Square Foot Gardening: Easiest Way to Grow MORE Food in LESS Space
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Date: 2024-06-23
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Comments and reviews: 20
SomeOneHigh
Here we go again
What can you do with 1(long) x 1(wide) x 5(height)
P. S.: That are the Sizes i Work With, Every 1m Height i have 1 Layer by 65-85cm depth, So Basicly i Stacked 4 Square Meeters on 1 Square Meter, That Means i Have Garden On Top of my Garden which Has 3 More Gardens ( Garden Layer ) On Top Of Each Garden, Simply i have 4 Gardens Total On Top Of Each Other, Instead of Having just 1 Garden, That Includes Air Controll/Conditions Reflectors for Shade Elimination Light Sensor Water Cooler imagine the Higher to the Sun The Bigger the Heat Water Pump
GARDEN NOOBS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY GARDEN OUTDOORINDOOR IS LIKE A SHELF YOU KEEP YOUR DRIED HERBS ON, EVERY TIME YOU FILL THE SHELF YOU NEED ANOTHER SHELF ON TOP OF IT FOR MORE STORAGE, OTHERWISE THE WALL WILL BE BLANK/EMPTY FOR JUST 1 SMALL SHELF AND YOU LOOSE THE REST 99, 99. 99% OF THE SPACE BECAUSE ITS FILLED WITH AIR, AND YOU CANT GROW STUFF IN JUST AIR!
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Here we go again
What can you do with 1(long) x 1(wide) x 5(height)
P. S.: That are the Sizes i Work With, Every 1m Height i have 1 Layer by 65-85cm depth, So Basicly i Stacked 4 Square Meeters on 1 Square Meter, That Means i Have Garden On Top of my Garden which Has 3 More Gardens ( Garden Layer ) On Top Of Each Garden, Simply i have 4 Gardens Total On Top Of Each Other, Instead of Having just 1 Garden, That Includes Air Controll/Conditions Reflectors for Shade Elimination Light Sensor Water Cooler imagine the Higher to the Sun The Bigger the Heat Water Pump
GARDEN NOOBS SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT EVERY GARDEN OUTDOORINDOOR IS LIKE A SHELF YOU KEEP YOUR DRIED HERBS ON, EVERY TIME YOU FILL THE SHELF YOU NEED ANOTHER SHELF ON TOP OF IT FOR MORE STORAGE, OTHERWISE THE WALL WILL BE BLANK/EMPTY FOR JUST 1 SMALL SHELF AND YOU LOOSE THE REST 99, 99. 99% OF THE SPACE BECAUSE ITS FILLED WITH AIR, AND YOU CANT GROW STUFF IN JUST AIR!
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kellyblinkhorn6088
This video was exactly what I needed right now! I've been trying to get my garden going for 2 years now. Last summer was spent actually clearing/creating the space and amending the soil but I did manage to grow some blue lake bush beans in a raised bed, got about 2-3 lbs of harvest off 4 plants total. This year we had very cold spring here in Rhode Island which push my last frost date back but then I was sick on top of it! So now here it is mid June and I have some potatoes in a grow bag and a tray seedlings that burned in my little greenhouse bc it wasn't ventilated enough! I feel like I am so behind, I still have raised beds that need to be setup, filled and then get sowing. I've been feeling so overwhelmed but watching this gave me a bit of a new game plan to work with and my confidence is starting to come back! thank you and happy growing
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This video was exactly what I needed right now! I've been trying to get my garden going for 2 years now. Last summer was spent actually clearing/creating the space and amending the soil but I did manage to grow some blue lake bush beans in a raised bed, got about 2-3 lbs of harvest off 4 plants total. This year we had very cold spring here in Rhode Island which push my last frost date back but then I was sick on top of it! So now here it is mid June and I have some potatoes in a grow bag and a tray seedlings that burned in my little greenhouse bc it wasn't ventilated enough! I feel like I am so behind, I still have raised beds that need to be setup, filled and then get sowing. I've been feeling so overwhelmed but watching this gave me a bit of a new game plan to work with and my confidence is starting to come back! thank you and happy growing
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Volfor321
I started several extra seeds this year and initially planted what I wanted and left the extras in the seed trays. Needless to say, the plants I left in the tray got 'stretchy' and one of my super sweet 100s fell over into the next soil cube and rooted in there as well. I decided to plant that one in a 5 gallon bucket a couple of weeks later and had to use the trench method. Let me tell you, that one has put the others too shame! All of the earlier plantings are already damaged in some way and are limping along and budding like crazy with ok-ish plant growth. The one that I trenched hasn't flowered at all and has far outgrown the others and looks perfectly healthy. I'm sure weather has played a small role in the differences between plants but just the growth rate is insane. I'm a believer in the trench method!
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I started several extra seeds this year and initially planted what I wanted and left the extras in the seed trays. Needless to say, the plants I left in the tray got 'stretchy' and one of my super sweet 100s fell over into the next soil cube and rooted in there as well. I decided to plant that one in a 5 gallon bucket a couple of weeks later and had to use the trench method. Let me tell you, that one has put the others too shame! All of the earlier plantings are already damaged in some way and are limping along and budding like crazy with ok-ish plant growth. The one that I trenched hasn't flowered at all and has far outgrown the others and looks perfectly healthy. I'm sure weather has played a small role in the differences between plants but just the growth rate is insane. I'm a believer in the trench method!
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bighairtsunami
It has always drove me nuts how there are no Large bags of Perlite or Vermiculite anywhere near me. Nothing ever at the farm box stores, hardware box stores or even the big wholesale garden centers/growers. I live in a big metro area in the midwest. I always go in to ask sales associates. They immediate ask Is this for gardening. Yep they know because many people ask. The companies that manufacture these products could sell infinitely more. I just wonder if bulk freight shipping is just too expensive for them to make a profit. I get pine wood flakes/shavings cheap because the company that makes them is less than ten miles away. People cannot believe the price I pay vs the farm box stores for the same product, same manufacturer.
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It has always drove me nuts how there are no Large bags of Perlite or Vermiculite anywhere near me. Nothing ever at the farm box stores, hardware box stores or even the big wholesale garden centers/growers. I live in a big metro area in the midwest. I always go in to ask sales associates. They immediate ask Is this for gardening. Yep they know because many people ask. The companies that manufacture these products could sell infinitely more. I just wonder if bulk freight shipping is just too expensive for them to make a profit. I get pine wood flakes/shavings cheap because the company that makes them is less than ten miles away. People cannot believe the price I pay vs the farm box stores for the same product, same manufacturer.
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k9spot1
So about peat moss, the issue is it’s often harvested from peat bogs in Canada and the UK (various places in the northern hemisphere) which are a very vulnerable ecosystem that takes many many years to replenish (think like an old growth forest but it’s a bog) what you can make sure to do instead is get sustainably farmed artificially decomposed sphagnum moss instead which is the same plant as peat moss just not decomposed for hundreds of years. Doing that is essentially similar to getting sustainably grown wood. Sphagnum is actually a really fast growing plant. You just need to make sure to do your research.
The other alternatives also work pretty well in my experience if you want to avoid it altogether.
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So about peat moss, the issue is it’s often harvested from peat bogs in Canada and the UK (various places in the northern hemisphere) which are a very vulnerable ecosystem that takes many many years to replenish (think like an old growth forest but it’s a bog) what you can make sure to do instead is get sustainably farmed artificially decomposed sphagnum moss instead which is the same plant as peat moss just not decomposed for hundreds of years. Doing that is essentially similar to getting sustainably grown wood. Sphagnum is actually a really fast growing plant. You just need to make sure to do your research.
The other alternatives also work pretty well in my experience if you want to avoid it altogether.
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epic_gardening
I remember when I was a teenager, it must have been in the 80’s I’d guess, my mom bought the square foot gardening book. It was pretty cool because we didn’t have a lot of space at that time to grow in and it really opened my eyes to a different way to lay out a garden. While I’ve never strictly adhered to the square foot gardening rules per say, since I read the book I’ve never payed much attention to seed packets, knowing that if I have well amended fertile soil I can get away with much closer spacing. I have to say that cedar raised bed is quite beautiful, I may need to add a couple to my raised bed section of my garden.
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I remember when I was a teenager, it must have been in the 80’s I’d guess, my mom bought the square foot gardening book. It was pretty cool because we didn’t have a lot of space at that time to grow in and it really opened my eyes to a different way to lay out a garden. While I’ve never strictly adhered to the square foot gardening rules per say, since I read the book I’ve never payed much attention to seed packets, knowing that if I have well amended fertile soil I can get away with much closer spacing. I have to say that cedar raised bed is quite beautiful, I may need to add a couple to my raised bed section of my garden.
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scottscriticalmass
Fun video Kevin, thanks for sharing. Noticed towards end of the video that you're having some issues with raccoons. I've been having a terrible time with them this year (typical track home in SF Bay Area. They luckily haven't destroyed my eggplants, peppers and tomatoes, but have totally destroyed all the beneficials around them (alyssum, marigolds, nasturtiums, as well as my Sunflowers and most of my herbs and wildflowers from seed. If anyone has suggestions on how to keep them out of my raised beds, it would be greatly appreciated.
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Fun video Kevin, thanks for sharing. Noticed towards end of the video that you're having some issues with raccoons. I've been having a terrible time with them this year (typical track home in SF Bay Area. They luckily haven't destroyed my eggplants, peppers and tomatoes, but have totally destroyed all the beneficials around them (alyssum, marigolds, nasturtiums, as well as my Sunflowers and most of my herbs and wildflowers from seed. If anyone has suggestions on how to keep them out of my raised beds, it would be greatly appreciated.
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jIlLiAnganz
Q for you Kevin! I've heard that vermiculite can have asbestos in it. are there ways to know for certain that a source of garden vermiculite doesn't contain it My husband is a home inspector and brought it to my attention that vermiculite is not used as insulation in homes anymore because of the asbestos. He was concerned about garden use, so I tried to do research early this season. I have not found anything like a certificate on labeling for asbestos-free vermiculite. Do you think it's better to use perlite if we aren't sure about sourcing
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Q for you Kevin! I've heard that vermiculite can have asbestos in it. are there ways to know for certain that a source of garden vermiculite doesn't contain it My husband is a home inspector and brought it to my attention that vermiculite is not used as insulation in homes anymore because of the asbestos. He was concerned about garden use, so I tried to do research early this season. I have not found anything like a certificate on labeling for asbestos-free vermiculite. Do you think it's better to use perlite if we aren't sure about sourcing
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talmadgemew5400
I made a square foot template out of a scrap piece of panelling. cut it 12 inches on each side and drilled pencil sized holes for all the patterns (1, 2, 4. 8. 9. 16) and marked each. I just drop it in the square to plant and push a pencil through to mark the pattern I need. It saves me time and only cost the time it took to make. Your presentation was very good and even reminded me of a couple things I had forgotten over the years of doing this method.
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I made a square foot template out of a scrap piece of panelling. cut it 12 inches on each side and drilled pencil sized holes for all the patterns (1, 2, 4. 8. 9. 16) and marked each. I just drop it in the square to plant and push a pencil through to mark the pattern I need. It saves me time and only cost the time it took to make. Your presentation was very good and even reminded me of a couple things I had forgotten over the years of doing this method.
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my3bsfarm863
I read his book in the 80s and it was such a revelation! When I bought my own home in the mid 90s I carefully followed the square foot gardening method to great success. I now use it for some of my raised beds and am getting ready to move to a large homestead where I will continue to enjoy his words of wisdom! Oh and I use your seeds from Botanical Interest and enjoy and learn from your videos Kevin. So thank you.
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I read his book in the 80s and it was such a revelation! When I bought my own home in the mid 90s I carefully followed the square foot gardening method to great success. I now use it for some of my raised beds and am getting ready to move to a large homestead where I will continue to enjoy his words of wisdom! Oh and I use your seeds from Botanical Interest and enjoy and learn from your videos Kevin. So thank you.
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Gundumb_guy
My only gripe about gardening like this (but also in gardening in general) is that there is no way this is that much cheaper than buying a weekly supply of produce for you or your family. I just made a 2’ wide and 3’ long box out of some scrap 2x12 lumber my neighbor had and it cost like 36 bucks in dirt! And it was all ACE brand cheapest dirt. That’s not even going to include the fertilizers or anything.
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My only gripe about gardening like this (but also in gardening in general) is that there is no way this is that much cheaper than buying a weekly supply of produce for you or your family. I just made a 2’ wide and 3’ long box out of some scrap 2x12 lumber my neighbor had and it cost like 36 bucks in dirt! And it was all ACE brand cheapest dirt. That’s not even going to include the fertilizers or anything.
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LaraFabans
I found Mel's book a long while ago and it inspired me. I also was inspired by the Mittleider method. Of course, I tended to use self watering containers but I played around a bit with the spacing. Now I have two raised beds and lots of soft containers and can't wait to play around some more. I think it's time to plant the second round of tomatoes but I'll hold off on the brassicas until August.
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I found Mel's book a long while ago and it inspired me. I also was inspired by the Mittleider method. Of course, I tended to use self watering containers but I played around a bit with the spacing. Now I have two raised beds and lots of soft containers and can't wait to play around some more. I think it's time to plant the second round of tomatoes but I'll hold off on the brassicas until August.
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pascalxus
the problem with raised beds is that they're expensive: the bed itself, plus all the media you put in (though actually you can just. fill it with compost ground soil it can work in the long run. but it's much more cost effective to use the rocks you find on your property and use those to build a bed and just keep piling more and more compost / organic material on top
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the problem with raised beds is that they're expensive: the bed itself, plus all the media you put in (though actually you can just. fill it with compost ground soil it can work in the long run. but it's much more cost effective to use the rocks you find on your property and use those to build a bed and just keep piling more and more compost / organic material on top
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jbc103085
Excellent video. This was the exact video I needed this past winter when I was planning for square foot gardening this year. I did buy his book and used it, but videos are my preferred learning with books as a resource. Could you cover pruning for square foot gardening That’s been a bit of a learning curve for me this year. All my vines keep finding each other
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Excellent video. This was the exact video I needed this past winter when I was planning for square foot gardening this year. I did buy his book and used it, but videos are my preferred learning with books as a resource. Could you cover pruning for square foot gardening That’s been a bit of a learning curve for me this year. All my vines keep finding each other
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gcook9221
Thank you for the video showing how to do square foot gardening! Very good explanations. My confusion at this point: aren't we supposed to plant things at different times of the year I'm just outside of Houston in zone 9A and for me to start lettuce at the same time that I start broccoli doesn't seem right Yes, I'm fairly new to gardening.
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Thank you for the video showing how to do square foot gardening! Very good explanations. My confusion at this point: aren't we supposed to plant things at different times of the year I'm just outside of Houston in zone 9A and for me to start lettuce at the same time that I start broccoli doesn't seem right Yes, I'm fairly new to gardening.
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mattfox5190
Can you guys do a tier list video of what fruits and veggies are best for containers Blueberries are probably S tier for example and you guys have mentioned that potatoes do ok so probably B tier for example. I got about a 50/50 split between ground and containers and it would be nice to know what to plant where.
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Can you guys do a tier list video of what fruits and veggies are best for containers Blueberries are probably S tier for example and you guys have mentioned that potatoes do ok so probably B tier for example. I got about a 50/50 split between ground and containers and it would be nice to know what to plant where.
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Rabellaka.
I might try this some time. I do more intercropping or companion planting, with my tomatoes, eggplant, and tomatillos closer together than recommended, with basil, chives, marigolds, etc planted in between. Or squash growing on a trellis with beans planted in between.
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I might try this some time. I do more intercropping or companion planting, with my tomatoes, eggplant, and tomatillos closer together than recommended, with basil, chives, marigolds, etc planted in between. Or squash growing on a trellis with beans planted in between.
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t. kodera2521
This was so helpful content. I live in a typical apartment in Japan which means that balcony is so small and it has to be used as a drying rack for clothes as well.
I can use the concept of square foot gardening for my container gardening at my tiny balcony
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This was so helpful content. I live in a typical apartment in Japan which means that balcony is so small and it has to be used as a drying rack for clothes as well.
I can use the concept of square foot gardening for my container gardening at my tiny balcony
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evrimerbil4910
Thank you Kevin for sharing this! I also started with this method and it taught me a lot about the soil, about the plants and about the climate etc. And nowadays I'm trying to show how easy it is to grow in a square foot garden to the people around me
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Thank you Kevin for sharing this! I also started with this method and it taught me a lot about the soil, about the plants and about the climate etc. And nowadays I'm trying to show how easy it is to grow in a square foot garden to the people around me
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cainacosta1475
Thank you so much Kevin, I actually watched one of your old vids on square foot gardening and I have a couple strawberry plants and a three foot monster of a tomato plant that Ive been scared to prune actually doing it today. This video was great thx!
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Thank you so much Kevin, I actually watched one of your old vids on square foot gardening and I have a couple strawberry plants and a three foot monster of a tomato plant that Ive been scared to prune actually doing it today. This video was great thx!
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