Square Foot Gardening or SFG is a method of gardening that uses raised beds filled with a perfect soil blend and perfect spacing of plants to create a produce garden at home.
…But I don’t know how to Garden, and I kill everything.
SFG can be taught in less then 15 min. All you need to do is follow these simple steps:
1 Build a box.
2. Fill with a perfect soil.
3. Add a grid and start planting.
It really is that easy.
…But I don’t have time
SFG takes all the work out of gardening. There is no tilling up the existing ground – you don’t use it – you lay a weed cloth down on top of your soil – build or place a raised bed on top of the weed cloth and start gardening. This method also uses 80% less water then the traditional method as we only water the plants by squares and not the whole garden. No weeding – that’s right – No weeding is required because the soil you are starting with won’t have weed seeds already present.
…But I can’t afford it
SFG can be built out of anything! Well, pretty much anyhow. You can use any lumber you have around, you can use cinder blocks or pavers. My mother took an old twin waterbed frame and turned it into the perfect 4×8! The produce grown in the SFG will save you up to 500.00 per month per box and family member fed from the garden.
What is this “perfect” soil ?
We call it Mel’s Mix after our Founder Mel Bartholomew. He has created the recipe for this blend over 36 years and found it will grow almost everything in only 6 inches of soil because the plant has everything it needs to be happy and healthy.
1/3 Coarse Vermiculite – Helps retain and release moisture. Do not replace this ingredient with perlite – the vermiculite is a mineral and has wont float to the surface of the soil when watering.
1/3 Peat Moss ( or Coco Peat ) – has the unique ability to retain and release water while encouraging good soil aeration.
1/3 Blended compost – this is important – make sure you find a good blend – at least 5 different sources – like poultry , manure, green waste, mushroom, worm castings, blood meal, bone meal, kelp meal, cottonseed meal, or alfalfa meal– home made compost works great too !
Use these ingredients in equal portions by volume not by weight.
What size does this garden need to be ?
Start out with a 4 foot by 4 foot by 6 inch deep box for each adult in the home. For a child make a smaller version using 3 foot by 3 feet boxes.
What’s with the grid?
The grid is placed directly on top of the soil – this is a visual key for the actual plant spacing. The grid will give you 1 foot by 1 foot squares ( hence Square Foot Gardening ) each square will equate to one crop. So in the standard box you will have 16 crops. In a child’s box only 9. You will plant a pinch of seeds or a transplant according to the size of the plant.
12 inches = 1 per square
6 inches = 4 per square
4 inches = 9 per square
3 inches = 16 per square
How do I learn more ?
Come by and see us at 9005 Two Notch Road #2 Columbia SC
Call us at 803-397-2816
Visit our websites www.squarefootgardening.com and www.squarefootgardening.com – Mel writes a blog with tons of how to and questions and answeres at www.melbartholomew.com.
The Square Foot Gardening Foundation has moved the national headquarters from Eden, Utah to Columbia SC to help promote our mission of healthy eating and self reliance through gardening. We are a 501c3 non-profit and we strive to donate every dollar we can back into community gardens and school programs.
If you are interested in hosting an event or lecture please call our office or email us at thestore@squarefootgardening.com. Place in subject line I want to host an event.
