square foot (raised gardens)

[daveyburt]

looks nice!

yea, I'd assume each of the squares is 1'x1'. If so, you can fit more plants in there.


Your bed boards look like 2x10s? I'd till up six inches of soil below those beds and mix it all together when you add your topsoil to give you a bit more depth....your carrots, potatoes, and corn will thank you greatly

On a better note. You can fit WAY more plants in there.
You can go tighter on those Romaines; 4 per - leaving you a ton more space for different vegies.
I do 9 bush green beans per square as well. Last year I tried Pole Beans and had bean hedges.

Go deep and load it up.

ETA: http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/mels-mix/

 

[exojam]

Silly question (and it may have all ready been answered but it is late), when is everyone starting to plant?

Most of my stuff will be starting from seeds and I understand things may not turn out great but it is what it is.

I got the "mels mix" put in today but I think I was just a little short on the compost so I am add just a bit more in.

Thanks.

 

[mass]

Starting my seeds today

Sent from State prison using contraband cell phone.

 

[southshore]

Starting my seeds today

Sent from State prison using contraband cell phone.

What are you planting? I put in Kale, broccoli, cabbage, and cauliflower seed already.

 

[mass]

Going to put carrots and potatoes in the ground today. Started beans, zucchini, cukes, tomatoes and peppers inside.

Sent from State prison using contraband cell phone.

 

[exojam]

Well I started some lettuce, spinach, green beans, broccoli and watermelon today. Not sure if I should have started the watermelon but we shall see.

I have attached a bad picture of the boxes all filled up. I have not completed the fence yet as I am supposedto have someone coming by tomorrow to take down some trees.

 

[exojam]

I have two different types of tomatos started in the house. They came up very quickly and look good. Cannot wait to get more stuff planted.

 

[TimoC508]

Broke my foot a week ago so right now I'm relying on my father to help me out with some garden work. He has a much greener thumb than me, so it works out.

 

[Billsail]

You've GOT TO try asparagus. Once it's established, it will come up year after year! Go out to the garden with a pair of scissors and snip what you need! Perpetual veggie goodness! They're already pushing through this year!

 

[chaser001]

You've GOT TO try asparagus. Once it's established, it will come up year after year! Go out to the garden with a pair of scissors and snip what you need! Perpetual veggie goodness! They're already pushing through this year!

I never use scissors, just make a quick snap with your wrist as close to the ground as you can. Then brush with olive oil, rub with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and grill to perfection.

 

[Billsail]

I never use scissors, just make a quick snap with your wrist as close to the ground as you can. Then brush with olive oil, rub with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper and grill to perfection.

That'll work!!!

 

[exojam]

You've GOT TO try asparagus. Once it's established, it will come up year after year! Go out to the garden with a pair of scissors and snip what you need! Perpetual veggie goodness! They're already pushing through this year!

Not sure why I did not have that in my list to put in the garden. I may have to try some in my sweet potato spots.

I think the potatoes will go in buckets instead.

one thing Infound is it seems like I had to use more compost than I had thought I would. Probably because my boxes are 7" deep instead of 6.

I did did grab a little extra soil for some of my inside plants which I hope makes them go crazy.

 

[exojam]

I after finally getting over the flu (again for the third time this year), I was able to go check out the garden. I also finally received my romaine lettuce seeds that I ordered and wanted to plant.

I got them (the romaine) planted but I am wondering if I made a mistake. On my chart I had listed 1 romaine per square. Now I cannot find where I had seen this information and am seeing other folk’s plant 4 per square. Has anyone ever planted romaine and if so, how many per square did you use?

Edit for above paragraph: I see daveyburt had already stated I could go to 4. Since I planted them right in the middle is 5 pushing it too far?

All the plants except the watermelon that I planted on the 12[SUP]th[/SUP] have sprouted up in the garden. I had a feeling the watermelon may have been too soon so I planted one in a cup ad have it on the window sell next to the toms. The toms in the cup seem to be doing pretty well and I guess in a few weeks I will take them out there to be planted.

Here are my toms in a cup:

 

[TimoC508]

Here are my 2 garden beds. The 12x6 was constructed last fall and the 12x3 this weekend. I decided I wanted them all 12x3 but considering I have a broken foot, I didn't feel like redoing it. I will this fall when I go to 4 12x3 beds.

Excuse the picture tags. They are gone now.

 

[exojam]

What do you have in there? Were they purchased at a nursery and transplanted?

 

[TimoC508]

What do you have in there? Were they purchased at a nursery and transplanted?

Last year I had a little 3x5 patch of dirt with 3 toms and 2 cucumbers. The yield was pretty good.

These were all bought at a nursery owned by my dad's friend. It's in Fall River. He charges $2 for a 6 pack of plants.

I know it may be a couple weeks early, but my next 2 weekends are pretty booked solid so I planted everything this past weekend.

This year I have:

2 pickling cucumbers
2 super-eight cucumbers
2 heirloom tomatoes
2 beefsteak tomatoes
2 jetstar tomatoes
4 super sweet 100 tomatoes
6 romaine lettuce
6 green leaf "salad bowl" lettuce
6 spinach
18 asparagus
2 orange bell peppers
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
6 banana peppers
1 spicy red bell pepper
15 strawberries

 

[exojam]

Nice list there, I still have a few squares I do not know what to plant in and need to get my potato buckets going.

 

[TimoC508]

Thank you. I'm trying to get into it. And so far I am super excited. My blackberry vines (2 plants) already started flowering and I'm hoping to at least get the same yield as last year.

 

[dans]

Edit for above paragraph: I see daveyburt had already stated I could go to 4. Since I planted them right in the middle is 5 pushing it too far?

You can always thin them out once you see how they are filling in. The usual protocol in my garden in to plant seeds pretty close together then as they sprout, thin them to the spacing that I want.

 

[Stryker]

Added about 12 cu ft of compost to my six boxes this weekend. Put in Peppers and tomatoes, which were transplants from a local nursery; next years goal is to start these indoor myself and save some money. Started from seed, the first set of beans, chard, radishes, carrots and potatoes.

Next step is to put together a potato tower

 

[Stryker]

A couple of Square foot Garden blogs that are worth following or subscribing to their feeds:

http://thewealthyearth.com/ (the best as he does a true SFG - has a good ebook worth buying and reading)
http://timssquarefootgarden.com/blog/

A great blog - not SFG - but a wealth of knowledge is:
http://therustedgarden.blogspot.com/

 

[Stryker]

Don't mean to clog up the thread

But....found a free kindle book on square foot Gardening
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Square-Foot-Gardening-Beginners-ebook/dp/B00JSA2JVG/
Don't know how long the deal last but $0 for now

Rodale is a good source of information for organic gardening and techniques - haven't had a chance to read it but should be worthwhile

 

[exojam]

Don't mean to clog up the thread

But....found a free kindle book on square foot Gardening
http://www.amazon.com/Organic-Square-Foot-Gardening-Beginners-ebook/dp/B00JSA2JVG/
Don't know how long the deal last but $0 for now

Rodale is a good source of information for organic gardening and techniques - haven't had a chance to read it but should be worthwhile

Thanks, just downloaded it.

On a side note I am having one heck of a time getting my watermelon seeds to start. Tried earlier in the month outside which I thought was to early and now inside and they will just not sprout.

 

[Stryker]

Haven't tried watermelon before - I'll check my reference material and see if I can find anything.

My trouble maker is beets - I've tried two years straight and can get them to grow anything beyond a thin seedling, then they die.

 

[Stryker]

Put in a Potato Tower this weekend - basic premise is that you can grow something like 100 lbs of potatoes by continuing to add dirt as the plant grows.

The tower is 2x2 and ultimately will be 3 feet tall - made out of 1x2 for the uprights and 1x6 for the side slats.

Haven't tried it before and will be eager to see what the final yield be - most issues with potato towers have been water logged soil - I think the vermiculite/peat moss/compost mix used here should be loose enough and drain well to prevent that - will see

If any one is interested in more details let me know - and I can put together a more detailed post

Tower in Garden

16 seed potato pieces used(stick were just for reference and removed)

Potatos covered with soil mix and automated watering dripline added

 

[TimoC508]

Put in a Potato Tower this weekend - basic premise is that you can grow something like 100 lbs of potatoes by continuing to add dirt as the plant grows.

The tower is 2x2 and ultimately will be 3 feet tall - made out of 1x2 for the uprights and 1x6 for the side slats.

Haven't tried it before and will be eager to see what the final yield be - most issues with potato towers have been water logged soil - I think the vermiculite/peat moss/compost mix used here should be loose enough and drain well to prevent that - will see

If any one is interested in more details let me know - and I can put together a more detailed post

Tower in Garden

16 seed potato pieces used(stick were just for reference and removed)

Potatos covered with soil mix and automated watering dripline added

Thanks Stryker. I now have a new project for the long weekend!

 

[exojam]

Where did you get the potatoes from? I need some baby red potatoes. I am going to try them in a bucket.

on a side note I am jealous of you folks with the automatic watering systems. There is just no way I can get one to where my little garden is.

 

[TimoC508]

Ok pros. Here's a question for you regarding watering.

At at the moment I don't have a watering system like Stryker. I do however have a lawn sprinkler system. On post #104 you can see my beds. Up along the fence I have one of my sprinkler zones about 4 feet from the beds.

Would it be ok to use a regular lawn sprinkler to water these beds? I can adjust the spray pattern and strength as needed. I can also adjust the watering times and duration as needed. What do you think? Should I just continue to water by hand with a hose or should I set up a specific schedule for the gardens. If so how often and for how long? By the way, there are 2 sprinklers one on each end.

 

[TimoC508]

I am happy to report that my lettuce and spinach look fantastic. My wife was able to pick and eat 1 strawberry. And to my surprise as I watered and pulled some weeds last night, my asparagus has started to poke through the soil!

I'm super excited about this whole raised bed gardening thing.

 

[Billsail]

To all gardeners who a raising asparagus (my favorite) for the first time. You DO know that if you snip them off, and leave the rest in the ground, they will come back every year! I've been eating it for about a month now! They started sprouting in March.