How to Start an Organic Square Foot Garden
Square-foot gardening is an intensive gardening system that produces large crops of vegetables and fruits from a small space. By dividing a square garden plot into smaller squares and planting one type of vegetable or fruit in each square, gardeners receive a high yield of crops. Square-foot gardening is suited to organic gardening as it maximizes the available growing space, reduces problems that arise from the soil conditions and saves space, water and work. Growing plants that naturally repel unwanted bugs and insects add an additional organic aspect to this gardening system. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- Seeds or seedlings
- Tape measure
- Stakes
- String
- Spade
- Organic matter
- Peat moss
- Posts or wire cages
- Soft rags or twine
- Organic mulch
Instructions
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Planning
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1
Draw a square on a sheet of paper to represent your square-foot gardening space and mark its measurements on the diagram. Divide this large square into equally-sized smaller squares. An optimal size for a square foot garden is 4 feet by 4 feet, as you can reach all parts of the garden without treading on the soil.
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2
Make a list of your favorite vegetables and fruits and those that you would like to try. Highlight the ones to grow this year. Decide how many plants of each type to grow and assign one or more squares to each type, marking their names in the relevant squares in your diagram. Consider growing some plants that will naturally repel insects, such as basil or marigolds.
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3
Identify the variety of each vegetable or fruit that you plan to grow. Choose types that mature early and have a growing time of less than 100 days, produce a high crop yield, and that are disease, drought and heat resistant. Consider heirloom varieties of vegetables that are unchanged seeds of their heritage plants.
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Purchase the seeds or seedlings.
Preparation
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Select a site that receives full sun between six and eight hours daily, and is not close to any trees.
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Measure out your square-foot plot and place a stake at each corner. Run a string between the stakes to outline the area. Turn the soil inside this square with a spade.
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Apply a layer of organic matter on top of the soil. Turn this in to a depth of 6 inches. Add peat moss to the soil in the same way.
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Place stakes along the edges of your garden plot at 1-foot intervals. Run strings across the garden between matching stakes to form squares. These are your planting areas.
Planting
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Plant your seeds and seedlings according to your diagram. Dig a hole for each plant or seed. Calculate the size of the fully grown plants. Plant only the number of plants that will fit comfortably fully-grown into the square. Revise your plan if you find that your bush plants will overshadow those that grow low to the ground.
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10
Tie climbing plants and bushes to a supporting post with a soft rag or twine. Alternatively, use wire garden cages to support these plants.
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Apply organic mulch around the plants to reduce the growth of weeds, to supply nutrients and to conserve water in the soil. Water your square foot garden thoroughly.
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Tips & Warnings
Plant edible flowers in your square foot garden for color and taste.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Goodshoot/Getty Images
