Simply Resourceful

Simple ways to be more conscious about how we use our resources.

Square Foot Gardening

Jon decided to try the square foot gardening technique this year.  He learned this technique from Mel Bartholomew's book, All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!  The garden beds will be segmented in 1 foot squares compared to the traditional method of planting everything in rows.  Square foot gardening saves more seeds and encourages biodiversity in your garden beds.  To keep track of the 1 foot segments, the gardener needs to devise a system of keeping track of the borders.  Jon came up with this idea using all scrap wood from our garage.  (Patent Pending)


 
 These cross pieces mark the four quadrants.


The square foot garden method also advises how many seeds to plant in each square plot depending on the plant variety.  Here's one website we referenced.  Using this method, the gardener isn't wasting seeds from thinning seedlings.

To make seed planting easy and efficient, Jon devised this 1x1 foot seed planting spacer.  (Patent Pending)  The numbers indicate the spacing of the seeds.  For instance, if you were to plant carrots that are spaced every 3 inches, then you would drop the seeds down all of the holes with the number 3.




5 comments :

Phoebe May 19, 2011 at 9:58 PM  

That planting board is very clever! You have an organized mind. I am excited to see how you like the square foot method.
I hope the sun shines a little more, soon. My apple trees have barely come out of dormancy. But I am a little higher altitude than you.

One bolt short of a toolbox March 6, 2014 at 6:47 AM  

Hi, I tried finding more on your square foot garden, but can't. Did you plant all the vegetables in one square, or was that for an example?

Thanks!

Holly March 6, 2014 at 4:05 PM  

Hi, we just planted according to this layout: http://simplyresourceful.blogspot.com/2011/04/prepping-garden.html. So there were lots of plants in a bed.

Anonymous May 5, 2014 at 3:38 PM  

Just a thought... Placing/writing the numbers on both sides of the board can allow for a more "cleaner" look? ex. on one side, just placing the 1 hole in center with the 3x3. Then the 16 holes by itself.

Unknown June 15, 2018 at 10:39 AM  

what a fantastic post! That is such a detailed article, I can`t wait to dig deep and start utilizing the resource you have given me

About this blog

A weekly update on our adventures of trying to be more self-sufficient by using resources wisely. We explore a variety of topics that most broadly fit in the "Homesteading" category, i.e. beekeeping, organic gardening, edible landscaping/fruit forest, food preservation/canning, woodworking, soap-making, and environmental stewardship.

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