Square foot gardening.

[sternyboy]

Wow, what a fantastic idea! How did I miss this thread!!??
I built 2 raised beds earlier this year, and guess what size they are...4'x4'!!
So I'll defo be trying this method out next year as I'm just wasting space!!

[cazp]

hi, considering what the weather's been like I've had good success using this method so far in my two 4ft square beds, so can recommend!

[blossom]

Hello. It has been a while since I posted so I thought I would give you an update.
I have given up on the square foot gardening. The spacings for a lot of things were just too close together. The chard invaded the squares next to them big time. Tomatoes, courgettes and aubergines also. Potatoes did well, as did corn, peas, beetroot etc.
Once things were harvested it was often hard to replant the squares if the squares next to it had more mature plants already in them.

I have now switched to growing smaller things in four rows and bigger things just in their own spots. And just adding the odd lettuce in wherever it will fit.

[sweetcorn]

I have done a square foot garden for the first time this year. The raised bed I've done is 4' x 6'. I have concentrated on just doing salads, with just one square as beetroot and one as carrot. Apart from that, rocket, mustard, mizuna, pea shoots, pak choi, baby leeks, spring onions, lots of different varieties of lettuce, mixed and single, dill and coriander. I have been delighted with the results and will definitely be doing it again- a constant supply of a huge variety of flavours and colours for our salads! It also looks attractive, and as our veg plot is in our home garden that is important to us too! I would never consider it for larger veggies or ones that sit around for too long. (eg courgettes, sweetcorn, lots of carrots, cabbage, etc).

[Bigmallly]

Just thought I would post an update of 100 sq ft of bliss.

[tamsin]

Mine is loosely square foot, I think the planter is about 6'x2.5'. I've a row of climbers (mange tout, french bean, runner bean) along the back 6", an L shape of parsnips in the front right corner (in the hop that will be easy access for digging), a few oversize blocks and a few under. In there are garlic (12), sweetcorn (3), courgette (1 - I've a feeling I might regret putting that in), swede (1), broad beans (7 ish?), spring onions, carrot, lettuce, radish, cauliflower (3 - meant to be mini lol), beetroot (3) and a spare tumbling tom over the side. A few marigold and a couple of spare pansies I ran out of room for when pricking things out.

The pics are taken May 29th and today (about 5 weeks apart).

[cazp]

Well I took the plunge today and having read it is feasible to plant one brussel sprout plant in one square, I have interplanted some brussell sprout seed between two rows of existing pea plants within one square.

... Just to report back, this particular experiment didnt work as the peas overtook too quicky for the slow growing sprout plant!

I do have one sprout plant left in a square with a golden beet plant in each corner of the square... if they threaten to take over I will pull up the beets in favour of the sprout plant.

[lukens]

OK, I thought I'd post some pics of my "SFG".

Bed 1:



Rows, back to front, left to right:

celtuce, sweetcorn (some underplanted with dwarf peas) x 3
sweetcorn (some underplanted with dwarf peas) x 4
dwarf peas, broad beans, lettuce, broad beans
dwarf french beans, swiss chard, dwarf french beans, baby beetroot

Most of this bed looks quite sorry for itself, the broadies have been decimated by chocolate spot, and the dwarf fresh beans have been pathetic. The peas were hit by the heatwave when I was trying to harden them off, and went yellow, they have put some new green growth on since (some from the top, some sending up new from the base) and have a few pods filling out now.

The lettuce and chard look great, though, and the beets have plenty of leaves going on.


Bed 2:



rocket/sorrel/land cress/spinach, radishes/kale, calabrese, pak choi
salad leaves, celeriac, swedes, red onions
coriander, onions, empty, basil
cabbage/kohlrabi, carrots, empty, baby beetroot


Bed 3:



There're some dwarf peas at the back, there's then calabrese, PSB and mini-cauliflower interplanted with radishes in the rest of the middle two rows, I can't remember quite what is where though, also some raddichio, and under the mesh are turnips (the last were lost to root fly, hence the mesh). There are some modules of leeks and mini-cauliflower, and some PSB in pots over to the right.


Everything is a bit behind, as I started a tad late, and we've had no sun!

[lukens]

I also have other bits and pieces around the garden, not strictly SFG, but similar spacing, and in Mel's Mix.

Potatoes in planter bags (and overflowing out of them):




Tubtrugs:



Parsnips and carrots (back row) and kohl rabi (which is refusing to swell, possibly has been hit by root fly), radish (left to bolt, for pods) and pak choi (left to bolt for shoots, and about had it now). Will clear some of these soon for my peppers.


Vertical growers in planters made out of Ikea blue bags:



There're squash (with edamame beans in front), cucumber, and tomatoes, also some snap peas in front of the blow-away in an old plastic trough thing.

[cazp]

All looking really good Lukens - lots of variety. What type of lettuce are the red crinkly ones?

[lukens]

I'm afraid I don't know, they're from a mixed varieties pack from Chiltern Seeds. I checked the site and it doesn't even list the varieties included, just gives a few examples.

[Chocolate8me]

Cazp they look like beetroot, I've got some in my raised bed along with lots of other crammed in veg...



I tried square foot gardening but got it a little wrong. It's my first year so had no idea how big certain veg grew.

In my 6'x4' raised bed I have mange tout, broccoli, cabbage, spring onions, red onions, beetroot, parsnip, sweetcorn & did have radish (but they've been eaten).

The broccoli is too big so I will be growing them in pots next year. Sweetcorn have just stopped growing, mange tout has taken over, spring onions look like they may be big enough next spring, same with the beetroot & red onion. Parsnip looks like it's doing ok though.

[Bigmallly]

All looking really good Lukens - lots of variety. What type of lettuce are the red crinkly ones?

Looks a tad like Ruby Red.

lettuce Goddess Diet Plan Pr Ntr Kmt

[cazp]

... I am considering protecting my leeks (9 per square) from leek moth with an enviromesh "tent" over the one square. I'm a bit concerned though that the leeks might get too hot and be too confined under there. Anyone tried mesh tents and do they work?

[lukens]

You can see in my photos above I have a kind of mesh tent over my turnips (to try and keep out the root flys). The main issue is it's made it quite shaded and the turnips are rather leggy. The square behind is also really shaded, but I've popped a lettuce in there, which will hopefully appreciate it.