How to Make a Square Foot Garden
I’d like to introduce you to a new way of gardening. It’s called square foot gardening. I planted my first square foot garden last year and I’m hooked. Here’s the basic gist:
Most gardens are planted in long rows separated by three foot aisles. This means 80% of your garden (that you water, weed, and fertilize) grows nothing. You just walk on it. The square foot method eliminates that 80% of your garden that you don’t use by planting in blocks.
Using the square foot gardening method, you divide a 4′ x 4′ box into sixteen 1 foot square gardens. You then can plant a different crop in each of the squares. For example, you might plant 16 carrots in one box, four beans in another, and one cabbage in another. That leaves you with 13 other boxes to fill! I think it’s a fantastic system, but I’ll let you decide for yourself. Here are some of the reasons why I love square foot gardening.
#1. Perfect Dirt
It doesn’t matter what kind of soil you have, because you won’t be using it. Acidic or alkaline - it doesn’t matter. Rocky or sandy - it makes no difference. You build your own perfect soil. And it’s all really rather simple. It requires just three ingredients.
- Peat Moss
- Compost
- Vermiculite
Just mix these three ingredients in equal proportions and you have the finest soil you could imagine. It’s light and loose (thanks to the peat moss), it retains moisture very well (thanks to the vermiculite), and is full of the nutrients your plants need (thanks to the compost). And all these ingredients can be found at you local garden center.
#2. No Weeding
Yup, that’s right. Since you’re making your own soil, there will be no weed seeds in there to start with. Plus, any weed seeds that might happen to blow in are easily removed because the soil is so light and loose. I think I might have pulled out five weeds from my garden last year.
#3. Less Space Required
Your square foot garden takes up only 20% of the space required by a traditional garden. That means you can be more productive with the space you have. It also means you only need to do 20% of the work.
#4. Inexpensive
I just built two square foot gardens this spring and here were my costs:
- Lumber: Free (I used scrap)
- Vermiculite: $20
- Peat Moss: $8
- Compost: $20
Total: $48 for two - $24 each.
Of course with your own lumber and your own compost, you could cut that cost down to $14 each. And once your initial garden is set up, you only need to add a little compost each year. You’ll never again need fertilizer or weed killers.
Convinced yet? Ready to build your own? Here’s how!
Required Materials
- (4) 4′ 2 x 6 boards
- (6) lattice strips (I ripped 1/4 inch thick strips off a 2 x 6)
- (8) 4″ nails or screws
- (12) 1″ nails or screws
- Cardboard, newspaper, or landscape fabric for weed control
- 60 litres of vermiculite (preferably coarse)
- 60 litres of peat moss (about 2 cubic feet compressed)
- 60 litres of compost (at least three different types - I used steer manure, sheep manure, and mushroom compost)
Building the Square Foot Garden
Attach your 2 x 6 boards together with nails or screws to form a four foot square box.
Lay down your newspaper, cardboard, or landscape fabric on the ground where you wish to place your gardens. This will prevent existing grass or weeds from pushing up into your garden. Lay your box on top of the newspaper, cardboard, or landscape fabric.
Mix the compost, peat moss, and vermiculite together in equal portions. An easy way to do this is to pile the ingredients on a large tarp and roll them back and forth in the tarp. Then carry the tarp to your garden and pour it in. (Note: You may want to water down the ingredients as they are rather dusty when dry.)
Once the soil has filled the box to the top, place the lattice on top, nailing each piece of lattice in place so that there are sixteen equal squares.
And there you have it. You’re ready to plant!
Pretty simple, isn’t it? If you’ve got any questions about how to make your own square foot garden, ask away!
March 27th, 2008 at 2:24 am
I’ve got one raised bed and plan to build more this spring. I really like the idea of using lattice to mark off the squares - so much more sold and permanent. I’ve seen string used a lot and that seems like a lot of fiddly work to me.
March 27th, 2008 at 2:46 am
I love SFG! My family has been doing it for years. A question about your lattice- what do you do when a crop takes up more than 1 SF? Like zucchini, eggplant, and some tomatoes?
March 27th, 2008 at 4:11 am
Personally, I don’t completely rely on square foot gardening for everything. Things like peas, pumpkins, and zucchini I grow in a traditional garden. Tomatoes I grow in my greenhouse in raised beds.
March 29th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Thank you! This looks do-able to me! I’ve never had a garden, and wondered how and where to start- this looks like the ticket. Starting with one box and trying it on for size. When do you plant it- I’m in Pincher Creek. Maybe you could recommend a site/book that would help me plan my yard- I like the idea of zeroscaping- don’t have a clue how to start- which plants, trees, etc. Thanks for your help!
-Sandy
March 30th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
You can plant your square foot garden as soon as you would a traditional garden. Being just south of Red Deer, I plant my garden in early/mid May. Most people around here plant their gardens on the third weekend of May.
As for books, I’ll tell you three books that I’ve found useful for my yard planning:
#1. New Complete Home Landscaping by Catriona Erler - This is a encyclopedia of everything to do with landscaping - lots of pictures for ideas.
#2. Designing Alberta Gardens by Jan Mather - This book lists many plants that grow well in our Alberta climate.
#3. Gardening Manual for Canada by Dorling Kindersley Ltd. - This one is more a how-to for everything gardening - from planting to pruning and everything in between. Lots of step-by-step pictures.
And if you want more information about square foot gardening, get the book All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. Enjoy!
May 1st, 2008 at 10:44 pm
This looks incredibly easy (SFG); great instructions on how to build the square garden. I’m curious about the cardboard used as a base. This means the vegetable roots do not penetrate downward into the soil beneath; but remain above the cardboard growing just in the soil mix. Is this correct??
May 1st, 2008 at 11:09 pm
Well, here’s the cool part. Kinda yes, kinda no. Since the cardboard is biodegradable, after a while, the roots will BE ABLE to penetrate the soil beneath, but they DON’T NEED TO. You can build your SFG with a wooden bottom (with hole drilled in for drainage), and things will grow just fine in six inches of dirt.
So by using cardboard, the weeds will be killed off, the cardboard will then biodegrade, and the roots can go as deep as they like.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:13 pm
Do you know where in the Edmonton area I can buy coarse vermiculite? I can’t seem to find it.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:41 am
In the Peavey Mart in Red Deer there are 20 litre bags of coarse vermiculite and 110 litre bags of fine vermiculite. I might guess the Peaveys in Edmonton might have it as well. I’ve actually never used the coarse stuff as this is the first year I’ve ever even seen it available - plus the fine vermiculite in the larger size is much better value for your money and it seems to work just fine.
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:05 am
I found medium vermiculite in the big 4 cu. ft. bags at parkland nurseries. Yes, it is a LOT cheaper than the little fiddly bags. Being also southeast of Red Deer, and planning our first SFG at a total of (gulp) 160 sq. ft., we need a lot! Did you happen to see how much of a selection of compost and manure Peavey Mart had this spring?
I tried many seedlings this year in anticipation of the garden, including some hot pink cauliflower for fun, but most did not survive the long dark week+ of that snowstorm. I had been putting them out for an hour or two of good sunshine a day up until then, and all my red onions and broccoli just kind of fell over from lack of light. (yes, my indoor light set-up was severely lacking. Better effort next year, live and learn). I still have 7 tough little pink cauliflower hanging on, though! Plan to build and transplant this weekend, all being well.
Sure is nice to see someone else doing the square foot garden thing, so close to where we live!
May 16th, 2008 at 9:56 am
OMG! I made a square foot garden for the first time last year and i got so many pretty flowers growing it was da bomb. I love SFG! They make my life the best. I live off the food i grow in my SFG. I have been able to quit my job move into the country.
May 21st, 2008 at 7:48 am
I planted a square foot garden several years ago to great success so I don’t know why I didn’t continue. Ironically, that’s how I’m planting my garden again this year so it was a surprise to find your post on this. My dimensions are different but the results are the same. I hope many others give it a try.
May 21st, 2008 at 3:24 pm
This year I’ve blended the squarefoot garden concept with the traditional long-rows garden. My garden is 30 feet wide, so I’ve run two 30 ft lengths of 2×6s four feet apart with dividers every three feet - essentially 10 blocks of twelve sq. feet each. So I have carrots in two blocks, onions in another, dill in one, beets, lettuce, etc…. So I’m able to plant a much greater volume in this space than if I had planted them in single rows. I’ll try to put up a picture or two when things start sprouting.
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:32 am
hello just looking over this site and glad to hear others are sfg ….this is our first year and so far it is wonderful, just had out first salad of tomatoes, greens, radish, and onions. Yummy! wonderful for a small yard with lots of flowers. i will come back to this site again. Lynda