1.   WHAT CAN I DO TO ENSURE A SUCCESSFUL SFG?

HELPFUL HINTS
Read the book! Study the website! Watch the video! The answers to all your questions are there.

A couple of hints when getting started:

(1) Make   sure your Mel's Mix is thoroughly moistened all the   way to the bottom of the box before you plant. Mel's Mix holds more water than you can imagine, so take a hose to it atfirst and make sure it is good and moist.

(2) Use compost in your Mel's Mix that is made up of at least 4-5 different ingredients. This will ensure that the soil mix has all the needed nutrients for healthy plant growth. Homemade compost is the very best, but you can also purchase several bags of different type of compost and mix it together. Most nurseries or garden centers only carry one or two types of compost, so you may need to purchase from several stores to get a variety.

 

 

 

 

2.  WHERE DO I FIND A BLENDED COMPOST?

COMPOST – LOCATING DIFFERENT TYPES

Here are a few ideas. It seems like all the different nurseries and garden centers only carry 1 or 2 types each, so you will need to shop around to get a variety. Sometimes, compost is listed as "mulch" so watch for that. Just make sure the texture is fine as some mulches are too coarse to use in Mel's Mix. Some compost contains two or more ingredients in each bag. For example, there is one variety that has turkey manure plus composted wood shavings, so read the ingredients or ask to see what it contains. Some garden centers have loose, unbagged compost that can be purchased.

Also, some municipalities have a composting operation and that compost is available to purchase. So, call the city or county offices in your area and ask about that. You might also call your county extension agent and ask for recommendations on where to purchase compost in your local area. If you look around and are unable to find 5 different types, try to blend at least 3 different composts together for your Mel's Mix. Of course, the more types you mix together, the more nutrients there will be for healthy plant growth.

Sometimes the best compost is the most expensive and other times it is more economical. Just look at it, feel it and smell it and you will know if it is good rich compost. The great thing about using a well-blended compost is that you will never have the expense of buying and using fertilizer which is a savings.

Read the bags of soil mixes at garden centers. A recent bag that said something like “For Roses” on it, but didn’t say anything about compost. Yet, in reading the ingredients, the mix contained about 3 or 4 different types of compost and worm castings. It was a great compost mix and was nearly overlooked it because it didn’t say “compost”. So, be sure and check bags like that and read the ingredients!

 

 

3.   IS VERMICULITE SAFE AND WHERE DO I FIND IT?

VERMICULITE – LOCATING

Here are some suggestions that may help you locate vermiculite. Call the nurseries and garden centers in your area and try to get the garden manager on the phone and ask them if they carry the large 4-cubic foot bags of coarse vermiculite because you're building a Square Foot Garden. They can order it if they get in enough requests. If that fails, then I would look under "greenhouse supplies or suppliers" in the yellow pages and look for wholesale distributors (remember not to buy it in the small expensive bags). They will also carry it and quite often you can buy it from them, maybe even at a better price than at the retail stores.

We have had success finding coarse vermiculite in 4-cubic foot bags at smaller nurseries or garden centers. They may not have it available for sale but have it for their own use and are often willing to sell it. Also, others have written us telling that they found it at farm supply stores. Another person had success when she called her County Extension Agent and asked where to buy it locally.

We recently had someone write in and tell us they ordered vermiculite online at Uline.com (1-800-958-5463). It is a company that sells packing supplies. So, you might also check that out.

Swimming pool companies also use vermiculite when they install a pool, so check those out also. Make sure it is horticultural grade vermiculite though. Another person just wrote in said they found it where hydroponic supplies are found.

Someone recently sent us this link to order vermiculite: http://homeharvest.com/soilamendmentsperlitevermiculite.htm It appears to be good vermiculite, but somewhat expensive.

We are in the process of compiling a list of businesses throughout the US that carry vermiculite, so please let us know where you find it in your area.

VERMICULITE – SUBSTITUTE PERLITE OR EXPANDED SHALE?

Some people substitute perlite for vermiculite. Vermiculite is mica rock that has been ground up, then heated until it expands, almost like popcorn. Perlite is volcanic rock that is ground up. Both hold water, however vermiculite holds a little more. Mel prefers vermiculite over perlite. Mel doesn't like it, however many people do use it. Here's the scoop on perlite. It is rather coarse and gritty to the touch and don't like the feel of it in the soil mix. Mel has been told it doesn't hold as much moisture as vermiculite does. In addition, it floats to the top of the soil mix as you water your garden and it looks rather unsightly. And the last reason Mel doesn't like it is that it is dusty and makes him sneeze

Of course, many people do use perlite instead of vermiculite and, in fact, most of the commercial mixes are made with perlite and I'm quite sure the reason is that it's less expensive than vermiculite. They probably don't care what it looks or feels like, but we do in our gardens.

Recently more and more people have been asking about expanded shale as a substitute for vermiculite. This is just too heavy and gritty for use in a Square Foot Garden.

VERMICULITE – WORTH LOOKING FOR

Many people have followed our advice on locating vermiculite and guess what? They write back to say that they found it - sometimes in the most unlikely places and sometimes right under their noses. So give it a try and good luck in your search.

VERMICULITE – SAFETY QUESTIONS

There have been some questions raised about the safety of vermiculite. We have studied this out and are constantly looking for any new information on the matter. It appears that these concerns stem from one mine in Montana which was operated many years ago and the vermiculite from that particular mine was found to contain asbestos. That mine was subsequently closed but the story surfaces every so often. Once a reporter gets hold of that old story (it is now 25 years old) it surfaces as if it is a brand new thing and everyone gets excited in the industry and home gardeners hearing the story obviously get concerned. We seem to go through this almost every year, but have been reassured many times that vermiculite packaged for horticultural use is asbestos free and safe to use.

Vermiculite comes from many different mines throughout the world. Depending on where it comes from it is used for many different purposes. We have been assured the variety used for gardening in this country is pure and clear of any contaminant such as asbestos. This website was given to us that you may find interesting: http://www.epa.gov/asbestos/vermfacts.pdf.

VERMICULITE - DUST CAUTION

The only caution issued about using horticultural grade vermiculite is when first mixed, it has a dust caution. Mix only outdoors on a windless day. Hose down lightly with a very fine spray. Wear a dust mask and keep kids away until mixing is complete. The same cautions apply to any other dry, dusty material such as perlite or peat moss.

VERMICULITE GRADES

The reason why we use coarse vermiculite rather than medium or even fine is that Mel has found through the years that plants do best in a fairly coarse mixture of soil. It allows moisture and air to get into the root system and it seems that the roots grow better in this material. When everything gets too fine, it packs down and closes in too much and it is harder then for the moisture and the air to get through the soil mix. Because vermiculite is fairly soft and crushable, Mel has found that if you start with the coarse, it will gradually break down over the years and get smaller and smaller, so he likes to start with the coarsest available.

 

4.   WHAT PROPORTIONS DO I USE FOR MAKING MEL’S MIX?

MEL’S MIX – PROPORTIONS

24 cubic foot BATCH - Good for THREE 4'x 4' boxes (each box holds 8 cubic feet):

Here is what we would suggest you buy as a start:

· Two 4-cubic foot bags of coarse vermiculite.
· One 3.9 cubic foot bale of peat moss (this bale is compressed and will expand to nearly 8 cubic feet when opened).
· 4-5 bags of a variety of compost to equal 8 cubic feet.

That will be approximately 1/3 each of each of the ingredients and will give you a total of almost 24 cubic feet of Mel's Mix. Since a 4'x4' 6-inch deep box requires 8 cubic feet, that batch is enough for 3 boxes.

It is best to mix in a large, open, indoor space that is well-ventilated, or even better outdoors on a non-windy day. We have found it best to mix the ingredients by emptying them onto a large tarp or piece of heavy plastic. Because the materials are dusty at the start, you should wear a standard dust mask. Keep the kids away from the mixing operation until you put the material into your boxes and wet it down. Thereafter, there should be no problem with dust even if all the material dries out.

Going back to the mixing operation, open and mix the various bags of compost together. Then add the compressed peat moss and break up any lumps. (This is easiest to do by hand.) Add the vermiculite and you can then carefully mix the 3 ingredients with a rake or hoe being careful not to cut the plastic or tarp underneath. Or, an even easier way to mix, is to have 2 people - 1 on each corner of the tarp - pulling the ends of the tarp towards the pile. The ingredients will turn and roll as you do so. Then move to the other two sides and pull the tarp the other way. You keep working your way around the pile and if the tarp is big enough to start with, the pile should mix very quickly.

12 cubic foot BATCH:

If you just want to mix up half a batch to start with, you would add together just one 4 cubic foot bag of vermiculite, 1/2 of the 3.9 cubic foot bale of peat moss and enough of the compost mixture to equal 4 cubic feet. Make sure you have mixed all the bags of compost together so that you will have a well-blended compost.

NOTE: If the compost comes in bags that are measured in weight rather than cubic feet, just add in equal parts of the 3 ingredients. (For example, one shovel of vermiculite, one shovel of peat moss and one shovel of the blended compost – use anything to measure – a box, a wheelbarrow, etc. Or, just eyeball the amounts. It doesn’t have to be exact.) One man recently wrote and pointed out that 12 five-gallon buckets equals 8 cubic feet. So, if you need to measure this is a good way to do it. Just use 4 five-gallon buckets full of each of the 3 ingredients and that will fill one 4x4 box.

If your compost is wet, you may need a little extra mixing to make sure the dry materials are evenly spaced about. Some people have wet down the dry materials before mixing in order to keep the dust down. However, that makes the mixture rather heavy and hard to maneuver. You can spray it lightly with a hose to keep down the dust.

Once it is all mixed, it can all be placed in your boxes. Make sure you have removed any weeds or grass that is growing under your box and then put down commercial weed barrier cloth, a layer of cardboard, or a thick layer of newspaper to keep weeds and grass from growing inside your box.

Any leftover material can be stored in plastic bags (reuse the bags the ingredients came in) for future use. It’s always good to have some well-blended compost stored since you will be using a trowel full of this each time you replant a square. This will replenish the nutrients needed for healthy plant growth.

IMPORTANT HINT: Make sure that the Mel's Mix is completely moist all the way to the bottom of the box before planting. It holds more water than you can imagine so take a hose to it and add a lot of water. Dig down and make sure it is wet. It is also so important to use a well-blended compost made up of 4-5 different ingredients.

 

5.   IS 6 INCHES REALLY DEEP ENOUGH FOR A GARDEN BOX?

DEPTH OF SOIL – 6 INCHES IS ENOUGH

Yes, six inches is enough for just about all plants if that six inches is Mel’s Mix. (Mel’s Mix is made up of 1/3 parts of coarse vermiculite, peat moss and compost.) It’s so important to use a good compost made up of several different ingredients, none of which take up more than 10-20% of the volume. This will produce a very rich material filled with nutrients and trace elements that will eliminate the need for fertilizer.

I know it is hard to believe that 6 inches is really deep enough, but it is! With Mel's Mix, everything is there that the plants need and so they don't have to go deeper to seek water and nutrients. My garden boxes have been placed right on top of my old garden soil and I'm always amazed when I pull the plants up in the fall that the roots have stayed in the 6 inches when they had the opportunity to go deeper. As long as compost is used that is made up of several different ingredients, all the nutrients are right there in those 6 inches. And, of course, when replanting a square, simply add a trowel full of compost to replenish those nutrients. If you want to grow something that does take deeper soil like 12-inch carrots, you can also do that easily with the SFG high-rise method. You can read all about that on our website under "Mel's Column" on "High-Rise Gardening".

 

6.   WHAT WOOD SHOULD I USE TO BUILD MY BOXES? DRAINAGE HOLES FOR RAISED BEDS? FILLER FOR DEEPER BOXES?

BOXES – BUILDING

Boxes can be made from any type wood. The best is free wood that is found at a construction site. Just ask the foreman of the project if you can have the scrap 2”x4”’s or 2”x6”. Boxes can be made from cedar or redwood to reduce the wood rot problem. If you decide to treat or paint the wood, be careful not to paint inside the boxes where the Mel's Mix comes into contact with the wood, so that nothing harmful leaches into the soil. We do not recommend using pretreated wood for this same reason. Boxes can be treated inside and out with linseed oil to help protect the wood. The newer manmade composite wood also works well to use in making boxes.

If you decide not to make your boxes yourself, please see the “Catalog Page” of the website where boxes are available in many sizes and materials. Many people feel it is less expensive and much less work to order boxes already made.

If there are any weeds or plant growth where the boxes will be put, it is best to remove that before filling the boxes with Mel’s Mix. If you are putting the box on grass, first dig out the grass and sod and put it upside down in your compost pile. It is best to provide a weed barrier in the bottom of the boxes. You can do this by using commercial landscape/weed barrier cloth. This blocks the weeds and yet still allows any excess water to drain. You can also use a layer of cardboard or a thick layer of newspaper as a weed barrier. Be sure to wet down the newspaper or cardboard before adding the soil. The cardboard or newspaper will break down in time, but by then the weeds should be gone.

If you are building boxes that are deeper than 6 inches, fill the bottom with sand to use as a filler and then add Mel’s Mix in the top 6-8 inches. Don’t use regular garden soil as a filler or you will introduce many weeds into your box.

RAISED GARDEN BOXES - STAND-UP AND ARMCHAIR GARDENS

Just about anything that can be grown at a ground-level garden can be grown when it’s raised. We recommend that the waist-high gardens be a little deeper because of the drying effect of the wind and the heat. If you’re new to gardening and, particularly if you are new to Square Foot Gardening, we suggest that you first read the book, watch the video, study very carefully the website and plant the simple, easy crops first. Gain some experience at least the first season. Then, each additional season when you are replanting each square foot, try a different crop and gradually work toward the more difficult things to grow.

What are the more difficult crops? Well, they are things like corn and melons and potatoes and watermelons and pumpkins and perennial flowers and spring bulbs and all those kind of things that either take extra space, extra care or extra support. Things that grow very tall like corn work well in an SFG, however, when they are starting 3 feet up in the air it becomes a little more difficult to support them so they don’t blow over near the end of the season when you get a heavy, windy rainstorm. The same thing applies to the vertical gardens.

To raise the box up or to place the garden boxes on a patio or deck, you will need to add a bottom and we recommend using plywood. For a 4'x4' box, we use 5/8" thick plywood. Of course, you have to drill holes in the bottom for drainage. To do this, drill a 1/4" hole, one per square foot with an extra hole in each corner of the box. Mel's Mix holds so much water that you won't see a lot of dripping from the holes unless it really gets over-watered, but it is still very important to have the drainage holes. If your garden box is going to be raised up you can tilt it slightly towards one corner and put a container under it to catch any drips if you don't want it to drain onto the balcony or patio.

You will then want to raise the box up to the desired height. Some ideas for doing this is to build legs and attach them to the corners of the box. You can also use sawhorses. Some people have purchased an old table from a thrift store and put the box on there - securely. The important thing is that it be sturdy and stable with no chance of it tipping over or falling. This can even be done so that a wheelchair can roll right under allowing the gardener to easily reach the plants.

 

7.   HOW DO I FIGURE PLANT SPACING?

SPACING - SEEDS AND PLANTS

To figure plant and seed spacing and to eliminate the need to thin seedlings, read the back of your individual seed packets. If it says thin to 12 inches, plant 1 per square foot; thin to 6 inches, plant 4 per square foot; thin to 4 inches, plant 9 per square foot; thin to 3 inches, plant 16 per square foot. This applies to everything you plant - vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Basically, an extra-large plant is 1 per square, large is 4 per square, medium is 9 per square and small is 16 per square.

Since most people are not comfortable planting just one seed, we suggest they plant a pinch of seeds in each hole. How many in a pinch? It usually depends on the size of the seed. For tiny seeds, plant 2 to 4; for large seeds only 2 are needed. If only one sprouts, you are all set. If two or more sprout take a pair of scissors and cut off the weakest looking sprout or sprouts. Don't fall to the temptation of transplanting it because while you are digging it up, you will disturb the plant you are trying to save in that space. So just be bold and snip off the extra sprout or sprouts, leaving just the one you want to remain.

 

 

8.   HOW CAN I CREATE A SFG GARDEN INEXPENSIVELY?

INEXPENSIVE IDEAS

SFG can be very economical and you can garden very inexpensively. Look for free material to build the boxes. Perhaps you can find left-over wood from a construction site. Often you can get permission from the foreman to take it for free. We recently had someone write and tell us that they just used an old bookcase, took out the shelves, laid it down and used it as a garden box. Several people have used old bed frames as their box. So, look around and see what you can find. Someone else wrote us saying they used the crates that glass comes in to make boxes. The crates generally come in 2x6 or 2x8 lumber.

In making the soil mix, if vermiculite and peat moss are not available in your area or you don't want to purchase them, you can grow in straight compost. You can either make your own or purchase bags already made. It is very important to remember that the compost needs to be made from several different ingredients in order to provide enough nutrients for the plants. If you are able to buy compost, buy several kinds and mix it together. If you are making your own compost, remember that the smaller the pieces you add and the oftener you turn the compost pile, the quicker you will have finished compost. Or, if money is really tight, add some good compost to your already existing soil and use that.

It is important to have a prominent grid on top of your garden. You can also look around and find something inexpensive to use. We have had people use old Venetian blinds as grids or cast off strips of wood.

 

9.   WHEN SHOULD I PLANT? WHAT VARIETIES SHOULD I PLANT IN MY AREA? PROBLEMS WITH PLANTS?

COUNTY AGRICULTURAL AGENT – CONTACT FOR ADVICE

We want to help you find the answer to your question and so we would suggest you contact your County Extension Agent because he is familiar about conditions that are specific to your area. We don’t usually answer specific questions about individual plants or varieties because of variable local conditions. That is something that’s best answered by your local nursery or County Agricultural or Extension Agent. They are paid to answer questions about all your local conditions. They know best about your weather, your soil, your plants, the varieties and your season. So they should be able to answer any questions you have.

The other alternative is to call your local nursery and ask them your specific question or take them a sample. They always like to see something first. If it is a diseased or pest-ridden leaf or plant, don’t take it into the nursery unless you have it in a sealed, plastic bag. They obviously don’t want that pest or disease spreading to their other plants.

Don't get discouraged because growing plants is not an exact science and sometimes things just don't grow well but then next year they will surprise you, and you never know why.

 

10.   HOW DO I BECOME A CERTIFIED SFG TEACHER?

CERTIFICATION PROGRAM – TEACHING SFG

We are in the process of developing an official SFG certification program. We just finished filming a DVD for it a short time ago and it is being edited now. We hope to have it all completed just as soon as possible. We will post a notice on the website when this is available and will also send out an e-mail notification. This way people will be able to become SFG certified right at home.

In the meantime, there would be many groups in your area that would love to have a talk or class on SFG. So, you can go ahead and get the word out to church, community, or civic groups, gardening clubs, etc. to let them know this service is available and you would be happy to come speak. The possibilities are endless - scout groups, retirement centers, lunch hour classes for businesses. We'll be happy to answer any questions you may have and help you in any way possible. You already have great qualifications because of your willingness to teach and love of gardening. How much experience do you have with your own Square Foot Garden? Add to the knowledge you already have by carefully reading and studying the book and the website.

If you would like, you can print out the following items from the website as a package that you could then reproduce and give to everyone attending your class. You could also download the free handout so that everyone could have one of those. Certainly the home page is a good cover, perhaps just the first picture and the introductory paragraph. Next would be the "What is SFG" page, all of it. Next would be the "How To" and I would also include the short version of the latest "Improvements to SFG". Those are on the "What’s New" page or in the "Mel’s Column" page. Look on the "What’s New" page and click on "Teaching SFG" and that will give you several ideas on making teaching props, which would be very valuable. You know the old story about seeing is believing and an idea can be expressed ten times better with a visual aid rather than just describing it. Depending on your session and how much time you have, the Introductory Video would make your job extremely easy. If you don’t have time for that, then perhaps that could be used as an advanced course for those that want to learn more about it. It does all of your teaching for you, and in graphic form. There are also pictures of beautiful gardens and when your class sees the video they’ll become really hooked on doing SFG.

Just make sure to list and give credit to the SFG Foundation and Mel Bartholomew for any material used. Also, please give the SFG website address of www.squarefootgardening.com.

 

The Next Top 10 List!

 

 

1. Can I grow raspberries, blackberries or blueberries in a SFG?

 

Not really suited for a SFG but…

 

We usually keep berries away from a Square Foot Garden where other crops are planted. Remember that things like blackberries and raspberries spread underground through their root system and keep coming up where you don't want them. However, you could go ahead and plant raspberries in the same Mel's Mix but we would recommend that you build a separate long, narrow box (2' wide by however long) and plant only berries - 1 per square foot. That would help keep them under control and they wouldn't be coming up in other parts of a box where you had other crops planted. You would want to add more compost to the soil each year to replenish the nutrients.  Blackberries would need some sort of support to hold them up as they grow since they tend to spread out along the ground, rather than stand upright like raspberries.

Blueberries are more difficult to grow. You may want to contact your local county agricultural or extension agent and get his recommendations for your local climate.

 

If you do plant blueberries, again plant them in a separate box away from other crops. You would want to add more compost to the soil each year to replenish the nutrients.

Blueberries like acidic soil and the pH of Mel's Mix is near neutral. Peat moss is acidic and so you could add a higher proportion of peat moss to the Mel's Mix. The ideal pH for blueberries is 4 to 4.5 and it needs to stay at this level throughout the life of the plant. You would need to have the soil tested periodically to check the pH and make any adjustments as necessary.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. How do I plant strawberries?

 

4 per square per foot – do an entire 3x3, 4x4, or better yet an entire pyramid of strawberries. Here's how…

 

Growing your own strawberries is fun and rewarding and, yes, strawberries can be grown in a SFG. Most people want quite a few strawberries and we recommend they usually plant an entire 4x4 all in strawberries, or perhaps a 3x3. If you look on our Classic Video Series, you will see how nice strawberries look in a pyramid box. The entire thing is planted in strawberries, 4 per square foot.  Mel mentions on the website that sometimes they are planted 1 per square foot, if you want the plant to send out runners, but his preference is to plant 4 per square foot and trim all runners off so all the energy goes to the parent plant year after year. That way, strawberries usually give a harvest for at least 3-5 years - quite often longer.

 

There are three main types of strawberries: June-bearing that sets fruit in June, ever-bearing that will set fruit twice during the growing season, and day neutral that is not affected by the length of the day as the others are. And don't overlook the Alpine strawberry that will reward you with tiny but incredibly tasty fruit over a long period.

 

Cut off all the runners as soon as you see them each week. That way all the energy will stay in the parent plant for an increased harvest each year. After 3 or 4 years when the harvest starts to diminish, it is best to pull out those plants and replant perhaps in a different square with brand-new plants from the nursery. Those runners will produce baby plants and it seems a waste not to use them and some people like to let them grow. However, the problem comes from too many runners producing too many baby plants, because the gardener forgets to cut them off and they take all the energy from the parent reducing the harvest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. What about potatoes?

 

Perfect for SFG – Mel has invented a penthouse square box, read details here…

 

Potatoes are a fun crop to grow because being under ground you don’t know what you have until it is time to harvest them. They fit very nicely into a Square Foot Garden . The large-sized potatoes are planted one per square foot. If you are going to harvest them early (new potatoes) when they are smaller, we have actually grown four plants per square foot. So, yes, you CAN grow potatoes in a Square Foot Garden .  Mel has worked out a very simple and easy way to grow potatoes and it is all on the website under "Mel's Column" on potatoes.  We think that you will find all of the details you need in that column and the same principle will also apply to long carrots, scallions, and leeks. 

 

Hint: When the blooms appear it means that baby potatoes have formed.  When the vines die and turn brown, the potatoes are fully grown.  You can dig them at any time between those two stages.  It is difficult to predict just how many pounds you will harvest from each square because of variable weather conditions, potato variety and other growing factors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Help! How do I protect my garden from critters?

 

Simple! Read Mel’s column on critters…

 

If you want to protect your garden from critters, you can make one wire cage that goes over the entire 4x4.   Please look at the drawing on the website under Mel's Column on "Cats and Dogs" to see a 4x4 cage.  (Click Here) to be connected to that page.

 

To protect your garden from deer, either a high fence is needed around your garden or commercial deer netting is sold at nurseries and garden centers. This netting is draped over the plants and feels like a cobweb when the deer stick their noses in. Apparently deer don't like the feeling of cobwebs (who can blame them) and they back off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. How should I layout my garden in the space I have?

 

Surf our website. Over 200 hundred garden pictures with lots of ideas there…

 

W e can certainly offer some suggestions about laying out your garden, but the final decision is yours, of course. You will want to maximize your space and will most likely want to use some vertical frames so your vine crops can grow up. Vertical frames are best on the north side of your garden (or at least 3-4 feet apart) so as not to shade the rest of the garden. So, keep that in mind as you plan your layout. Also, remember that your garden will need 6-8 hours of sunlight a day.

 

Take some graph paper and mark out your garden area using a ratio of 1 square equals 1 foot. Then, take some paper and make "boxes" of different sizes. Move them around on the paper and try different sizes and layouts. Think about where you would put the vertical frames and which layout would give you the most square feet to grow in. After you get it designed on paper, you can even go one step further and get some large pieces of paper or cardboard cut to the size of your garden boxes and lay it out actually on the ground. Then, you can walk around the "boxes" and make sure it is what you want before building the actual boxes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Can I grow asparagus in a SFG?

 

You bet! An entire 4x4 like this…

 

Asparagus can be easily grown in a Square Foot Garden .  Because it is a perennial and takes several years to even get started before the first harvest and since people like a lot of asparagus and it only produces one crop a year, we suggest you plant an entire 4'x4' in only asparagus.  Have you ever grown it before?  The plants get very bushy throughout the summer and need quite a bit of room to spread out so leave good aisle space around it.  (After you have harvested the asparagus, consider using the feathery leaves as filler in flower arrangements.)

 

Traditionally, you plant one per square foot, but Mel has found that if you can afford enough of the roots, four per square foot will produce a much bigger crop earlier. The conventional way of planting asparagus roots is to put about half or 3 inches of your Mel's Mix down, mark the spacing either the one or four per square foot, make little mounds at the plant location and then drape the roots, which you buy in the nursery or through mail order, over each one of those little mounds and then pour in the rest of the 3 inches of Mel's Mix.  That would cover the roots an inch or two and that is about all you have to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. What about corn?

 

A perfect SFG crop, more harvest less space, here's how…

 

When the original Square Foot Gardening book was first written in 1981, the only varieties of corn were very tall, large, and bushy plants and we spaced 1 per square foot. Since then, they have started developing many smaller varieties of corn, still with large ears so that today, most of the varieties offered the home gardener can be spaced 4 per square foot. Because the corn is planted in a square and not in a row, that actually aids the pollination process. More and more studies are showing that this is the case and here we Square Foot Gardeners are already planting our corn in a square!

If you feel that the corn may need some extra support as it grows, you can drive a steel 3 or 4 foot fence post in each corner of your box and then horizontally tie on some nylon netting made for gardening. The corn would then grow right up through the large openings in the netting and the stalks would stay stable through a wind storm. We do sell the inexpensive nylon netting. For more information, please see the "Catalog" page of our website. Of course, these solutions are best implemented at the beginning of the season when the plants are small.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. Can I garden in the hot desert?

 

Why not? Just give your garden some shade, extra water, and a heavy mulch as well. More pointers here…

 

There are several things to do that will help in desert gardening that will counter those harsh conditions which include wind, low humidity, lack of rain, hot sun and cool nights. 

 

Once your plants are up and growing, we would suggest you lay down a thick layer of mulch material like chopped up hay, leaves, newspaper or dried grass clippings.  You could also use something like black plastic to hold in moisture and then just cover it with those same materials so you don't have to look at the plastic in the garden.  The thicker the layer, the better the effect. 

 

For more aesthetically-pleasing mulch, you could use wood chips or something similar to that.  You would need to make sure that they are not treated or dyed as that could leach into the soil when you water and would possibly be unsafe.  The trouble with wood chips is as they start to decompose, they will draw nitrogen from the soil.  So, if you want to use wood chips, put a barrier of one of the other type of mulches down then put the wood chips on top.

 

Other alternatives that look good as a mulch are ground up leaves (stored in plastic bags so they don't decompose) that you get in the fall.  Good, homemade compost also looks first rate as a mulch and then can just be mixed into the soil. 

 

Since these are all natural materials you can recycle them at the end of the year by saving them to be reused next year, turning them into your existing soil for the winter, or by adding them to your compost pile. 

 

The combination of wind and sun will dry out your soil quicker than a hair dryer.  The mulch will protect your soil surface from these two elements, but sometimes that's not enough, so you might consider putting up a wind screen and a sun screen.  We have been using the floating cover type of cloth material sold at all garden centers.  Place a strong stake, either out of wood, a steel fence post, or a steel electrical conduit in each corner of your 4x4's.  Then, merely wrap the cloth material around the outside using the stakes for support.  It is sort of like the wind screens that are used on tennis courts.  This should keep the strong wind off of not only the mulch and soil surface, but helps the plants immensely.  Remember we treat plants just like people and think how welcome it is to get out of the wind.

 

Many of the plants will grow through the whole summer if they have a little bit of protection from the hot noonday sun.  So, take two 10-foot long, 1/2" or 3/4" PVC pipes and bend them from corner to corner forming two hoops over your 4'x4' box, tie them together at the top center, and then attach some sort of shade cloth (available at any garden center). By doing this you'll be able to adjust the shade and sun in that garden depending on the season and angle of sunlight. 

 

Once you build either type of frame described above you can then continue gardening well into the colder weather by changing the covers on these frames to something that will let in the sunlight, but keep out the cold.  Clear plastic works well, but the box has to be vented well or the sun will cook everything inside.  On really cold nights, you simply throw an old blanket over the framework to protect from an early frost. 

 

I'm sure you can see that all the above ideas can only be done if you have a Square Foot Garden .  All the many advantages of SFG over single-row gardens keep coming back to one major point - a SFG takes only 20% of the space of an old-fashioned single-row inefficient garden.  So, it is easy to protect, as well as take care of.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. I want to plant something different. How do I do this? What is the yield?

 

Imagination and experimentation! One big advantage for SFG is…

 

We get many questions about how to plant various crops and what the yield would be. The best way to get an answer is to contact your local county extension agent. They have information on a variety of different plants and could give you advice specific to your area. Also, you can do a search on the internet and get a wealth of information this way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. My garden is too shady. What can I do?

 

Plant lots of shade loving crops, here are some…

 

Sometimes there aren’t a lot of choices where to place a garden and the only place is too shady. Or, maybe trees have grown up and are now shading the garden.

 

In the original SFG book, Mel suggested reflecting sunlight into shady areas to help get sun-loving plants the needed light for healthy growth. If you don’t mind the appearance, one way to bounce more light onto your sun-loving crops is to line the ground around them with aluminum foil. The foil will act not only as a mulch to keep down weeds, but is said to act also as an insect repellent. It seems that the light bounced off the foil and back to the underside of the leaves confuses the insects that expect to find a quiet, dark area. The extra light is said to help many shady locations. As the plants grow and produce extra leaves, the advantages of the foil are cut down as the amount of light able to reach the ground surface is also reduced.

 

Another rather extreme technique is to line a fence along the north side of the garden with foil, from the ground up to a height of 3 or 4 feet. Or, you could make removable, rigid panels by stapling or gluing aluminum foil onto lightweight, weather-resistant panels. You might use Styrofoam or some similar material. You can remove the panels when company comes or if you get tired of looking at them. You could also use the shiny, white surface of a panel without the aluminum foil. This is a little extreme, but if you don’t have enough sunlight, it may be worthwhile.

 

You can also plant crops that don’t require as much sun in the shadier areas. These are beets, carrots, cauliflower, Swiss chard, cucumbers, lettuce, onions, parsley, peas, radishes, spinach and winter squash. These crops require 4-6 hours of sun a day.