My last attempts at Square Foot Gardening
Better to know a knot and not
need it, than need a knot and not know it.
I have been absolutely fascinated
be an animated knot tying website this week. I have spent hours (where I should
be getting on with other things) glued to the computer screen watching stop
motion images of loads of great – and useful – knots being tied. Anchor hitches, Bowline, Munter Mule,Timber
Titch, not to mention the loops, bends and stoppers and the perfect way to tie
a tripod knot for the beanpoles in the
garden.
There’s even an animated image on how to properly wrap a parcel. How
cool is that? I’ll be using some of them in the garden this spring that’s for
sure.
It gets better. As an added bonus
the site also has a wonderful page about how to fold napkins for the table. All
those times you see fancy napkins in a restaurant, now you can make forty five
different ones to amaze your friends and family at tea time. You have the Water Lilly, Diamond Silverware
pouch, French Pleat, Three Corner Hat, Butterfly and loads of others to choose
from. It’s simple origami but looks
great. Somehow I’ll incorporate a few of them into the garden, Maybe a folded
swan on one of the raised beds.
Square Foot gardening
Talking of raised beds, I’ve been
looking into Square Foot Gardening recently. I experimented with it myself a
few years back and didn’t really think it was of use to me as I don’t really do
things by the book. The book in question is the aptly named ‘Square Foot
Gardening’ written in 1981 by Mel Bartholomew (RIP) and revised in 2006 adding that
square foot gardening is better off being done in raised beds as it’s easier to measure from the edges.
SFG seems to be growing in
popularity though and I can’t really think why other than it’s for people who
like being told what to do in a precise manner or people that need to section
their lives off into compartments.
Maybe I’m being a bit harsh as
any gardening is good gardening, and I should just let people get on with
things without me judging.
Let me tell you a bit about the
process and you can make up your own mind.
The Process
Square foot gardening is the
practice of dividing the growing area into small square sections (in this case
1ft) The aim is to assist the planning
and creating of small but intensively planted vegetable gardens. It results in
an orderly gardening system, from which it draws much of its appeal. The major
criticism of SFG is that it packs the plants too close together, which inhibits
root development, and thus water and nutritional uptake suffers resulting in
stunted plants.
Bartholomew initially used a 12’
by 12’ square with a grid that divided it into 9 squares with equal lengths of
4 feet on each side. Each of these 4’ by 4’ squares was then invisibly divided
into sixteen one foot squares that were each planted with a different species.
The number of plants per square
depending on an individual plant's size. For example, a single tomato plant
might take a full square, as might herbs such as oregano or basil, while most
strawberry plants could be planted four per square, and up to sixteen per
square of plants such as radish. Tall or climbing plants such as peas and beans
might be planted in a northern row (south in the southern hemisphere) so as not
to shade other plants, and supported with lattice or netting.
One advantage of densely planted
crops is that they can form living mulch, and also prevent weeds from
establishing or even germinating. Also, natural insect repellent methods such
as companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally
pest-repelling plants) become more efficient with close spacing, which may
reduce the need to use pesticides. The large variety of crops in a small space
also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
Do you like rules?
This is what puts me off a bit
and make is feel a bit like a strange gardening cult or money making venture
from the author to buy their magic soil mix. Over the years the SFG system has
evolved into a precise set of rules:
Create Deep Raised Beds: Typically 4 feet by 4 feet, with a square
foot lattice placed on top to visually separate the crops. Beds are between 6
and 12 inches deep.
Use a Specific Soil Mix: One third each of compost, peat moss and
vermiculite. This starts the raised beds completely weed-free as well as being
water retentive and full of nutrients.
Don't Walk on the Soil: I like that one…
Plant in Squares: To keep the planting simple there are no plant
spacings to remember. Instead each square has either 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in it
depending on the size of the plant. There are exceptions though and a few
larger plants span two squares. Climbing peas and beans are planted in two
mini-rows of 4 per square.
Solid Lines: String just doesn't do the job, the divisions have to be wooden or plastic.
Thin with Scissors: Instead of pulling up excess plants which can
disturb the root systems of the plants you want to grow you snip them off with
scissors.
My results from experimenting
produced more of less the same amount of produce as conventional beds so I
didn’t really see the benefit. I did find that plants don’t really conform to
their square foot spaces either and tend to spread. Try planting one courgette
in a square foot space and you’ll see what I mean.
I'm also very confused about the Square Foot Gardening websites. There's the .org site which is full of Donate Now, Volunteer and Fundraising buttons and classed as a Foundation, it's all done as a charity and tax exempt status. Then you go onto the .com from the site and it's all about affiliate marketing, payment for training, commissions of up to 20% for sales referrals and a huge amount of retail products and books. It's not very transparent.
But if this type of precision
gets you into the garden then go for it.
