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Tips-Garden Party and SQFT

Below are the Tips on how to host a SQFT Garden Party and Tips on Square
Foot Gardening that you could photo copy and hand out to visitors.  The tip
sheets were prepared by Doreen Howard,  doreen@tgn.net

If you feel that inviting the whole town may be too much just invite a few
friends over for a SqFt Garden Party.  If you have any questions just let me
know  -john     gallus@flinet.com

National Sqft Garden Party

Saturday, May 3, 1997 is the first annual National Square Foot Garden Party.
The purpose of the
event to is show how productive SQFT gardening is and to celebrate the 21th
anniversary of the
technique.

Mel Bartholomew and the Square Foot Gardening Foundation ask you as SQFT
proponents to plant a 4 X 4-foot demonstration bed and invite your friends,
neighbors and gardeners in your city to view it on May 3rd.

1. Here's how to publicize your party. Write a short article and send it to
the local newspaper. The article could read as follows:

John Doe of Baldwin Hills invites the public to his home at 555 Rainfall
Drive to take part in the
National Square Foot Garden Party on Saturday, May 3. His productive square
foot garden can be viewed between 9 a.m. and noon. The aim of Square Foot
Gardening in the 1990's is to help those in need. Increased yields from
small spaces allow more donations to food pantries.

Square Foot Gardening teaches those on fixed incomes how to grow part of
their food in spaces as small as a flower bed or a porch. Representatives
from the Baldwin Hills Food Pantry will also be present when Doe
demonstrates square foot gardening techniques. They will be there to answer
questions and to ask home gardeners to plant an extra square or row of
vegetables to donate to the
food pantry.

This same article can serve as a press release for local radio programs and
should be given to food pantry and soup kitchen representatives. Also, it
can be handed out to local churches for inclusion in their Sunday bulletins.

2. Plant your garden early enough to insure crops will look their best. Some
fool-proof ones for northern states include bibb and leaf lettuces,
scallions, radishes, beets and bush beans. Add a square or two of flowers
for color impact. You could set out bedding plants such as violas or
dianthus a couple of weeks before the party.

Southern gardeners can count on tomato and pepper transplants, bush beans,
cucumbers on a trellis and corn for a picture-perfect display. Add a square
of rosemary, cilantro and purple basil for variety and squares of marigolds,
zinnias or salvia for color.

3. Ask local food pantry and soup kitchen representatives to be present, so
they can explain their programs' needs. Invite local reporters and
television crews, too.

4. Write Mel Bartholomew at: Pheasant Run Farm, Old Field, NY 11733 for a
tip sheet (The tip sheet is included below in this message) on how to create
a SQFT garden. Make copies of it to hand-out to visitors. Include a copy
with any press
release or newspaper story you distribute.

5. Post signs at the curb to guide visitors into your backyard. Notify
neighbors of the party, so that they will expect heavy traffic and many
parked cars. Lock and secure your house, garage, vehicles and yard
equipment. Provide water and cups OUTSIDE for thirsty visitors.

Mel's Tip Sheet

Here are Mel Bartholomew's garden tips for your square foot garden.

Square Foot Gardening is an efficiency-based plant growing system that
quickly produces bountiful flowers and high yield vegetable harvests with
minimal effort and space.

1. Keep your garden small, and you'll keep up your interest and enthusiasm
all year long. Each 4 X 4-ft. block is separated by a narrow walking path.
Edge each block with string, bricks, lumber or make a raised bed with
lumber. Divide each block into 16 squares with string or sticks. Then plant
a different crop in each square. Don't overplant (just a pinch of seeds in
each space) or crowd our seedlings. Rotate your crops, and stagger planting
time so harvest is staggered, too. For lots of one thing, plant an entire
block with 16 cabbage, broccoli and cauliflower plants, for example, and
rotate to another block the next year. The same goes with peppers and eggplant.

2. Garden Location: In the backyard, find a place that receives full sun 6-8
hours or more daily. The closer to the house, the better. Make sure it
drains. On the patio, try one or 2 planter boxes. Use 1 X 8" wooden sides,
and fill with a good soil mix. On the deck, build planter boxes with 3/4"
plywood bottoms (drill holes for drainage) and raise them to different
heights for an interesting effect.

3. Soil Preparation: Test your soil for pH--correct to a level of 6 to 7.
See your local nursery or consult your county extension agent for help. Then
spend whatever money you have available to buy peat moss, vermiculite and
compost, if you don't have a compost heap. Add a 6-inch layer of these
materials to your soil and mix in well. NEVER WALK ON THIS GROWING MEDIUM
AGAIN. That way the soil does not compact, plant roots get plenty of oxygen,
and you never have to dig again. If your soil is really bad, nail four
boards together for each block and add the soil mix on top of your poor
soil. Don't even bother digging it in.

4. Vertical Gardening: All vine crops should be grown vertically. My book
contains lots of ideas and diagrams on how to build inexpensive garden
supports. Just make sure they are sturdy and tall. Getting your climbing
crops off the ground saves space and helps to reduce disease and pest damage.
Farmer Brown's Garden Path
http://www.flinet.com/~gallus/index.html
West Palm Beach, Florida

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