It is surprising how much of your own food even apartment dwellers can grow in 1sqm, there is nothing quite as satisfying (or as tasty) as picking a few basil leaves to put throw into some spaghetti or tossing some potatoes with a bunch of fresh dill.
Square foot gardening is a simple method of creating small kitchen gardens and is very useful for beginner gardeners who don’t want to bite off more than they can chew. You just concentrate on 1sqm at a time which seems less intimidating than trying to establish a whole garden.
Square foot gardening was invented by Mel Bartholomew who was an engineer by profession (it kind of shows in the highly efficient gardening layouts) as a better way to grow a vegetable garden, and it became a huge hit.
Some of the ideas are particularly useful for apartment dwellers who may not have more than 1sqm in total!
The Square Foot Gardening method is estimated to cost up to 50% less, perhaps use 20% less space, require 10% of the water, and only 2% of the work compared to traditional row gardening. Additional benefits are: virtually no weeds, no digging or rototilling, and no heavy tools are necessary.
Also anyone can be a successful gardener using the Square Foot Gardening method.
The basics are very simple. Once a spot is chosen that has good drainage and receives 6-8 hours of direct sun per day, there are three simple steps (if you are an apartment dweller you may only need step 1):
STEP 1: BUILD OR BUY A BOX THAT IS 1 SQM
You can use many materials to build your 4’ X 4’ box BUT Be sure to put down weed mat or mulch to prevent weeds from sprouting up through your soil and keep moisture in.
STEP 2: FILL THE BOX WITH SOIL
This tested and proven formula is easy to make at home. Please note: these ingredients will be in equal volumes, not by weight.
• 1/3 Coarse grade Vermiculite (Mel’s preferred medium)
• 1/3 Sphagnum Peat Moss (You can also use Coconut Coir)
• 1/3 Blended Organic Compost (Mel recommends 5 different composts combined for optimal results)
STEP 3: ADD A GRID AND START PLANTING!
The grid is one of the most important features of a Square Foot Garden. The grid lets you clearly see how to space your seeds/plants and keeps your garden looking neat and organized. If you are using a planter box you won’t need a grid!
There are many great resources on the internet about square metre gardening or its close cousin container gardening.
For a quick video introduction click here.
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