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Re: Advice on setting up first square foot garden

Bill,
    My property is a slope on which the house was built about 200 feet up
from the road.  The area for the garden is an extension of the flat part
ironed out for the house.  On the long side (50'), the area slopes down on
one side and up on the other.  There is a small drainage-type swale (ditch?)
between the garden and area and the continuation of the hill going up.
The short (9') is bordered on one side by our property line and on the other
side by the driveway.
   The area is in full all-day sun with the wide side facing to the south.
i.e. a southern slope?  The soil is clay with lots of shale.  To start
with, I am trying to prepare the actual earth since I cannot afford and
do not have access to all those nice ammendments.  We also do not have a
truck or anything to transport it.  Last year, I put some of that organic
fertilizer that Daffodil mart sells.  A very large bag that smells very
natural, if you know what I mean.
   Of what you advised, I understand the two rows with a path in the middle.
I think it would be hard to work outside of the 9' by 50' area.  Are you
saying I should have a 1' path then 3' of garden space then a 1' path,
then 3' more of garden space?  The smaller gardens sound more manageable
but I don't know if I have enough space to make this feasible.
   What I would like is enough to feed a family of four.  Since at this
point I have never canned, and do not own a freezer other than what I use
for everyday food, I won't be able to store much of it.  I would love to
be able to share with a food pantry or the like, but I am not sure if this
is possible.  Also, since I would like this garden area to be on-going ,
I don't know if I have to leave some of it empty for other years or what.
   Please forgive me for rambling.  I have read books on the subject, but
they never seem to be specifically helpful.  I am hoping real people can
help since you can never have a dialog with a book.  So, thanks again.

                                   JoAnne Davis
                                   Tully, N.Y.  Zone 5

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