One Of My Square Foot Garden Beds
The Square Foot Method

Why ''Square Foot Gardening?''     The answers are simple: It takes less of your time and is easier to weed and water. You use 80% less space and get more harvest. You use less water and it goes farther. You waste less produce because you don't overplant and overall its just less work. If this sounds good to you, read on:

So, what is the ''Square Foot Method'' of gardening?     For complete details on the method, you should see the originator, Mel Bartholomew's website. Anyway, here is my quick description of the method (the individual links on the right give more details for each step):

  • Build your garden as close to your kitchen as possible;
  • Build 4' X 4' beds (raised or not - your choice);
  • Create your own ''perfect soil'' mix (using Mel's recipe) and use it to fill your bed;
  • Never walk on your soil - walk on the paths between beds to avoid compacting the soil;
  • Divide your bed into 16 separate 1' X 1' sections;
  • Plant or transplant an appropriate number of plants per square foot, depending on plant size:
    • Extra-large plants: 1 plant per square foot;
    • Large plants: 4 plants per square foot;
    • Medium plants: 9 plants per square foot;
    • Small plants: 16 plants per square foot;
  • Seeds are started at the final spacing and with only 1 or 2 seeds per hole to avoid thinning;
  • Seeds and plants are also spaced horizontally at the same spacing;
  • Make trellises & use vertical gardening for vining crops;
  • Water appropriately - see link at right;
  • Pull by hand the few weeds that appear;
  • Harvest your crops when the time comes; AND
  • Add compost and/or peat moss to your harvested square and replant with a different crop.
So, what do I do differently?    Not much, really. I try my best to follow Mel's instructions. In my garden, I try to convert one section per year to the Square Foot method, replacing one or two of the non-square foot sections. The only reason I have to do it that way is that my free time is so limited by my regular job and money for materials is scarce even though a single Square Foot bed is relatively cheap. So one difference is that my garden is not 100% Square Foot, but that IS my ultimate goal.

Another difference is that I don't always adhere to Mel's instructions to avoid overplanting - there are many neighbors and relatives who enjoy my vegetables, and I really enjoy sharing them. Therefore, I always over-plant the things they like or that I like to freeze for the wintertime and early springtime (tomatoes, squash, zucchini, long green chiles, onions, basil, cilantro, okra, cantaloup and watermelons).

Anyway, I hope you get some useful information, links, or ideas from this website. Feel free to e-mail me any comments at the ''Contact Me'' link at the right (it will be activated when this site is more fully developed).

If you're going through this site ''in order,'' click on the ''Materials I Use'' link on the right.