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Square-Foot Gardening: Grow a Lot in a Small Space
Added: (Fri Mar 17 2006)
If you’ve yearned for a garden but don't have the space, you're in luck. Square foot gardening could be the method for you.
"What you plant depends on the amount of sun you get each day," says Frugal Gardening Guru Victoria Rosendahl of http://www.money-saving-garden-tips.com. "Most vegetables and flowers require a good bit of sun to thrive. But you could certainly grow shade tolerant plants like hosta or flowers like torenia and impatiens with a small amount of sun each day."
If you can use a ruler or tape measure, you can square-foot garden. The garden space is broken down into 12" x 12" squares laid out in a grid. There are any number of ways to mark off the squares from stakes in the ground with string tied between them to just laying down pieces of scrap lumber to create sections.
Gardeners can also use this method in raised bed gardens. Raised bed gardens – convenient for size and the ability of gardeners to control soil content – can have lumber forming the four sides of a box. Once you have filled the box with good soil, you can mark off 12-inch increments on all sides and then choose the method you’d like to use to mark off your grid.
In case you think only one plant can be grown in a square foot, you’ll be delightfully surprised. Do you like beets? You can get 16 plants to grow in one square foot. Two cucumber plants and four lettuce plants will grow in one square. Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower need their own squares, though.
"Square-foot gardening works well for gardens planted directly into the ground or even those done in a square or rectangular container," says Rosendahl. "In fact, I'm nearly done with the design for an elevated garden called a GardenRack that eliminates bending over to plant or weed. It’s great for gardeners with bad backs or knees. It'll be adaptable for wheelchair-bound gardeners, too." Rosendahl expects GardenRack plans to be available for purchase in April.
For more information about square-foot gardening, visit http://www.money-saving-garden- tips.com/square-foot-gardening.html
To learn more about gardening, visit http://www.money-saving-garden-tips.com or contact Victoria Rosendahl at victoria@money-saving-garden-tips.com.