Square foot gardening.

[KittyColdNose]

I am trying the onions 9 (ish / it was an afterthought) per sq ft this year.

[bearded bloke]

So I could then put one tuber into a one foot square area?

Assuming .....
A)You have enough depth of soil ... & ... B)You don't mind them wandering into adjoining squares ... then yes you could,(as far as I have read to date) those would be the only practical reasons not to plant spuds as part of SFG.

[VirginVegGrower]

OK I will give this a whirl as I have a double depth raised bed.

[Bluedave]

I thought I would give you all an update on my first sfg and first attempt at growing veggies in a few years.

The sfg is going well, results are slower than I expected but I started planting in early April direct into the mix so I can understand why that is. However, all bar the french beans (sown this week) are through and growing well now. It's a pretty steep learning curve for me and I think I worry about too much about having new plants ready to go in after a harvest plus missing the boat and sowing something too late. Overall so far it's been a good experience though.

From the back left to right I have..

Empty, mange tout, empty, empty,
Empty, chard, dwarf French beans, spinach
Little gem, carrots, beetroot, lollo rosso
Radish, strawberry, rocket, radish

I have some Chinese cabbage ready to go in as transplants but I may leave them another week or so. I reckon radish will be ready to harvest in a couple of weeks, they're still pretty thin at the moment.

[Maximillian]

Square Foot Planting

Looks good Bluedave. I have two deep containers that i got for my birthday so I want to try this also. My front garden is West facing so not perfect but it really does get the sun in the afternoon so thought I'd try. My husband calls the containers coffins...if he plays up then he will be more involved in the sqp than he'll expect LOL.

[bearded bloke]

Hey BM & other SFG's,this might be worth a bookmark bottom of each variety page it tells how many to the square ..... Organic Gardening Vegetable Index

[greenjelly]

Square Foot Gardening

I've just been to BBC Gardeners World Live and I've bought a book about this by Mel Bartholomew. I've been reading it at the weekend and I've become a fan.

I'm definitely going to try some of the basic principles on my plot. I have a fairly small plot and also with only the 2 of us we don't need to grow rows and rows of everything.

This sounds a brilliant idea to me.

[Brett_Haughan]

Thanks for the link! Just want I needed!

[hamesy]

My square foot bed is coming along nicely. I started sowing at the end of the bed at the beginning of the year and worked across. I've got some nice looking beetroot, carrots, onions and dwarf beans.

[Polytastic]

Wow this thread is filling me with enthusiasm and after being entirely inspired by all of you guys, I am now left wondering what to plant nowwwwwwwwwwwwww Lol. Thank you to all of you for your selfless contributions this means so much to me to feel enthused afresh.

[Nicolafred]

Hello everyone.
I have been reading your stories and doing a bit of my own research and decided I want to have a go at sq ft gardening. A few yrs a go I tried to grow a few things in pots in a little greenhouse but nothing really worked and I had a big problem with slugs. It was my first time growing anything and I went a little two footed into it all. I'm pretty sure I didn't water things enough and it was either too cold or too hot to grow things. I ended up buying tomato plants and growing them (kinda) in my porch. Only got a handful of barely red tomatoes from 2 plants.

I know what you're all thinking... There's not a chance for me, lol. But I am really determined to give it a go and wanted to get your thoughts on it.

I have a potential space for a 9 x 3 space behind my shed against my fence but I'm aware of shade and that having 27 squares might be a bit too much for me.

I really fancy growing:-
Tomatoes (cherry/plum)
Carrots
Potatoes
Peas
Parsnips
Cauliflower
Onions
Corn
Cucumber
Sweet potatoes
Lettuce
Strawberries

However, im also realistic and know I should probably concentrate my efforts until I'm more experienced and willing to grow easy things first.

My question is... Do I need a greenhouse or do I need to cover my veg plot? I'm based in Manchester, UK and how should I start and when?? Sow straight into the plot or grow indoors?

OR should I get a walk in greenhouse, some cheap grow bags and do it that way?

Any help would be VERY appreciated. X

[Bigmallly]

Firstly welcome to the vine.......
Ok from your list my 1st thoughts are:
Sweet Potatoes, Cucumbers & Toms may want to be in a greenhouse depending on variety.
Potatoes & Cauliflower will take up 1 sq ft per plant.
Lettuce, you may get 4 to a sq ft if you choose a small variety.
Carrots & Parsnips will be ok if the soil is not manured as they will fork.
Onions grow well in sq ft beds.
Sweetcorn, should be able to get 4 in a sq ft. Put at North end of bed so as not to cast a shadow.
Strawbs, one plant per sq ft but will then throw runners into adjacent beds.
Peas,should be ok at the North end of the beds so as not to cast a shadow.

Most of all..........enjoy & have fun.

[Nicolafred]

Firstly welcome to the vine.......
Ok from your list my 1st thoughts are:
Sweet Potatoes, Cucumbers & Toms may want to be in a greenhouse depending on variety.
Potatoes & Cauliflower will take up 1 sq ft per plant.
Lettuce, you may get 4 to a sq ft if you choose a small variety.
Carrots & Parsnips will be ok if the soil is not manured as they will fork.
Onions grow well in sq ft beds.
Sweetcorn, should be able to get 4 in a sq ft. Put at North end of bed so as not to cast a shadow.
Strawbs, one plant per sq ft but will then throw runners into adjacent beds.
Peas,should be ok at the North end of the beds so as not to cast a shadow.

Most of all..........enjoy & have fun.

Thank you, that answers a lot of my questions. Your note about carrots and parsnips completely baffled me... Off to google, lol. Everything else seems common sense! Thank you. Now I just need to decide how and when to start!

[AllInContainers]

Welcome aboard! This is only my second year gardening, so I'll let others give you more specific advice, however ...

My philosophy last year was try everything feed the head one year (learn), and feed the belly the next. I grew a lot of stuff successfully in my first year, and I made a total hash of other stuff ... but I learned from it and this year I am better prepared

Although it's angled more for growing in containers, there's a few thoughts and summaries after my first year, here ....

Top Tips | All In Containers <<< clicky
(part of a new blog I started just a couple of weeks ago)

Oh, and I'm as far North as you (on the other side of the hills), and with a North facing walled garden .... and still grew lots of stuff

[Bigmallly]

Your note about carrots and parsnips completely baffled me.

Carrots & Parsnips grown in recently manured ground often grow into strange shapes known as forking.