Square Foot Gardening

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of talking with Mel Bartholomew, the author and inventor of Square Foot Gardening. Dad gave me his book when I was about 12 years old, and we often turned on his PBS program when I was over at his place on the weekends. Both of us thought it was pretty impressive of how much Mel could grow so much in such a small area. It caused me to start thinking about gardening in a different way.

During our chat, I was surprised to learn Mel didn't start out in the garden. Actually he was a civil engineer with a successful consulting company. When his business reached the point where the next logical step was to grow, Mel said, "I retired when I was 42. I sold the company, and took up gardening as a  hobby."

He worked in the local community garden for awhile learning the basics from the county agent, but kept questioning why things were done they way they were. Why were the rototilling when they walked behind it, compacting the soil? Why did they plant in single rows with so much wasted space? It inspired him to travel the country asking these questions and looking for a better way. What resulted was a revolutionary way of gardening.

Square foot gardening utilizes every bit of useful space, and it doesn't matter how awful your garden soil might be since you're growing in a raised bed with a specific growing mix. Mel recommends 4 x4 -ft beds since most people can reach in the middle from any side. In his All New Square Foot Gardening, he recommends filling it with a mix of compost, peat and course vermiculite creating the ideal combination.

On top of the box, Mel says to set a solid grid to mark off since foot-square sections. In there you plant a specific number of seeds or plants in amounts of 1,4,9 or 16. For instance, you can plant a single tomato in a square and 16 radishes in another. If this doesn't seem like much, keep in mind you are to pull and reseed or replant as one crop is finished. This means turning over crops many times throughout the season.

Tami, a lady at our community gardens, is doing a wonderful job of growing in her square foot beds. She went by Mel's book to the letter, and it's paying off. She has 5 boxes all together, and it seems to be plenty for her family of four. I interviewed her for the Great Falls Tribune article, too, and she couldn't be happier with the results.