This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Advice on setting up first square foot garden

Two points that might help JoAnne (and others)

1. I also live in an area where autumn leaves and other soil-builders
are not readily available. You mention that the area you want to garden
has grass - just tilling in the sod would help. You also should try to
sow a cover crop, and have that tilled in (you can rent a tiller if none
of your neighbors has one). Johnny's Seeds has a good little booklet on
suitable crops, or contact your extension agent (now that I live
overseas, I miss my extension agent dearly, even though he didn't like
to 'waste' too much time on home gardeners).

2. I couldn't agree more with the suggestion to start small. Using the
Square foot method cuts down the area you will have to prepare and tend
while maximizing the yield. It will take a novice at least two seasons
to confidently grow a full complement of veggies for a family. In the
meantime, let the grass or cover crops grow on the rest of the area and
keep composting it or tilling it in.

3. Consider working the slope in your lot into a proper step, with
retaining wall. It is much easier to work level areas, and if the
retaining wall is alongside your central path, it gives you a place to
sit - no bending over to garden! Building a fieldstone wall is a great
soil improver if you dig your own rocks, as I did.

4. If you are motivated to provide food for your family, please PLEASE
make trees and berries a part of your garden plan. Trees will draw
nutrients up from your poor soil, and through the compost cycle these
become available to the rest of the garden. Remember that permanent
plantings take less and less of your effort over time, while yielding
more and more: even the most efficient veggie garden cannot match the
return on labor of an established fruiting tree or shrub.

Each of my meter/yard-square garden plots is surrounded on three sides
by raspberries, grapes, and roses grown on low fences. This fall I am
putting in fruit trees, which I will train as espaliers to form a low
fence around other plots. In your climate and soil, you could plant a
hedge of blueberry bushes (which I dearly miss - I'm from Westchester
originally). They'll yield fruit and give you lovely fall foliage.

This is a charming type of garden plan that resembles European cottage
and kitchen gardens - which were the inspiration for Square-foot and
BioIntensive garden techniques. It is efficient, a good windbreak if you
need it, and also exploits the appealing look of the square-foot garden
scheme. In his book, Mel Bartholemew shows flowering plants and herb
plants interspersed with the veggies. Since Square-foot appeals
especially to gardeners with limited space, I can add that creating
these garden 'rooms' with low hedges and fences makes the garden seem
much bigger as you pass through it.

Hope this helps-

Joshua

***************************************************************************
To unsubscribe, send to: listserv@umslvma.umsl.edu
the body message: unsubscribe sqft
See http://www.umsl.edu/~silvest/garden/sqft.html for archive, FAQ and more.
Follow-Ups: References:
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index