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Gardening Tips » Square Foot Gardening

Basic Square Foot Gardening

Square foot gardening is a way to make the most of your garden's space. Rather than planting in straight rows, you garden in built up squares of soil that allow you to easily reach all four sides of the square and maximizes the space in your garden.


Start out by building or buying squares that are 4 feet by 4 feet in size. You will be planting in these containers with each plant (or groups of smaller plants) having a 1 foot by 1 foot area. Leave three feet between each container to make access easier.


The advantage to square foot gardening is that you can reach everything. You do not have to step on any plants, drag a hose across them, etc. Since you build these above ground you will have fewer weeds to deal with. The one disadvantage is that they may need more water.


You do not want to crowd the plants. A good layout giving each plant plenty of room to thrive is one of the key factors of successful square foot gardening.


You can mix things up as you like, however. A mixture of vegetables and flowers can look quite lovely in a single container. Some flowers can even help with pest control.


You can vary the principles used in square foot gardening to suit your own needs. In my yard, for example, the garden is done around the perimeter of the yard. We have the access to the plants, they are in built up containers rather than being directly in the ground. But with a smaller yard with a perimeter garden already set up it made sense to keep to this variation rather than tear up the lawn.


Even though it seems to take a lot of room, you will be amazed at how much you can grow in a square foot garden plan. It allows for efficient use of the space you have.


A basic square foot garden allow you to get quite creative. You can grow all kinds of produce and flowers in pleasing arrangements. This kind of setup will allow you to work comfortably in your garden, water easily and harvest quickly.


Stephanie Foster blogs at http://www.gardenmedley.com/ about gardening at home. She offers more tips on square foot gardening there, as well as a review of the Home Vegetable Gardening ebook, which can be found at http://www.gardenmedley.com/gardening/vegetable-gardening/home-vegetable-gardening-ebook-review/


Source: www.isnare.com