Re: Fw: [TomatoFanatics] : Sq Ft gardening

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----- Original Message -----

From: K*@aol.com

To: s*@listbot.com

Sent: Monday, January 29, 2001 12:05 PM

Subject: Re: Fw: [TomatoFanatics] : Sq Ft gardening

Square Foot Gardening List - http://myweb.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

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In a message dated 1/29/01 11:07:16 AM Pacific Standard Time,
b*@telusplanet.net writes:

<<
 Dear Friends- I tried to defend sqfting on a tomato-growing list I recently
joined. Did I miss anything important? lol!!
 
 bill missen.
  >>

Bill, SqFt gardening is difficult to "sell" to tomato growers per se,
however,  I grew more tomato plants and more tomatoes with much greater ease
and much less work when I grew them in raised SqFt beds.  The sun warmed the
soil quicker so the tomato plants were happier, it took less water to keep
them properly hydrated, the weeding was so very much easier since the foliage
shaded the ground and that in itself provided living mulch, the few weeds I
did pull were much easier to pull because of the lightness of the soil, one
person can adequately care for about four times as many tomato plants and
still still maintain a large selection of other food crops as well.  When
planning where to put my new SqFt beds my first thoughts are of what is best
for my tomatoes, all other food crops take a back seat to my tomatoes, since
they are my first loves in gardening.  I grew well over 120 tomato plants
last year in my unraised SqFt beds and I gave them approximate ly 4 sq ft
each, that is one tomato plant every two feet up one side and offsetting the
plants on the other side one foot at two foot intervals.  I plan on doing
them pretty much the same way again this year only I plan on twice as many
plants and I rarely weed except to harvest the weeds to eat.  I leave the
dandelions, chickweed, clover, plantain and gill-over-ground as living mulch
and only weed out the thistles.  The above mentioned weeds can be eaten or
used medicinally so they are left.

Lisa-- stepping quietly off her soapbox now.
Toledo ( 46.4400°N, 122.8460°W)
Hardiness Zone 7
Heat Zone 4
5861.66 Miles to go


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