Square Foot Gardening is a book, a foundation, and a recipe for a supposedly foolproof way to garden. I'm trying it out in my back yard, and this is my take on the approach. I'll add to this post as things develop.
Building the structure
My yard gets deer and rabbits every day, so I added a chicken wire fence around my garden. To be more space efficient, I made a U-shaped garden instead of the square-shaped one suggested by the book.
I built the frame from 2x8 pine lumber and big screws. Landscape fabric covers the bottom to prevent weeds from growing through, and 1/4" hardware cloth keeps moles out (we also have a ton of those). Hammer-in staples hold the fabric and hardware cloth on.
Flip it over.
I added 2x2 posts to hold the fence and gate.
I used hammer-in staples to put the chicken wire on the posts.
I made a not-so-great gate with hinges and more chicken wire. A horizontal board was needed to brace the vertical support that holds the gate up, otherwise it bent down under its weight. Everything intentionally "scrapes" the ground to try to keep rabbits out.
I also added the Mel's Mix (equal parts coarse vermiculite, peat moss, and compost).
I hammered in nails to the boards at 1 foot intervals and tied clothesline to them to mark the grid.
The plants
We purchased plant starts already, but there's still a greater than 50% chance of frost where I live so they are just waiting in their containers for a bit. I need to do some research to learn about planting and supporting the plants I got, which will come later.
- Cucumber (garden sweet burpless)
- Eggplant (black beauty)
- Cherry tomatoes (sweet 100)
- Green beans (blue lake bush)
- Bell peppers (red beauty)
- Strawberries (berries galore)
- Parsley
- Basil
- Mint (will be planted in a separate container so it won't take over the box)
Planting
I dug up a couple inches of grass and dirt and put down woodchips so things won't get muddy.
I planted everything one day just before leaving for a trip.
Later I found some tomato cages being given away by a neighbor. I also bought netting to use as a lattice for tomatos and cucumbers to grow up.
Here's hoping everything keeps living!