Square Foot Gardening is a very simple and popular way to grow vegetables with the minimum amount of work in a literal, home square foot garden. A home Square foot garden is easy for all beginner gardens and seasoned gardens. 

What is Square Foot Gardening?

Square Foot Gardening is a great way to garden for anyone who is just beginning to garden, anyone who has never planted one singe seed or even the seasoned gardener. A Square Foot Garden is exactly what it sounds like it is. If you have a small area in your yard, say a 4×4 or 5x5 area in your yard you can turn it into a garden bed. That is 16 or 25 square feet (respectively), and you will have either 16 or 25 (small imaginary) boxes to plant in.  You can lay your garden with twine first or simply use mental imagery and plant accordingly.  

Square Foot Gardens are planted in the square foot boxes versus planting seeds in rows. Thus, your plant’s sections will be much closer together than in a traditional row garden.  There will be less space for weeds (YEAH) and you will need to water a bit more than the normal row gardening. But Square Foot Gardening is very efficient!

Raised Bed Garden or In-the-Ground Garden?

Before getting started, consider the best location for a new garden.

• Where do you get the most sun? Select a spot in your yard that receives quite a bit of sunlight. Ideally, a garden will need 6 to 8 hours of direct sun a day.

• How far away is the water? Ensure ample access to a hose

• Is there a spot near the house? Ideally, you don’t want to walk or drive to a location.

• Is there a nice clearing? A lovely clear spot is best so your vegetables aren’t competing with trees and shrubs for sun, water, and nutrients in the soil.

• How large do you want your garden? Don’t bite off more than you can handle. For a first garden, a 10’ x 10’ garden (100 square feet) would be perfect.

• Do you have good soil in your yard? If not, perhaps a raised bed is the better option. I didn’t have great soil because Illinois has loads of clay right under a top layer of soil. What I did was order mushroom composted soil from my local nursery and placed a large layer of this ordered soil on top of my soil and had the soils tilled together. I do this every couple of years due to wind erosion in my area.

Remember to select an ideal location that receives about 6 hours of sun each day as well. If you don’t have the sun, you will not likely have a successful garden. Another aspect to consider is if you have local fauna in the area that love to hop into your garden and eat all the new growth. Be sure to secure your area with some type of fencing. And my last tip is to take it slow. Your first year may yield very little, but keep at it.

Every summer my children and I plant a garden. Each year we seem to have average luck with whatever we decide to plant. Last year I asked my husband to construct a square foot garden from wood and enclose it in order to keep the rabbit and deer away from my growing veggies.  That was the trick and we had a wonderful harvest last summer. Well into the fall I was still collecting tomatoes and beets and kale!

This year, we are back to the square foot garden and everything is safely enclosed again from furry predators. My children were not as interested in assisting with the planting this year and left after only a couple of spots had been planted. This left me with the decision as to how to plant my square foot garden.

I decided to plant in rows this year versus a grid of 1-foot by 1-foot squares, with single seeds or plants placed in carefully determined spacings. I prefer a long bed as this is how my father planted each and every year. It is familiar to me and I always feel as if I am honoring my father by planting the way he preferred as well.

SUPPLIES NEEDED FOR SQUARE FOOT GARDEN

If you are interested in your own square foot garden, here are some supplies you would need to get started.

• 2 x 10 lumber

• landscape fabric

• peat moss

• compost

• wood screws

• staple gun

• seeds and plants

• fencing of some sort, we use a garden net and chicken wire

The amount of supplies depends on the size of the garden you would like to plant. Also, consider the amount of sun that hits the area you are looking to plant. Growing veggies need loads of sunlight each day. 

Simply assemble the frame the size you wish the garden to be. Spread the landscape fabric on the outside of the frame and staple it in place. Flip the frame over and place it in the location and start to fill with soil and compost. (we use a mixture of soil and mushroom compost). I do not use any sprays or soil aides of any kind.

For our garden we selected green beans, snap peas, beets, radishes, tomatoes, english cucumber and a peppers. Once the beans and snap peas get a little bigger, I will add a small fence area along each row so the vines can climb. I will also house the tomato plant in a wire cage for added support as well.

We are a few weeks in and the garden is sprouting off great. there were some areas where some seeds didn't take and i simply went in tonight and planted some seeds in the bare areas. By mid-July we should have a beautiful harvest of some wonderful vegetables!

Are you ready to try a garden for yourself? Start small and just do it! Your kids will love it and you will love all the fresh vegetables!