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. And with all the extra space in your yard, you can set up some www.wayfair.com swing sets for your kids! Then everybody’s happy!
#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!
Updated: March 15, 2012
GREAT SITE! My garden is on its way. Still getting things together. Started seeds last night though!
Hello, was wondering if you needed to use any tools to take care of your garden once you did it. Or maybe because it’s a square foot garden, with loose soil, you need less gardening tools than with a regular garden?
Olivier: You certainly can go tool-free in a squarefoot garden, but to work things up in the spring or fall, I just use a little hand-held garden spade.
I am impressed by your noticing the ditches in BC. I lived in bc for years and always admired the highway ditches. Do you know the name of the weed that is tall and various coloring…lots of blooms on the top of a very tall thick stem. I thought they were called Lupins or something to that effect, and would they grow in Alberta (calgary) climate? Thanks for your help.
Sincerely
Christine: I don’t know for sure if the plant you are thinking of is lupins, but it sounds like an accurate description. And yes, lupins certainly will grow in Alberta!
Does this type of garden lend itself better to certain vegetables, fruit-veggies or herbs, or would any kind work?
Eric: Most anything will grow in a SFG! Of course, root veggies like carrots or potatoes would do much better if you make them deeper (maybe 12 – 18 inches). My mother-in-law grows all her carrots in a 12inch deep SFG.
Just starting a SFG this spring, do you have any ideas to keep deer from grazing. Are the garden boxes good for full sun areas? Do you have to water more often than a garden in the ground? Excited to start this project.
Lynn: To keep the deer from grazing your SFG, you can cover it with a mesh of some sort (like the mesh that farmers use to wrap the large round bales – if you can find a farmer who is willing to share a bit) or there is some meshes in the gardening section of Peavy Mart or the like. As to full sun – it all depends on what you plant! And to for watering, I’ve found that here in Alberta, (droughts notwithstanding) I don’t need to give SFGs any special attention.
Hey Dave,
Excellent info. I was curious as to what your experience on the debate-able subject of Vermiculite is? Do you consider it safe/organic to use? I would appreciate your insight.
Nathan: I have no problem with vermiculite. It’s a natural mineral – as organic as dirt itself! In the past, some vermiculite was sold containing asbestos (not the best stuff in the world), but today vermiculite mines are tested for that, so I have no health concerns with vermiculite and would consider it safe/organic to use.
What is the volume of each product that you will need for each square?
Danny: If I understand your question correctly, you would need about 3.75 litres of each vermiculite, compost, and peat moss per square. (60 liters each for the entire 4×4 grid.)
How do you know how many seeds of each type of vegetable to plant in each square foot? We’ve built two 4×8 boxes, and I’m trying to convince my husband to try SFG in at least part of them this season. Do peas do well this way, or are they best left in rows?
Amanda: Plant larger plants one per square, medium plants four per square (2×2), smaller plantes 9 per square (3×3), and smallest plants 16 per square (4×4). Pea can grow just fine in SFG, but will need support. I like a LOT of peas and so I grow mine in several long rows. Things like carrots, onions, radish, lettuce and the like are best in SFGs.
From the picture you used a mixture of sheep manure, steer manure and something else I can’t see for your compost. Any insight on what is best to use for compost. I was thinking I might see if the local greenhouse has some. Also, the vermiculite. I was only able to find one store in the area that has it and it was super expensive ($12 for 20L) and I’m trying to fill 3 boxes measuring 2ftx4ft and 12 inches deep.
Amy: My third type of manure I believe was shrimp compost. As for what is the best… Lots of variety! (And yes, that vermiculite isn’t too cheap!)
You shouldn’t use pressure treated lumber for your garden it can leach harmfull chemicals into your food. I would suggest ceder natual bug repent and lastes years longer then other untreated hardwoods.
anyone know where to buy vermiculite in Edmonton? Im having trouble locating it…