Monday, April 12, 2010

Square Foot Gardening

This year Josh and I decided to try out square foot gardening.  Neither one of us have ever gardened, but both of our grandparents did and we wanted to try it.  I'm not sure what Josh's reasons for doing it are (other than to get dirty), but I have a couple:
  1. Eat Fresh Produce - There is nothing like fresh corn and tomatoes from the garden.  Nothing in the store can compare. 
  2. Saves Money - Seeds really are cheap and square foot gardening is so economical that it will save us money.  If you've read my blog for any length of time, then you know how much I enjoy saving money!
  3. Better for us - We don't have to worry about the food containing harmful chemicals or pesticides.  I read an article in All You (a magazine) a couple of months ago and was surprised of how many foods are shipped from overseas or from across the country.  It just makes sense to grow your own food if possible. 
We decided to do square foot gardening because it is easy.  No gardening tools required and no expertise needed.  A guy in our church introduced us to the idea and we bought the book All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.  The author lays out step-by-step instructions and give you the benefits of square foot gardening versus single row gardening. 

Thankfully, the guy in our church who introduced us to the idea has also helped us get started.  He built us three 4x4 gardens and then helped us fill them with the right soil.  We could have done it without his help, but we are always so thankful for anyone's assistance! 

We have planted lima beans and green beans thus far.  In a few weeks we will plant, tomatoes, corn, and okra and maybe a few flowers.  Josh is so excited about the garden and loves to go and look at it!  He and Thomas water it each night and are anxiously waiting for the first sign of life. 



2 comments:

Anna said...

I am so excited about your garden. I can't wait to hear updates and see pictures of your progress! I have been wanting to do some gardening, but I don't think it will happen this year. We are in the midst of landscaping the backyard so I think I will have to be content with that and growing some herbs in pots. Our landscaping plans do involved some raised beds so we can garden next year. I am thinking about this method (http://balancingeverything.com/2009/05/24/gardening-take-two/) which seems similiar to what you are using. Keep us posted!

The Culbertsons said...

We are excited about it too! I need to see some pictures of your new house and yard. I looked at the method you linked to and it does seem similar. The one difference I see is the beds are bigger and they do have to use a tiller. With square foot gardening you don't need anything but your hands. The soil is 1/3 compost (we are going to start composting, but we bought mushroom compost), 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermuculite (sp?). The boxes are only 6" deep too. I'll keep you updated as to how it goes!