Hi all
Has anyone tried that square foot gardening method? I have a spot where i'm thinking of giving it a trial with some surplus plants but am frankly too lazy to buy wood and make boxes, are there any alternatives being used?
Thanks
David
Square foot gardening?
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Helenclare
- KG Regular
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:24 pm
- Location: High Wycombe, Bucks
Hi David,
Yes I use the square foot method on my raised beds in the garden. I wouldn't use it up at the allotment but for salad type veg and beans, peas etc it is brilliant. I have 6 beds each 4 squares wide and 8 squares long, divided up by canes pegged down with metal ground pegs. The 3 new beds made this Easter I have filled with one third potting compost, a third homemade compost and a final third a mixture of vermiculite and perlite, huge bags bought off ebay.
So far so good, the results have been excellent. Lettuce, spinach, chard , beetroots, beans,, peas,tomatoes radish, turnip and brassicas all thriving...i will try and upload some pics if i can.
Helen
Yes I use the square foot method on my raised beds in the garden. I wouldn't use it up at the allotment but for salad type veg and beans, peas etc it is brilliant. I have 6 beds each 4 squares wide and 8 squares long, divided up by canes pegged down with metal ground pegs. The 3 new beds made this Easter I have filled with one third potting compost, a third homemade compost and a final third a mixture of vermiculite and perlite, huge bags bought off ebay.
So far so good, the results have been excellent. Lettuce, spinach, chard , beetroots, beans,, peas,tomatoes radish, turnip and brassicas all thriving...i will try and upload some pics if i can.
Helen
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Helenclare
- KG Regular
- Posts: 27
- Joined: Mon Feb 27, 2006 9:24 pm
- Location: High Wycombe, Bucks
We bought some reclaimed railway sleepers from a company on the internet and used 3 for each bed, cutting one in half was fun!!. They are untreated and look lovely...we felt it was worth the money..they were £20 each... because they form part of the garden. It was hard work, but only took a day and now they should last for ages.
Helen
Helen
Yes, I'm another fan of square foot gardening. Most of our veg and salad stuff (apart from tomatoes and peppers in the greenhouse) comes from 8 plots, 4ft by 4ft. We've got raised beds, but you don't have to: you can just cut your beds into the turf. As with raised beds, you don't walk on the soil, you do your weeding, etc from the sides. We've found the system very productive. The original book was a bit twee in places, e.g. he talked about watering the plants with so many cups of water per day or per week. I've always ignored that. But I gather there's an 'all new' version of the book out, incorporating 25 years of further experience, and in the new book he simply says keep the soil moist.