Setting up a Square Foot Garden

Many people love square foot gardening because they can get so much beauty from a small space. You can build a square foot garden following an exact square foot layout, or you can garden using a square foot layout and put a few square feet together to make a larger space for vegetables and other larger plants. Here are the basics of what you will need to develop a small Square Foot Garden of your own. You will need to build or buy boxes that sit above the ground to hold your soil and plants. If you are using more than one box, space them 3' apart so you can walk in between them. You don't want to ever step inside the box and damage your plants. Place your boxes in an area that gets 6 - 8 hours of sunshine daily, and it should sit somewhere close to the house so you can water often. Because you are working with small spaces, you may have to water more often than you do your larger garden. The soil mixture should consist of 1/3 part compost, 1/3 part peat moss and 1/3 coarse vermiculite. Remember that your garden will be arranged in squares, not rows (it's a little deceiving because if you do it right, and all of your squares are the same size, it will look like you have rows. First, lay out your garden in 4' by 4' areas, then make a square foot grid on the top and start separating them into 1' sections. Depending on what you like to eat, or view, you can mix flowers, vegetables, or herbs in each square foot. It doesn't hurt to mix the plants as they will each be planted in their own square foot space. You should plant only 2 or 3 seeds per hole; it doesn't take much to make a beautiful garden. When you water, use a bucket of sun-warmed water and water gently by hand. The seeds are very delicate at first, and you don't want to just spray them with a hose and send them flying all over the place. Then, sit back and watch everything grow. At harvest time enjoy the fruits of your labor, or the beauty of your garden, and then when everything is done blooming and growing, add fresh compost and replant new crops. Note: Square foot gardens do not always have to be exactly square. You can get creative and add a little flair by using an Octagon shape, or even round (although round is going to be harder to work with). And, you can also add some small garden art pieces to make it more pleasing to look at while your plants are young. It's up to you whether you leave the art in as the plants grow. Some people find that when their flowers start to bloom, they like to see the natural look and will take the garden art out. Others just enjoy the beauty of it all. It's your garden, and now you should have enough information to make it enjoyable for years to come!