.28
I buy our seeds from Burpee Seed Company. Check out the banner at this end of this post for a special offer for Frugal Dad readers.
Total Start-up Cost: $42.02
Building a Square Foot Gardening Box
It was my daughter’s idea to use popsicle sticks to mark the type of fruit or veggie planted. We will fill in the remaining squares after we eat another round of popsicles!
Since we decided to go with raised beds on a table top I checked the dimensions of the table and came up with a suitable size for our square foot gardening container. Four feet by two feet would allow for eight square foot plots for planting. First, cut the 8ft. long 2x6s down to size. Next, position the 2x6s on the table in a rectangular pattern, alternating corners to make the “inside box” dimensions four feet by two feet (I chose not to alternate corners because the table I was working with was only 45 inches wide, so I needed it to be a little narrower). Fasten the sides using the #8×3″ wood screws. If you have trouble with the wood trying to split you may want to first drill pilot holes.
With the sides now fastened it is time to attach a bottom to the container, unless you are planning to put the raised bed directly on the ground. If this is the case, use some cardboard or weed blocking fabric to discourage grass and weeds from coming up through the soil. In my case, the container will be placed on a table top so I needed to attach a bottom to hold the soil in place. Fortunately, I had some untreated plywood I ripped to size. The bottom doesn’t have to be thick, so 1/4″, 3/8″ or 1/2″ plywood would do just fine. Fasten the bottom to the container using the #6×1″ wood screws (assuming you didn’t use 1″ plywood).
Plan for drainage by raising the box up a couple inches. I ripped a couple scraps from the remaining 2x6s and used them to attach four 2″ feet for each corner of the box. I also drilled a few 1/8″ thick drainage holes in the bottom of the box to allow standing water to flow out the bottom.
Create a grid system on top of the square foot gardening container using nylon line and #6×1″ screws, spaced a foot apart across the width and length of the container. Drill the screws about half way into the top of the 2x6s, leaving enough room to tie a knot of nylon line around the screw. If the end of the nylon line frays after cutting (as mine did), use a lighter to gently melt the ends to prevent further fraying.
Irrigating a Square Foot Garden
*Unless you already have a drip line and timer prepared for your garden, you’ll have to water manually early on to improve seed germination. If the air is particularly dry, or hot, you will need to constantly keep the soil moist until seeds have sprouted and taken root. One economical way to do this is to fill used water bottles and poke a small hole or two in one side of the bottle using a safety pin. Use your finger to dig a 1/2″ deep trench the length of the bottle and lay the bottle on its side, pin-prick side down, over the trench. The water will slowly drip into the trench, keeping the soil moist for several hours. Obviously when sprouts begin to appear above the surface you want to be sure not to position a bottle directly on top of the struggling plant.
Perform this routine first thing in the morning so soil gradually soaks and then dries throughout the day, and is driest overnight. This reduces the chance of fungus or diseases developing. This is even more important when the plants begin to develop leaves – avoid wetting leaves at all costs as it encourages disease.
*I’ve since improved on this irrigation system as I became more aware of the dangers of heated plastic leeching bad things into the soil
I’m not sure what to expect from this effort in terms of food yields, but just the process of building the box, filling it with dirt and planting seeds with my kids was worth the $40. If the small garden yields a few fruits and veggies during the spring and summer then all the better. Who knows, if we can cultivate a good crop we may build more boxes next summer and section off an area of the yard so the dog does not eat our produce.
I think over time it will help my kids understand the true value of things. Those strawberries don’t just wind up in the produce section of our local grocery stores. As I pointed out to my daughter today someone has to plant the seeds, water the plants, harvest the crops, clean the strawberries, package them, and transport them to a distributor.
Additional Resources:
This is a very interesting idea and a very ingenious design for urban gardening! This is a project that my kids would go nuts over. I might give it a try. Let us know how things go.
Jeff – like I mentioned in the article, even if the garden yields only a few crops, it was worth the time and money just watching the kids get involved! It has generated some other ideas such a building a sand table, a bird feeder, etc.
My neighbors have a square foot garden, and it looks like a lot of fun. Hope to try it out this year!
I definitely want picture updates throughout the summer! -even if it’s of dead plants
We’re planning on getting another garden started soon. I always had one growing up and hated working in it. I used to vow that I would never make my kids work in a garden. As soon as we moved into our first house, I planted a huge garden.
I’ve had one every year up until taking on my current job. It just has me out of town so much that I wouldn’t be able to tend to it properly (been out of town for 7 weeks, home only on weekends).
My kids though, are old enough (14, 13,
to start working in one. I think I’ll break that old vow unless they want to start contributing their babysitting and yard work money toward the groceries!
What a fun project for the kids! Once my boys get a little older we’ll have to try this. Keep us posted on how the crops turn out.
Hey, great post FD. How long until you start to bear the fruits (or vegetables!) of your labor?
This is great! My wife and I have talked about doing one for months.
Keep us posted on this one. It’s a frugal practice short-term and long-term with financial and health benefits too.
Master Your Card: Most of the seed packs indicated a 64-85 day window from germination to harvest. I’m guessing around May we may have some cucumbers, green tomatoes, etc, but it make take a little longer for things to fully ripen. The strawberries we planted were actual plants, cut down to the root bulb and just a faint showing of a plant. I imagine (hope) these will take off faster as they tend to be ripe for picking around here in April/May.
I used to have a square foot garden and it did very well. I’m planning on having one this year as well but I’m … well, I’m dreading the building part. Last time I tried to build a square it ended up rather trapezoidal.
I LOVE this idea. I have a blank slate for a backyard after moving into a brand new house and I really wanted a MANAGEABLE garden project for the summer when I’m off work. This is the perfect thing for my 6 year old son and I to tackle.
I especially love the irrigation system. I’m going to start collecting water bottles from my co-workers tomorrow (since I’m too “frugal” to buy water myself).
I am looking forward to seeing the fruits of your efforts! We did our very first garden last year and I was so suprised at how well I did (black thumb and all) I had low expectations that I would follow through on it so I didn’t pick the best place to plant, just the best spot where no grass was growing. I still managed to have herbs and tons of varieties of tomatos that did well. This year I plan to do things more properly and actually plant in an area that gets full sun. Trial and error, but a great experience for the entire family! Thank you for inspiring me more!
Pingback: Spring Is in the Air | Oh My Aching Debts
Pingback: Be a Blogger: Set Your Post Frequency | Frugal Dad
Great post – I am going to try a garden this year. In the past I threw in a few tomato plants and had some luck. This year I would like to try a few varieties on things. Please post an update for us!
Pingback: Nova Scotia Gardening » How to Build a Square Foot Garden
Pingback: Weekly Roundup: Eating Out, Small Business, and Budgeting
thank you so much for posting this! i did a google search for “average start-up square foot garden” and your site was the first to come up. we’re very passionate about growing our own food but we’re also a low-income family and i’ve been, well, FREAKING OUT a bit about how much it might cost to set it up. so thank you for easing my mind! i’ve bookmarked you and i would love to see more pictures and reports as your garden progresses.
Pingback: Building a square foot garden | beingfrugal.net
Pingback: Weekly Roundup: First Garden Sprouts Edition | Frugal Dad
Pingback: Tuesday Megalinks and Tuesday Megalinks
I found a website offering free seeds while I was researching gardening this morning .. might be useful to you
Pingback: Build a Square Foot Garden [Food] · TechBlogger
Pingback: purrl.net |** urls that purr **|
Pingback: How to Build a Square Foot Garden | Frugal Dad
Another method that might be right up you frugal folks alley is the no-dig garden. http://www.no-dig-vegetablegarden.com/
For my own yard, I got a bunch of laundry detergent bottles, cut the tops off them (including the tops of the handles to water with) and some bronze spray paint for my peppers. I am also happy with the 10 cent packages of seeds. Left over seeds from last year do me good, too. For fertilizing, I gathered old piles of horse manure out at a friend’s pasture and bought a mess of earthworms last year that are rather happy in my container garden! Companion gardening is good too. (Carrots/radishes planted at the near edges of my pepper pots–they are ready for harvest before the peppers need that space.)
Very cool, cannot wait to try this in New Mexico this fall!
Pingback: Build a Square Foot Garden [Food] » Lifehacker, tips and downloads for getting things done
Wow, I love your blog.
Being a dad in a single income family with a small garden this post couldn’t have been a better fit!
Thanks
Albert (www.thoughtsintime.co.za)
very nice project. and very well executed. i like your water bottle irrigation system!
Nice, but I would steer clear of miraclegro soil – loaded up with fertilizers (NPK). Better to go with an organic soil mix, or better still some compost from last year’s vegetable peelings etc.
Also if you live in a frosty area (as we do in the Northeast), elevating the garden on a table allows cold air to get to the roots from underneath, which can enhance frost damage. It is better to place it on the ground or slightly buried, so there’s only one side (the top) exposed to the cold air. Also cover with a clear plastic sheet until the chance of frost is over (mid May for us).
One more thing – regarding the comment on using last year’s leftover seeds, we have not had much success with this, and storage conditions are critical. Nasturtium in particular don’t do well if the seeds get damp at all. For the extra investment of $5, it is well worth it to get new seeds. It would be a shame to go to all that effort and have it fail because you cheaped-out on a couple of bucks for new seeds.
Not so on the Miracle Grow soil mix – I work with it at my job and use it all the time. If you mix it with your own compost, it will not hurt you at all… give us a break on the Miracle Grow, it’s been used for many many years with great success!
nice article. very interesting project.
Pingback: Welcome LifeHacker Readers and Del.icio.us Followers | Frugal Dad
Very nice tutorial. Thanks alot for sharing this. Very useful.
Thanks for the great article, I’m glad you are enjoying your new square foot garden.
We ended up fencing off part of our yard to keep our dogs from digging in our garden, but I have been looking into square foot gardening to maximize the amount of produce that we’ll get from our garden this year.
Pingback: links for 2008-03-19 at John Bowersox
Pingback: links for 2008-03-20 « Donghai Ma
Pingback: links for 2008-03-20 at they made me do it
Pingback: How to Build a Square Foot Garden - Surviwar
Pingback: Lessons Learned from Living Ten Years on One Income | Frugal Dad
Pingback: links for 2008-03-20 « (realityloop) embrace recursion
It is great to find this article, which I found through Entrecard, as I have been in the process of starting my own square foot garden. I had planned to do this last year after my mom loaned me a book on the subject, but I didn’t follow through. This year I am going to make it happen.
Pingback: links for 2008-03-21 | Moewes.com
Pingback: Links for Super-Charged Living - March 22, 2008 | My Super-Charged Life
Pingback: Chris Carlson » links for 2008-03-21
Pingback: links for 2008-03-22 | Angelchrys
Pingback: Easter Garden « Middleclassmom’s Weblog
Pingback: Allie’s Answers » Blog Archive » What’s Going On
Pingback: The Sirens Chronicles » how i spent my summer- and other such tales
Pingback: Weekly Roundup and “Ask the Reader” Results | Frugal Dad
Pingback: Five Little-Known Uses for a Pile of Sawdust | Frugal Dad
Pingback: March Goals Update | beingfrugal.net
Pingback: » Frugal Tip: Square Foot Gardens on the Festival of Frugality
Pingback: 12 Vegetables You Can Grow in a Pot | Oh My Aching Debts
Pingback: The Bountiful Container: Gardening in Small Spaces ? Get Rich Slowly
Pingback: Money Lessons Learned By Square Foot Gardening | Frugal Dad
Pingback: Michael Pollan: Why Bother Going Green? « Simply Cooking
Pingback: 30 Ways To Save on Your Grocery Shopping and Food Bill | Think Your Way to Wealth
You really shouldn’t plant cucumbers within 200 feet of cantaloupes or other melons.
My dad made this mistake years ago in our first garden. We got tough fleshed orangish cucumbers and pale bland melons with weak skins subject to rot. Neither tasted very good, either.
Pingback: Twelve Reasons to Turn off the Television | Frugal Dad
Pingback: Be a Blogger: Five Cures for Writer’s Block | Frugal Dad
I know this comment is a little tardy, but I wanted to share that we made one of these too – actually, I sent your link to my hubby and he used that to help him! We’re waiting on adding the dirt/plants (since we’re in Ohio and it could frost tomorrow). It is too cute (of course that matters) and I can’t wait to get my fresh veggies!
BTW – love your site! I’m adding you to my snackable blog listing!
Pingback: The Sirens Chronicles » sustainable living
Really good article – especially like the water bottle idea.
~plantgirl of http://squarefootgardenblog.com
Pingback: Father Sez » Archive » We have launched our Square Foot Garden Project
Pingback: A Frugal Healthy Grocery Budget : Gluten Free Mommy
Pingback: How to Build a Raised Square Foot Garden « My Dirt
Pingback: Is Recession Preparing a New Breed of Survivalist? | Frugal Dad
Pingback: Allie’s Answers » Blog Archive » Tip of the Day - Another Use for Plastic Bottles
I built my square foot gardening as well and am having a ball. Don’t know if I’ll harvest the first thing or not, but we’ll see. I was going to post a picture but not sure how to do that.
You can place your ads offline and online they both work effectively. I would suggest using both methods. Placing your ads offline is pretty simple. Most people just post their ads everywhere but in reality you should target where you place your ads. If you are marketing a business opportunity then place your ads where people are, who would be interested in your type of opportunity. The same goes with your product, place your ads in places you would find your target market. Conventions and swap meets are…
Pingback: May 2008 - That’s a Wrap | Frugal Dad
I’ve made a squarefoot garden myself, but I’ve never seen that type of irrigation system before. Very nice. Great idea!
Pingback: Is it Cool to be Frugal? 10 Frugal Practices You’ve Always Done That Are Now “In” Again | Think Your Way to Wealth
I am trying this this year and I have only raves about it…I am doing just a few things different but it is the least work I have even put into a garden for the most reward…I mulch everything, paths and plants with hay the way Ruth Stout did,,,,very, very little work involved and so far it is producing so much…here is my blog about it..
http://oursguarefootgarden.blogspot.com/
Pingback: Cutting Loose: How to Be a Fun Dad | Tip Dad
Pingback: Tales From The Road Less Traveled » Blog Archive » No Spend Weekend Ideas
Pingback: Welcome Visitors from MSN.com | Frugal Dad
Pingback: betmo, betmo, how does your garden grow? :: The Sirens Chronicles
Pingback: Summer Savings Series #1: Food is a big expense. How can you save? | Bible Money Matters
Wow! I LOVE the irrigation idea and can’t wait to try it. This is super!
Pingback: Grow your own
I am a few months into my squarefoot garden experience and have great success with minimal effort once the garden was set up. I will say that the most important aspect of the square foot garden is the soils mixture prescribed in the book, 1/3 peat, 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite. If you are going to skimp on any materials don’t skimp on this part, it the key ingredient to success.
Pingback: 101 Dirt Cheap Ways to Enjoy Yourself | Marc and Angel Hack Life
Pingback: My Square-Foot Garden Overfloweth | beingfrugal.net
Pingback: 75 Dirt Cheap Ways to Enjoy Yourself around Richmond « Awaken Me
Pingback: Father Sez » Archive » Our square foot garden……not quite there yet
Pingback: Square Foot Garden Update and Lessons Learned | Frugal Dad
Pingback: Your Frugal House: Five Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen — Almost Frugal
This is so much fun! I want to make one! There is a restaurant here, in Austin, that grows veggies for their kitchen in these. They have a video with the instructions, here:
http://www.mindbites.com/lesson/454-square-foot-gardening
I doth my hat to you Frugal Dad!
Pingback: Finding Your Frugal Comfort Zone | Think Your Way to Wealth
Just a thought…..someone may have addressed this. I wouldn’t use plastic bottles to irrigate. On warm/hot days chemicals in the plastic leach into the water and then into the garden soil.
Pingback: 77 Keys to Living Well Before You Die | Marc and Angel Hack Life
Pingback: 23 goals to achieve while I’m 23 « Ramblings of Passion
Pingback: 10 Truths About Frugal Living Revealed By 5,000 Reader Comments | Frugal Dad
Pingback: How to Live On One Income | Frugal Dad
Thanks for this! We have a box garden on our porch, but are looking to expand. This looks perfect.
Pingback: 77 Keys to Living Well Before You Die « Polysemicpoesy’s Weblog
Pingback: Square Foot Gardening in 10 Easy Steps | Mark's Daily Apple
I thought other readers would enjoy an activity I got at the botanical gardens. Have you or your children “Ever Seen a Plant Move When You Tickle It?” If you wanted to share your love for nature with your children, here is an activity I have done with mine. This may change the way you and the kids react to plants for ever. Imagine giving your children some seeds. Having them watch them sprout and grow. Then shortly after the second leaves appear they tickle the plant and it moves its branches down and closes its leaves! Give them more than a gift; give them a learning experience they will never forget. I found information and my growing kits at http://www.ticklemeplant.com
Great idea – anything to get kids interested in growing their own food.
I have done something similar by building my own High Density Garden but on a larger scale at 10ft by 10ft. I did not put a base on it but built it on a lawn so I dug the lawn over and then just put my garden on top of it.
There is more info on this on my website at http://www.highdensitygardening.com/home.html
Pingback: Get through recession with household survival tips | Home I Own, Aussie Real Estate Blog
Start a pile of compost now and keep your eyes peeled for vermiculite (hint: try brickyards). If you thought it was fun with commercial dirt wait until next year when you have black gold and the water properties of vermiculite (or perlite).
Love this idea. i think it will benefit many frugallers who have wanted to dip a toe in to the world of growing their own.
I will link this article to my blog
happy Growing
The Square Foot Garden works really well. One way to reduce the cost is to buy the lumber (2×6) in 16 foot lengths and have the store cut it in half twice to get the four (4) 4ft sides. Saves over 30% of the cost on the lumber, as a longer single board is cheaper than two shorter ones.
Second, in order to give credit where credit is due there is a great book called “All New Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Bartholomew. Mel invented the square foot gardening concept and had a show on PBS about it. His website link is: http://www.squarefootgardening.com/
Pingback: Backwoods Home: My New Favorite Magazine | Frugal Dad
Mel Bartholomew, the inventor of the square foot gardening method, (although raised-bed gardening has been around for ever and is basically the same concept) was already mentioned, but I wanted to add that he originated this concept as a way to garden efficiently and cost effectively to the extent that he now has a not-for-profit that promotes the square foot gardening method in urban poor areas of underdeveloped countries where they establish square foot gardens on the rooftops of buildings.
Pingback: Benefits of a Square Foot Garden :
Pingback: 3 Easy Ways to Garden With Your Kids
Pingback: Abundant Frugal Life » Blog Archive » Square Foot Gardening
Pingback: linkage « littlesanctuary
Great article! I don’t think many people realize that they already have all it takes to grow their own food garden. These days it not only makes sense from an economic point of view but it’s also great to get back to the basics. There are many sites on the net that can help. I like http://www.zipharvest.com – one can design and layout a custom garden with minimum effort. They even have a replica of the new Obama victory garden at the White House. Everyone can grow what the president is growing…
Pingback: Advantages Of Renting and Borrowing Over Buying | Frugal Dad
I love this idea. Want to start a little veggie garden in the backyard myself. I went to a nursey yesterday to consult and they said exactly what you wrote. Great info but OMG so much to kow and to do.
Great article and idea. I have to try it.
I recommend that you do try this method. I use it in High Density Gardening and find that I can grow crops at high density in a small mini plot. I will put 36 radishes in a 12 inch square plot and find that most of them grow. I have also grown carrots at this density, great for mini veg, but grow with 20 in a mini plot for larger carrots. Great fun so just do it.
There is more info on my website http://www.highdensitygardening.com/home.html
This is great! I love gardening for veggies and I’ve always used small window boxes but I’ve wanted to step it up a notch! Thanks. Plus what betterway to be thrifty than to grow your own veggies!
Gardening is so relaxing and a wonderful way to spend time outdoors. It is one of my favorite hobbies that I love to share with others online! Thanks for taking the time to write this post, I always learn so much about gardening from many different sources online!
I built 2 4×4 sq ft gardens several years ago as a test. Not only was it very productive, but maintenance was VERY manageable.
I’m sure you’ll be delighted with the results!
Pingback: » Square Foot Garden
I thought this was a fascinating idea and then I stumbled on this one, too: Straw Bale Garden. How innovated!
BTW, thank you for writing about the successess and lesson learned building your square foot garden.
How’s this for cheating? I go to my local wine shop and ask for the wooden wine boxes (usually French and Italian, sometimes California) and fill them with compost or bagged potting soil and voilà, square foot gardening in chic wine boxes without lifting a hammer! I think they look great and are very functional. They last a couple of seasons and then I go get some more boxes
This is a great idea! I love the idea of teaching your kids the value of the food they eat. There’s nothing like home grown veggies.
enjoyed. but seems to ME …
credit ought to be given to the author of the book…
Square Foot Gardening
Great site! This is the sort of thing I have been looking for. Some valuablegardening tips here. Thanks! Your site is great by the way. You should add buttons to the bottom of your posts to digg, stumble, etc your content.- Tom
I found square foot gardening a great way to keep the weeds down to a minimum. And lets face it picking weeds is the task that we all dislike the most about having a garden.
Pingback: Diet Plan For 2010 | Frugal Dad
Woot! You are my hero. I wanted to do a SMALL garden this year, but I was unsure how to do this because we have an English bulldog who LOVES LOVES LOVES to eat. The tabletop idea is genius! Plus if it bombs, I won’t have messed up the yard! Thank you thank you thank you.
Last year I found local sources for compost, around $20/cubic yard. I love gardening but can’t understand composting. I love the wine box idea by cathleen, comment #124. This is a cheap way to an easy raised garden!
Very clear instructions and a clever idea for irrigation. I am curious, though, what improvement you made to the water bottle irrigation? Quoting:
*I’ve since improved on this irrigation system as I became more aware of the dangers of heated plastic leeching bad things into the soil
Thanks,
Jim
What a GREAT tutorial, just what I’m looking for this time of year! I’ve included this tutorial on my “DIY Vegetable Gardens” page on my website today. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Pingback: Starting a Vegetable Garden – Canadian Finance Blog
Pingback: My Life on May 10th « jeannieBeannie
Pingback: Vegetable Garden Planting
Pingback: Square Foot Gardening Roundup
Pingback: Square Foot Garden « The Mind of a Crazy Woman…….
Pingback: 8 Critical Steps Every Family Should Be Taking to Prepare for the Next Financial Crisis
Pingback: Garden Tips from Personal Finance Bloggers
Pingback: Beyond the Emergency Fund: Water, Water Everywhere, but Not a Drop to Drink
excuse me for being a downer, but i’m confused how spending $43 is a good idea to grow $20 worth of veggies?
also, you act like this is your idea, and you fail to even credit to Mel Bartholemew except for very brief link to the amazon page where the book is sold. this has been a widely know about method of gardening for 30+ years. the least you could do is acknowledge that you’re stealing ideas to generate page views.
Pingback: Frugal Confessions
I don’t think the author of this article was attempting to take credit for the idea. As one post pointed out, it’s been done for 30+ years. Mel Bartholomew didn’t invent it, so you could just as easily criticize him for stealing the idea. It’s just a method that’s getting popular and the blogger was sharing her experiences.
Oops, his experiences.
That’s a sweet garden. It’s small enough that you could put it almost anywhere and big enough to yield some pretty awesome tomatoes. I’m all over this next spring.
Another solution is using a myGroFarm Deluxe which is a raised square foot garden table with a trellis and built in cover. Plus you don’t have to build anything. You can even use a grow light to grow all winter indoors or start your seedlings months in advance.
Here is an article on spacing your plants in a square foot garden http://www.mygrofarm.com/square-foot-garden-spacing/
I opened this page because I have a raised garden that we tried to elevate to 3 feet high. Our attempt isn’t working.
Thanks for all the great ideas for being successful with this project.
I have been using the square foot gardening method for almost 15 years. I LOVE IT ! I don’t raise my beds because of the cost of supplies. I have a 15 foot by 10 foot garden and arrange my squares in rows (3 squares to grow in, 1 aisle to walk in , 4 squares to grow in , 1 row to walk in, and 2 more to grow in) . Okay, my squares aren’t exactly 12 inches, but I use the “peas 4 inches apart”, “one tomato or pepper per square” just like the book says. I also did something totally NEW last year. I planted each tomato in side a hole that I stirred Miracle peat, Organic soil conditioner and a tiny bit of fertilizer all stirred up deep under the tomato. Then, I planted the tomato inside a bottomless box. Half of a girl scout case-box to be exact, but refolded to make 4 sides. So, when I watered my tomatoes, the water went down instead of all over. the very-very thick layers of newspaper topped with leaves did not enter the box, but layers of leaves did. I had more tomatoes last year than in many previous, even with the TERRIBLE drought that Houston suffered. My green beans were heavily mulched with leaves— the bigger they got, the more leaves I put around them. They are always easy to grow, but now I have a whole lot less weeds. ( more leaves than ever before) I no longer need a tiller. Adding soil conditioner each year for the last 5, my soil is easy to use a hand rake and just poke holes with my finger or a dowel.
Mel B’s square foot methods have made gardening fun… and I don’t have to do much weeding as I did as a kid. Now, if I could just find a sure cure for squash borers!!! they eat my squash every year!!! (Easiest to grow and eat: sugar snap peas–pick when plump but still tender, bush beans (I didn’t grow up with pole beans–trying them this year), tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (though the houston heat makes them grow better in the fall?!, turnips, white radish, spinach, chard. Know your region’s planting season and whether your home is actually the region the seed company claims. My yard is closer to a 9 than zone 8 for heat in summer! I’m thinking of keeping a journal this year. Hopefully, I’ll find a squash borer cure that’s worth writing down.
Raised garden beds are the way to go. They are so much more productive and take up a lot less space and as mentioned above are so easy to create.
I was searching for Homemade grid ideas for square foot gardening and discovered your website. I love the idea of using rope or twine. My husband thought your “drip system” was brilliant. We are going to try it. I decided to use twine and a staple gun to attach the twine to the sides of my boxes. I also had the idea to use white rocks (small) and create a grid that way..I might do a combo of both the twine and rock.
I am also interested in alternative irrigation ideas, as the article says you improved on the plastic bottle method due to risk of toxins. Other ideas anyone?