Tired of buying limp, dull vegetables from the supermarket? Don’t want to pay high prices at the local farmer’s market? Don’t want to eat produce that was sprayed with chemical fertilizers or pesticides?  

With a little sweat and some easy-to-find supplies, you can be growing your own veggies that are just minutes from your backyard to your table. And grown just the way that you want them.

What Is Square Foot Gardening?

To understand how to start a square-foot garden, it’s important to understand exactly what this unique garden form is. This will also give you a clearer idea of whether or not square foot gardening is the right choice for you–before your shovel ever hits the dirt.

The Basics

Square foot gardening was started about forty years ago by Mel Bartholomew. Simply put, square foot gardening is a garden set up in…one foot squares. Generally, you build raised beds that are 4’ x 4’ so you have 16 squares to plant your seeds. 

The small beds allow you access to the soil without walking on it because you can easily reach all of the squares from the edge. The raised bed allows you to use sterilized soil to keep weeds down and lets you work your garden without spending a lot of time on your knees.

Advantages Of Square Foot Gardening

Square foot gardening allows you to get more food out of less space. You will be planting more in a smaller space because you don’t need to space things out to allow you access to plant, weed, fertilize and harvest.

It also will let you plant things that help each other by adding nutrients that other plants need or keeping pests away from your growing veggies. The smaller size will help prevent large infestations of pests that growing just one species over a larger variety encourages.

Disadvantages of Square Foot Gardening

Cost is one of the main disadvantages, but there are ways around that. The typical square foot garden has store-bought soil in a bed that is at least 12 inches deep. Both the soil and frame can be pricey. 

To avoid or lower the costs, you can use soil that you have on hand and your own composted organic matter, or use your own combined with store-bought. And instead of building walls, you can just build the soil up and bank the edges. It might not be as pretty or as weed-free, but you can save a few bucks when you start. Then as you expand, you can build your beds.

While this is good for most crops, it isn’t necessarily good for things like sweet corn or veggies that grow on vines and need a lot of room.

What Do You Need To Start?

Ready to dig in and begin your square foot garden bed journey? From dirt to planting, here’s what you need to do:

Planning Your Garden Bed Materials

The main thing to remember is to keep the beds narrow–no more than 4 feet wide. That will allow you to work the bed without stepping on the soil and compacting it. Many people make the beds 4’ x 4’ but you can make it longer or narrower if you prefer. Look at your space and if a 10’ x 3’ bed works better, go for it. The main thing is to keep the 1’ square grids.

You can make your beds out of a variety of materials–cedar, pressure-treated timbers (look for ACQ-treated lumber approved for "Ground Contact” by the FDA), or cement blocks. You can use anything else that you have around as long as it will hold the soil in place and work as a weed block.  

Choosing Your Soil

Soil is very important for the health and longevity of yoru garden. If you are buying it, the best mix is 1 part topsoil, 1 part compost, and 1 part peat moss.

You can also add sand and vermiculite as well if you choose. Store-bought products should be free of weeds. If you use your own compost and topsoil, you might have to do a little extra weeding.

Setting Up Your Grid-Style Garden

One of the advantages of square foot gardening is that you don’t have to clear the grass or ground cover. Many people just put plastic down, then put the frame and soil on top of it. This will save work and still prevent weeds from growing up through your soil.

Where To Position Your Garden

You can also build your bed on concrete. Just make sure that you have enough organic matter in your soil so that your bed will not dry out between waterings.

You will want to position your beds so that they will get at least 8 hours of sun each day. Less sun, and your plants might end up tall, thin and spindly.

Make sure that the bed is level or close to level–this will keep water from running from one section to another, making it harder to keep the entire bed watered well.

Quality-Checking Your Construction

As you construct the box, make sure that the corners are strong, which is more necessary if your boxes are longer than 4 feet long. Just place the boards in place and secure them with exterior screws so that they resist rust.

If you are using cement blocks, you might want to put a little sand down where they are going so that you can seat them more effectively.

Planting

Now, you are ready to plant your seeds and begin reaping the fruits of your labor (get the gardening pun?!)

Plants vary in size, so you will have to vary the number of seeds you plant in each square accordingly. Generally, each square can hold 1 large, 4 medium, or 16 small plants. Large plants, like tomatoes or cabbage, need their own square. You can grow 4 peppers or heads of lettuce per square or 16 beets or radishes. 

Some things, like squash that forms a vine, might need 6-9 squares. Trellising is one thing that can help. Put some fencing next to vining plants, like squash or cucumbers, then train them to grow up the fencing.

Companion Planting And Pests

Do a little research on what you are planting because some veggies can help protect other veggies from various pests. Things like onions, garlic and marigolds planted near the edge of your beds will help keep pests away which means that you might not have to use any type of pesticide. While coneflowers and other blooms will attract pollinators.

You will want to stagger the plantings of veggies that don’t produce over a long period of time. That way one will just be starting to produce as one is beginning to fade. If you’re starting from seed, consider amending your soil to start your seedlings off on the right root.

One last thing to remember is to avoid monoculture. If you separate the beds of similar veggies, it will be harder for pests to go from one square to another.

Maintaining Your Garden Over Time

Maintaining your garden isn’t the most fun, but if you do a little every day, it will be much easier.

Watering

Depending on the soil and the weather, the amount of water and the frequency will vary. Your soil should be damp, but not wet. If you have a good mix of composted matter and soil, it will hold more water without drowning your plants.

One thing to look for is drooping leaves and branches–this is a sign that they need a little more water.

Weeding

A little weeding early is better and easier than a lot of weeding later. Do a little weeding every time you go out to water. Before you turn on the hose, just go around and pull weeds where you see them. Shake the soil off their roots, and toss them back on top of the soil so that they will break down and provide more organic matter for the soil.

Mulching

You don’t have to mulch between your plants, but it will help keep the soil moist and control the weeds. As it decomposes, it will also provide nutrients for your plants. Grass clippings work well, as do leaves. Partially decomposed compost will work too.

Harvesting

As the veggies in each square start to ripen, you can start to add them to your meals. Some, like cherry tomatoes, will never make it to your table because you will be eating them right off of the plant. Just make sure that you wash them first if you have applied chemical fertilizer or pesticide.

As the plants stop producing, just pull them up and add them to the mulch on top of the bed.

A happy and healthy garden: something to smile about

Square foot gardening is a method for both the new and the experienced gardener. You can start small if you want and then expand as you have more time. While it takes a little extra work and money to get started, before long you will be enjoying your garden-to-table veggies and fresh herbs. 

And while you are at it, put in a few squares of flowers so your garden looks and smells good, too. When it is all said and done, you can bet that your family will be happy that you decided to start gardening.