I’ve been looking forward to warmer days and the new life that flourishes in the garden. Each year we plant a vegetable garden and this year I wanted to try a different approach. Our garden is very small, but always provides enough for our family. I’ve been reading about square foot gardening and wanted to give it a try.
Before planting the garden I always run the tiller through it to mix in any leaf debris or ash from the fireplace that has settled. I normally mix in a bit of peat moss & manure as well. Read more about the soil here.
Our garden is roughly 144″ x 36″ which gives me a total of 36 squares in which to plant. It works best for tallest plants to grow in the back. Along the back wall is a fence with trellis support that we added for climbing veggies and tomatoes. Shorter plants like lettuces, herbs, and onions go in the front. And I always try to sneak in a few marigolds to keep the pests away.
Here’s the plan I drew up.
And here is our little square foot garden.
The beauty of the square foot garden, aside from making the most use of space, is that once plants reach their peak they can easily be replaced with new plants.
There’s still a lot to do here like add pretty plant markers and amend the soil a little more. I also like to plant dichondra around the pavers on the path beside the garden to soften things a bit.
Look for updates as our little garden grows.
Love. Love. Love.
Awesome René! Where do you buy your seeds?
Going to have to share this with my hubby. He's thinking about doing this too.
We've been using the square foot method for years. You might like to know your garden will be uber-abundant. See how ours does here: https://charlieandjo.wordpress.com/2012/07/26/midsummer-tour-of-the-potager/ . Can't wait to hear how much you love this method. My husband was not a believer until the harvest. Jo @ Let's Face the Music
I've been considering square foot gardening too. It just makes so much sense. Maybe this will give me the push I need. (FYI – and sorry if you already know this…. my mom, who gardens a lot, warned me not to put my yellow squash and zucchini next to each other because they are such close relatives. I guess when they are next to each other, you get one or the other due to cross pollination…. not sure if this is true. I've always planted them apart… maybe you can tell me!!)
That's funny. I've always planted them together with no problem. They both take up a lot of space which is why we planted them on the side so that the plants can crawl of the edge if needed.