Monday, May 09, 2011

Sorta Square Foot Gardening

I garden the way I teach and the way I cook; I don't always follow the script exactly.

In Square Foot Gardening, it's only right if the garden has a permanent grid and uses the perfect mix of soil. Well, I applied some of the philosophy. I rarely plant in rows; I usually plant in groups, often squares, to use the space more efficiently and choke out weeds whenever possible.

My soil, however, is the basic backyard garden soil with twelve years of compost mixed into the ground. It's not a perfectly lovely store bought mix, but it drains well and grows lots of vegetables. I don't use a permanent grid, either. I like the concept, and I measure (well, I estimate) when I'm planting, but I don't build a grid. I use temporary guidelines of masking tape or in this case, string. Again, not perfect, but it gave me the guide I needed to plant seeds in the right portions and the right places.




The walkway is an old board. I'm not even sure what it was anymore. Fence? Deck? Now it provides a boardwalk so I can stay out of the mud and avoid stepping on my precious plants.

This, my friends, is the before picture. In a month or two I'll post a during shot - if I remember. The after picture, the one with results, might not happen. Hopefully, I'll be too busy harvesting and preserving the goodies!

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7 Comments:

Anonymous Petunia said...

Love this photo. It shows such promise!!

5/09/2011 11:22 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Love that you're a little "off the grid"!

5/09/2011 1:10 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Do you ever plant candy?

5/09/2011 3:47 PM  
Anonymous Esther said...

I'm so jealous! You're all ready to plant. We've had so much rain that I can't even till yet! I love the idea of square foot gardening and have tried it in the past. Hope you have a bountiful harvest!

5/09/2011 7:31 PM  
Blogger Over Coffee - the green edition said...

Can't wait to see the after pictures!

5/10/2011 8:02 AM  
Blogger Kristin @ Going Country said...

What a nice, manageable looking garden that is. And so weed free. In such contrast to my own half acre (not really, it just feels like it) weed incubator.

Good work.

5/10/2011 8:55 AM  
Blogger Compost said...

Great idea on the temporary / portable grid for the square foot gardening technique. Noted!

Make Compost

5/10/2011 11:01 PM  

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