square foot (raised gardens)

Yeah, I learned how to grade, dig a 250' trench two feet deep and how even when you give something to people for nothing, they still are not happy with it, lol.

Mostly kidding, but I do think that good soil and plenty of water is more important than sunlight.
I prefer my wild raspberries, strawberries and grapes on my property.

It is a small area, but it looks a lot nicer than it did with the red barrels they used as planters before. I will post pics when it is all set in the spring.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I have several raised bed vegitable gardens. I used regular kiln dried wood 2x12's, stayed away from pressure treated wood. Removed the layer of grass and bought loam and composted cow manure from a local dairy farm. I always buy the plants, don't have the room or time for seeds.
 
I bought a couple 4'x4' raised gardens last year to give them a try. They worked out better than i thought they would. I planted tomatoes and a variety of hot peppers and everything came in good. I plan on expanding it this year to add some other vegetables.
 
Mike-Mike said:
Yes its funny. I never garden and this year we are talking about doing it. She just taught a few classes at Assabet school. I know she also works as like a consultant that can help you get your stuff started and swing by once in a while to make sure things are looking good and let you know what your doing wrong. She is one of those people that can't screw up a garden. She gives us shitloads of veggies every year and everything is beautiful.

She really loves it and I talked to her she would totally do a class for NES.
Click to expand...

I would also be up for a class if there is enough interest. Would like to do this, not sure where to start.
 
So I am reading the book coastie recommend and am just wondering if folks are really able to get regular sized carrots in only a 6" depth garden? Thanks.
 
If you just want to try this out without committing to a huge project like some described here you can just get a couple of planters. Only thing to be careful about is the soil drying out too quickly as there is no protection from the sun unless you move the planters. I used to do a full garden but had to stop when the neighbor started spraying their trees. Now I do the planters and when the spraying occurs I bring them intl the three season porch and shut all the windows. I buy the plants already started.

Anyway, not saying to do this but if you wanted to see what you are getting into this is an inexpensive way to start. I put in fencing and underground irrigation and all that and then the spraying began and did some research and was told not to eat the harvest because of the tree spray chemicals.

Good Luck, It's a lot f fun and the kids have a blast in the fall picking all the stuff...
 
Other advice is don't make them so wide that you have to step into the raised bed to reach the middle. I built mine 6' wide so I can reach in from either side to the middle and don't have to step in the bed. This also allowed me to put plants closer and not have to leave room to step around them.
 
exojam said:
So I am reading the book coastie recommend and am just wondering if folks are really able to get regular sized carrots in only a 6" depth garden? Thanks.
Click to expand...

I will post some pictures later tonight but I am using the Square foot garden method (Mel Bartholomew) as well. For carrots I used some half-length varieties, Danvers half-long, Parisian Market, etc - The other option is to build a 6" 1x1 frame that you add to a particular square to raise depth up to 12"
 
We've done the SFG thing for several years now. (Not last year - the season around here was a disaster, plus we were occupied with some personal stuff. We'll be back at it this year, though.)

4x4 boxes, with 3' aisles between (covered in landscape fabric). The original plan was for 16 boxes in our fenced-in (and electrified to keep the deer out) garden, but we only built eight thus far. But with SFG, each box is divided into sixteen squares, so our garden is hexadecimally addressable. Yes, I'm that geeky. [grin]
 
Dang SpaceCritter why do you have to go and start throwing out them big words like "hexadecimally" on me [smile]
 
i'm really excited to start gardening this year again, its becoming a long winter. last year was a strange year for my tomato's they came in september. I need to raise my beds this year, i'm getting old my back and knees were killing me last year from the weeding.
 
daveyburt said:
As Mr. Happy says, a woodchuck will ruin a small garden pretty quickly. Fence it in. If you do, go into the ground with the chickenwire 8in or so to keep the burrowing possibility down. Maybe lay some brick in there outlining your wire.

I've been doing the square foot thing for a few years. I went down about a foot under grade beneath a standing 2x6 box. Soil mix is 1/4 original, 1/4 compost, 1/4 peat, and 1/4 manure. In retrospect, I should have added sand as well - YMMV. This mix holds water like nobodies business. I over watered the first year and that took a bit to recover from. You have to watch the weather and keep the garden dry if rain is in the forecast. No biggie, just something to watch.
However, extended rain has to be managed. I have a 10x12 plot which can be covered with a camping tarp in about 45 minutes. Maybe something to keep in mind when building your fence.

Speaking of watering. I'm a fan of the drip line especially in dense plantings/square foot. Underground, under the box frames. You can make separate zones with a hose manifold/valves. Keep plant water needs in mind when creating these zones. IE: My broccoli likes less water than the peppers. Different zones.

Last year was tough for me but, things I've had success with have been:
Lettuce
Peas
Bush/Pole Beans
Peppers
Eggplant
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Brussels Sprouts
Cukes
I could see tomatoes doing well but, I hate fresh tomatoes.

Dwarf/Smaller varieties a plus. Sans the Tomatoes, all but one of the aforementioned veggie list fit's in my 10x12 at once.

Herbs in planters.

If you're planning starting seeds, it may be too late in the year. In my experience, it seems cold crop seeds would have to be started the previous Christmas to have something ready for early outdoor planting. I've given up on seeds (mostly) and have vowed to just buy small plants as early as possible.

The Almanac is calling for a cool spring, hot summer, drier inland, wet on the coast.

Good luck - Now I have to add the garden to my to-do list.
:/
Click to expand...
to late for indoor seedlings where do you live florida? summer crops like tomatoes go in the ground in late may, allow eight weeks for seed in the house, so you should still have two weeks left at least
 
on another note if you want to do early spring planting, I cover my 3x6 beds with floating row covers on garden hoops I made out of bent conduit, I plant fast growing greens like arugula and spinach, the covers add maybe another five degrees getting me outside at least two weeks earlier, still plenty of time for a summer and fall planting.
 
SpaceCritter said:
We've done the SFG thing for several years now. (Not last year - the season around here was a disaster, plus we were occupied with some personal stuff. We'll be back at it this year, though.)

4x4 boxes, with 3' aisles between (covered in landscape fabric). The original plan was for 16 boxes in our fenced-in (and electrified to keep the deer out) garden, but we only built eight thus far. But with SFG, each box is divided into sixteen squares, so our garden is hexadecimally addressable. Yes, I'm that geeky. [grin]
Click to expand...

Please tell me you do that so your watering system can water each square foot individually. My friend who uses MS Project to schedule out Thanksgiving dinner doesn't even take it that far with his garden.
 
Last year was year two of doing the square foot gardening method - the one out of Mel Bartholomew's books. Uses 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat, 1/3 vermiculite.
Did not use anything on plants except compost - no fertilizer, no insecticide.

Don't have as much sun as I would like, probably max out at 6 hours a day of full sun, another hour or so of mixed sun.

Green beans and tomatoes grow like nothing else - I have so much growth that by mid summer they are above the trellis. These are probably the best growers for me.
Half length carrots do well, but grow slow.
Peppers, radishes have mixed results depending on brands
Lettuce, spinach, etc do well in spring and fall
Cannot get beets to grow
Cucumbers mixed results - first year really good yields, last year not so much
Did some potatoes last year as an experiment last year and they did really well - so will look to do more this year - probably a potato tower.

Didn't take the best pictures last year at the end of growing seasons but took some early on

Six boxes, each box divided into 1x1 grids - so 96 squares in total - plants randomly placed throughout the boxes (supposed to help keep pest down)
Trellises in back for beans, tomatoes, etc.

Pictures taken before I put mulch down around to boxes

IMG_3522_zpsaa4f8ff0.jpg


IMG_3524_zpsda5a07f3.jpg


luckily i have nice clean water (I tested it) from a point well - set up an automatic drip irrigation system to water off of a timer.

IMG_3543_zpsb7367ce3.jpg


One of the harvests:

IMG_3622_zpsd18d927b.jpg


I spend very little time on the garden in total - maybe a few minutes here and there picking the few weeds I get (not growing in soil and in raised boxes seems to minimize the weeds i get.

Overall I like the SFG methodology - expensive to set up since you need to buy most of the compost as well as the peat and vermiculite. BUT the lack of work needed in weeding is well worth it.
 
Stryker said:
Last year was year two of doing the square foot gardening method - the one out of Mel Bartholomew's books. Uses 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat, 1/3 vermiculite.
Did not use anything on plants except compost - no fertilizer, no insecticide.

Don't have as much sun as I would like, probably max out at 6 hours a day of full sun, another hour or so of mixed sun.

Green beans and tomatoes grow like nothing else - I have so much growth that by mid summer they are above the trellis. These are probably the best growers for me.
Half length carrots do well, but grow slow.
Peppers, radishes have mixed results depending on brands
Lettuce, spinach, etc do well in spring and fall
Cannot get beets to grow
Cucumbers mixed results - first year really good yields, last year not so much
Did some potatoes last year as an experiment last year and they did really well - so will look to do more this year - probably a potato tower.

Didn't take the best pictures last year at the end of growing seasons but took some early on

Six boxes, each box divided into 1x1 grids - so 96 squares in total - plants randomly placed throughout the boxes (supposed to help keep pest down)
Trellises in back for beans, tomatoes, etc.

Pictures taken before I put mulch down around to boxes

IMG_3522_zpsaa4f8ff0.jpg


IMG_3524_zpsda5a07f3.jpg


luckily i have nice clean water (I tested it) from a point well - set up an automatic drip irrigation system to water off of a timer.

IMG_3543_zpsb7367ce3.jpg


One of the harvests:

IMG_3622_zpsd18d927b.jpg


I spend very little time on the garden in total - maybe a few minutes here and there picking the few weeds I get (not growing in soil and in raised boxes seems to minimize the weeds i get.

Overall I like the SFG methodology - expensive to set up since you need to buy most of the compost as well as the peat and vermiculite. BUT the lack of work needed in weeding is well worth it.
Click to expand...

I think I'm going to steal you watering system! Very nice!
 
I definitely will not have such a nice watering system. Mine will consist of me sitting on my scooter with a garden hose. Still trying to find the best place for it in the back yard. I am not sure if I want it to close to the house since the sun does not crest the house until noon.
 
Came across a cool vid I thought might be of some interest. Guy has a mini farm on 4k sf in the city in CA.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
brew3x said:
to late for indoor seedlings where do you live florida? summer crops like tomatoes go in the ground in late may, allow eight weeks for seed in the house, so you should still have two weeks left at least
Click to expand...

I noted 'cold crop' seeds - like Broccoli, etc...
Depending on the weather, if they were hardy enough, you could plant them as soon as you could dig and have a spring harvest of cold crop stuff.
 
I did a raised bed two years ago from a HD kit (4' x 4' x 1').
Last year built up two more from pallets by staple-gunning garden fabric to the back & sides.

This year I'm going to move them to a better location in the yard & probably make the 2 pallet ones double height.
Last year was also a really bad growing season & I lost most of what I had in the "regular 10' x 12' garden.

Right now I'm looking at & pricing out a grow lamp to start my seeds off better.

One step at a time... Good luck!

ETA: Oh, also have a 50 gal rain barrel about 10' from the current garden location. New location is going to be another 30-40' down hill, so the water will flow better on my gravity feed system. I've been too cheap/lazy to buy a pump.
 
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Just ordered up my vermiculite.

RoterTeufel,

How did those units from HD work out? I just saw those a few nights ago and was thinking of getting two. I know they can be made cheaper but for me the little kit looks good and easier for me to put together (plus they look pretty nice). .
 
exojam said:
Just ordered up my vermiculite.

RoterTeufel,

How did those units from HD work out? I just saw those a few nights ago and was thinking of getting two. I know they can be made cheaper but for me the little kit looks good and easier for me to put together (plus they look pretty nice). .
Click to expand...


Where do you get it in quantity, and at what price?
 

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