Square Foot Gardening (2024)

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What is Square Foot Gardening?

Square foot gardening was invented by Mel Bartholomew in 1976. Square foot gardening uses small, raised beds instead of crop rows in the ground. The beds can be made of untreated cedar, pine or fir. You want your raised beds to be no larger than 4×8 feet. This ratio gives you easy access to the center and saves space. To make it a perfect square, go for 4×4 feet. When it comes to depth, the deeper the better. We suggest one foot deep, but it can be successful with six inches. It needs to be deep enough for root growth, so keep that in mind when choosing plants.

You’ll want to divide your bed into a flat grid complete with one-foot squares. Each square in the bed should be dedicated to a specific crop. Square foot gardening uses a soilless mix. It uses compost, peat moss and vermiculite. Depending on your climate and growth, soil amendments are sometimes necessary.

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The Benefits of Square Foot Gardening

There are many pros to square foot gardening:

• It’s highly productive and space-saving. It requires 80% less space than traditional garden rows.
• It’s great for gardeners with limited mobility. Because of its size and shape, it provides easy access.
• It’s great for beginner gardeners. The set-up requires organization. It's great for allowing a new gardener to learn the ropes. You don't have to commit to a full garden. Think of it like training wheels. Square gardening offers reassuring boundaries. It gives new gardeners a sense of newfound confidence. When you break down gardening into even squares, tasks are more manageable. Planning, planting, harvesting and caring are broken down into easy steps.
• It doesn’t matter how your yard soil is. Some climates have hard, clay-like soil. Some yards have tired, dry soil. With square gardening, you fill your bed with a fresh, fertile growing medium. It’s easy to buy compost, peat moss and vermiculite.
• No sod or turf removal is required. Square gardening’s raised beds are quick and easy to set up on any surface. Just level it first.
• You can move and customize placing your beds. Beds for square gardening can be placed in different locations across your yard. If your yard is shady, you can ensure your beds are in a sunny spot. Most plants want direct sunlight for 6 to 8 hours.
• No weeding or tilling the first year. Since square gardening uses soilless mix, you don’t have to pluck any weeds. The frame of the garden bed stops weeds from encroaching on your plants early on.
• No soil compression. Since the plants are in raised beds, not the ground, you won’t ever step on the soil.
• Easier succession planting and crop rotation practices. Crop rotation and succession planting stops soil from becoming nutrient deficient. It’s harder to manage and keep organized with traditional rows. In square gardening, the clear division of beds makes these practices easier. After you harvest one crop, empty the square and plant a brand new one in its place.
• Easier plant protection. With a smaller space to cover, it’s easy to add covers. Examples are chicken wire, bird netting or row covers. You can protect tender crops like lettuce from the sun with a shade cloth. You can add clear plastic covers for frost protection once temperatures dwindle. Say goodbye to critters, birds and pests gnawing on your plants with square gardening.

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Cons of Square Foot Gardening

While square foot gardening is great for some, others may find the cons hard to work with:

• Some find gridded raised beds creatively constraining. If you’re more of a loose gardener instead of a tidy gardener, the practice might not be for you.
• Intercropping and companion planting is harder. Grid planting is space-saving, but it doesn’t always equal higher yields. Plant partnerships are harder to manage because of the grids.
• Quality of compost makes a difference. With the soilless mix, the quality of your compost is mighty important. If you buy or create compost that is disproportionately high in nitrogen, it can affect your blooms, root development and fruit set. If you find abundant leafy greens but low everything else, add soil amendments. An organic, slow-release amendment may help in filling gaps in nutrients.
• Installation costs are high. The upfront costs for materials can be high for some gardeners. You also need to refresh the soilless mix every growing season, which has a cost.
• Lack of air circulation. Square gardening requires close inspection to check on plant diseases. Densely planted gardens, like square gardens, can lack air flow. That makes it a breeding ground for plant disease. If you live somewhere incredibly humid with frequent rainfall, it can be hard to square garden. With the plants being close together, plant disease spreads fast if you don’t catch it.
• Light issues can occur. If you overcrowd your square garden, crops can grow poorly.
• It’s easy to overwater. With any raised bed gardening, they need frequent watering. To prevent overwatering, we recommend using a soaker hose or utilizing drip watering. Just know, these tools are an added cost factor.
• No weeding the first year, but no guarantee you won’t weed the second year. Unfortunately, weed seeds can be blown in your square garden by the wind. Once established, it’s harder to pluck weeds in such a small space. You’ll need to try not to uproot your seedlings.

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How to Square Foot Garden

You’ve decided to build a square foot garden, so here’s the steps on how to do it:

• Source your materials
• Build your square foot garden raised beds
• Position your raised beds
• Make a batch of soilless mix
• Fill your beds with soilless mix
• Measure and add your grids
• Plant your garden

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Sourcing Square Foot Garden Materials

To build a 4x4 square foot garden, you’ll want the following materials:

• Two 8-foot long 2x6 boards of untreated lumber
• 6-inch exterior wood screws
• A power drill

For your wood, you need water-resistant boards or they will rot. Treated lumber can leech chemicals into the soil. Cedar and redwood are naturally resistant to water, but they are pricey. The least expensive options are fir and pine, just know you’ll need to replace them after a few years. The Home Depot has associates to cut lumber for you.

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Build and Position Square Foot Garden Raised Beds

If you choose to cut the wood yourself, cut the boards to 4-foot sections. Pre-drill 3 holes on one end of each of the boards. Position the boards end to end. It should look like a square. Screw them together with your drill using 6-inch wood screws.

Pick the area of your yard you want your beds placed. You’ll want to trim your grass down with a lawnmower or weed whacker.

Once you position your beds, lay down a layer of cardboard or newspaper. It’ll be under your soilless mix, but on top of the ground soil. Cardboard or newspaper kills the grass and will decompose over time to stop weeds.

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Make a Batch of Soilless Mix and Fill Garden Beds

To create a batch of soilless mix to fit in a 4x4 square foot garden, you’ll need:

• 3 cubic feet peat moss
• 3 cubic feet vermiculite
• 3 cubic feet of high-quality blended compost

Peat moss is used because it lightens soil, holds moisture and improves soil structure. What is it? It’s partially decomposed remains scraped off the surface of peat bogs. It’s not renewable, so some choose to replace it with coconut coir. Coconut coir is a byproduct of the coconut processing industry. It comes from the outer husks of coconuts and is ground into fiber.

Vermiculite is a natural mineral. It’s used to improve aeration and texture. Compost is decomposed organic matter. It provides nutrients, improves soil structure and retains moisture. Earthworms that feed on it help improve aeration and drainage. Your compost should have at least 5 different sources to ensure nutrients. Good sources are kitchen scraps, garden debris, grass clippings and other natural waste.

Combine the three ingredients in a wheelbarrow or garden cart. We suggest wearing a mask because the materials are very dusty. To make it less dusty, you can lightly mist it with a garden hose. Once you add the mix to the beds, saturate it with water. You want to ensure the mix is hydrated.

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Measure and Add Grids

Divide the bed into 1x1 foot sections and add a permanent grid marker. Options for grid markers are:

• String looped around small nails
• Mini blinds
• Wooden dowels
• Wood laths
• Thin Wood strips

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Plant Your Garden

Your square garden is ready to plant! We suggest drawing out a map to plan the best garden. Place tall plants on the north side of your bed. This is so they don’t shade the shorter plants. Plant spacing is important.

• Your extra-large plants should have 1 plant per square. This means your plants should be 12 inches apart. Examples of these plants are peppers, cabbage, kale, cucumbers, corn, tomatoes, collard greens, squash and broccoli.
• Your large plants should have 4 plants per square. This means your plants should be placed 6 inches apart. Examples are lettuce, Swiss chard, green beans, peas, cilantro, basil, dill, edamame beans and marigold.
• Your medium plants should have 9 plants per square. This means your plants should be spaced 4 inches apart. Examples are bush beans, spinach, beets, turnips, garlic and large onions.
• Your small plants should have 16 plants per square. This means your plants should be spaced 3 inches apart. Examples are carrots, radishes and scallions.

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Tips for Square Foot Garden Success

Here’s some extra tips to ensure your harvest is bountiful:

• Mulch: Prevent your garden beds from drying out by mulching the soil surface. Once the plants begin to sprout, add mulch. This will conserve moisture, prevent weed seeds from taking hold and give you bountiful blooms.
• Go vertical: Add some trellises for plants that like to climb. For your tall plants on the north side of your bed, add a trellis. This will aid pole beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. This also helps you save more space.
• Add a dome: these help extend your growing season. Add a dome to protect your plants from frost. On warm days, make you ventilate.
• Keep pests away: create a habitat around your garden beds. Add pollinator plants, fruit trees and shrubs for critters. Add bird feeders and bird baths for birds. Keep brush piles and leaf mulch for pest shelter. This keeps pests and critters away from your garden.