Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 11 to 16 of 16

Thread: square foot gardening?

  1. #11
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    25
    100% everyone I personally know has found it to be a disaster. Just make sure you are in the right climate.

  2. #12
    Senior Member Rogar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    5,219
    I asked the same question here this spring and had enough encouragement to try it. Now that I have a season under my belt, I could report back. I used 2X8s as 6" seemed a little too shallow and only did one 4'X4' frame. Put a waterproofing treatment on the wood before assembling. And pretty much followed the recipe for "mel's mix" soil mixture. I also put up a frame and netting for vine tomatos.

    One nice thing about them is that you can put them wherever you want. I put mine sort of close to the back door for easy access and also a slightly better sun spot than my traditional garden. I planted my tomatos by placing the roots horizontally and they did better than the same variety that I had in my traditional garden. Lettuce, chard, spinach, basil, and beets all did well and produced quite a bit for the space. For some reason the cucumbers and peppers didn't do well, but over all I was pleased. I've planted some fall cool weather plants to replace the summer harvest. There is a pretty easy design in the book using PVC pipe and plastic to make the area into a mini greenhouse, so hopefully I'll be able to extend the growing season. I didn't try it, but might agree that the larger plants like cabbage, squash, and broccoli might take up too much space and would be more efficient in a traditional garden.

    I think the whole thing cost about $50-$60. You might be able to scrounge some of the materials, but the soil mix is slightly pricey. I think the soil mix is one of the secrets to success and worth following the instructions in the book. Also, the book was extremely helpful.

    Anyway, not a total success and slightly expensive, but I had fun with it and got quite a bit of food considering the space.

  3. #13
    Senior Member Selah's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Mohave Valley, Arizona, U.S.A.
    Posts
    1,089
    I had great hopes for square foot gardening, but alas, at the time of building the boexs and "dirtifying" and sowing my crops, I didn't realize that I really lived in an environment that was far too tough for growing much of anything, really. (That was in the high desert of Southern Nevada.) Although I put shade cloth over my boxes, the hot winds still scorched the plants, and if I misted them, the water got so hot so quickly that it also burned hotspots into the leave. I did manage to have one year with a yield of about one zucchini and two dozen tomatoes, but at best it turned out that each tomato had cost me about $7 each! In the end, I just donated the boxes to a friend who ended up leaving them in the front yard of the house she was renting, after she moved out. Lucky landlord...NOT!

  4. #14
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    out in the sticks by Abilene, KS
    Posts
    268
    I did it years ago and got tons of chow from small spaces! You don't have to do raised beds, my stuff did great just in the ground. I did use landscape timbers to create a pretty geometric shape.

    I have some raised beds, but they require more watering and keep settling. I'm taking them out. It's hot and windy here, too (not as bad as where you are Selah), so next year I'm going to plant in trenches instead. I mulch heavily with straw. After it's watered a couple times, it seems to hold on to the ground instead of flying over to the next county.
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  5. #15
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    out in the sticks by Abilene, KS
    Posts
    268
    Quote Originally Posted by Greg44 View Post
    I finally finished by 1st raised bed and looking forward to planting some "fall" crops. I have it all filled with special soil primed ready to go. WHAT -- REALLY -- ? -- The neighbor's cat thinks it is his big LITTER BOX! GROSS and I sorta liked this cat.
    Anyone else have cats use their raised beds as litter boxes?

    I too am interested in square foot gardening. I seen some amazing pictures.
    We bought one of these gadgets. It's called the Scarecrow. It's a motion activate sprinkler system that shoots a 3 second burst of water from the impulse sprinkler on the top.


    The cheapest place I found to buy this thing was at Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/Contech-Electronics-CRO101-Scarecrow-Motion-Activated/dp/B000071NUS $42 plus free shipping.

    It will work good to keep neighbor kitty out of your garden. My cats..well... Different story as they are letting me know it's chow time. Full story on my blog.
    Marianne
    My lame blog: http://2atthefarm.blogspot.com/
    Eco Friendly Tightwaddery and the Fine Art of Substitution

  6. #16
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Mar 2011
    Posts
    5
    This was my first year gardening and went square foot method. I must say that I was very happy with the results and the scrooge that I live with was happy that it didnt take up too much of his precious yard or make it look trashy ((: Anyway, I liked the fact that the only work I had to do after the planting was watering and staking my plants (other that harvest). The weeds were minimal and I wouldnt have had those if the mown grass hadnt been blown into the boxes. I didnt have anything that didnt grow other than my onions, and I think that was just a problem with me not the garden!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •