Easily Grow Your Own Food with Square Foot Gardening

Square foot gardening is one of the best ways to grow more food in smaller spaces. Growing your own fresh food at home is a rewarding experience.

Unfortunately, not everyone has a sprawling yard and a lot of space to plant fresh food like fruits, vegetables, and herbs.

If you have limited area or a smaller space and want to make the most out of the small garden area you have, then we’ve got you covered!

Today, let’s dive into the world of square foot gardening and share some square foot gardening tips.

Let’s get started!

What is Square Foot Vegetable Gardening?

The square-foot gardening method is planting crops in small square foot sections with dimensions of 1 square foot, sounds easy enough, huh?

It’s the easiest way to make a simple and orderly system that lets you plan and start vegetable gardening in small spaces and enjoy a productive vegetable garden at home.

Find out how square foot gardening can maximize vegetable production in small spaces. You can have any garden size or garden space to do this, even a large garden for your vegetable gardening.

This is also a great option if you have limited space. Any gardener can do this.

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The concept was popularized by Mel Bartholomew, a retired engineer, in 1981. He first came up with a 4×4 square feet raised plant bed with a grid.

He divided it into 16 one-foot squares where he planted his crops. Once a square foot is harvested, a different crop is planted for continual harvest and to discourage pests for pest control.

One square foot can have one or more different plants depending on the type and the size of the plant and the row spacing that’s needed once they mature

For example, tomatoes can be planted in one square foot, but 16 radishes or carrots can be planted in one square foot, as well, so you can see how this method yields more.

For tall types of plants, trellises are placed on the side to prevent shading out smaller plants.

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Pros and Cons of Square Foot Gardening

Square foot gardening is a good option for gardeners and people who would like to start small space vegetable gardening.  If have limited room at home and don’t need huge row gardens you can harvest a lot from just a small space.

It’s also a quick way to start a new garden. You can place your raised garden bed almost anywhere so you can build, fill, and start planting your own vegetables and herbs in no time.

It requires less time and effort than preparing traditional rows and prepping the growing area of your garden.

Square foot gardens also require minimal maintenance. You don’t need to spend so much time planting, maintaining, and harvesting your crops.

The square foot method is a great way to have easy access to your garden, too. Because you build them just wide enough to be able to reach in without having to step onto the soil to reach anything.

With this simple method, you also don’t need to spend so much time weeding, especially in your first growing season it will be less work.

While weeds can naturally grow over time because of seeds falling into the bed, it still takes minimal effort since you plant in less space, and your plants shade out most weeds.

Of course, as wonderful as square footage gardening is as a system, and it does come with a few caveats. For starters, it can have a high initial cost. But, it doesn’t have to.

You’ll need to consider the materials for your raised square foot bed depending on how you want to build it, soil, fertilizer, mulch, and more.

With a square foot garden, you also have to consider how big the larger plants will get once they mature. Crops that take up a lot of room and larger vegetables aren’t ideal candidates for this system.

The depth of a raised bed garden can also be a problem for different vegetables that need their plant roots to reach deeply into the soil. Small crops and medium plants are the way to go.

Square foot gardens also tend to dry out faster so you may need to install a drip irrigation system and to use organic mulch to keep it moist.

The Basic Square Foot Garden Layout And Set Up

Setting up a basic square foot garden is extremely simple. As long as you have all the materials you need close by, you can be ready in an afternoon.

Here’s a rundown of what you’ll need to do for your first square foot garden:

Step 1: Prepare Your Growing Space

Build a 4 by 4 foot raised bed box using two 8-foot long 2×6 boards cut in half. Instead of using screws or nails this is a simple and quick way to attach the boards in minutes.

Just slide the boards into these corners and you’re set! Line it with weed barrier landscaping fabric to discourage weeds from growing.

Step 2: Fill it With Your Preferred Growing Medium

Potting mix is your best bet for square foot gardens. You can also use fertile potting mix that contains peat moss, compost, and vermiculite.

32 cubic feet of growing medium should be enough for a 4×4 bed at 9 inches deep.

Step 3: Lay Out Your Grid

Prepare a 4×4 grid using your material of choice. This could be string, thin strips of wood, dowels, and even mini blinds. Lay this on top of your garden bed to measure out the squares. (see image below)

Once this is all set up, you can start planting!

What to Grow in a Square Foot Garden

A square foot garden is an excellent way to plant a wide variety of fresh vegetables and herbs at home.

Each square foot small area can hold so many plants from 1-16 depending on how big the crop is at maturity and your plant spacing.

Let’s look at some of the best plants that thrive in a square foot gardening layout:

Plant 1 per square foot

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Pepper
• Tomato plant
• Eggplant
• Melon (trellised)
• Winter squash 

Plant 2 per square foot

• Cucumbers 
• Summer squash

Plant 4 per square foot

• Leaf lettuce
• Swiss chard
• Marigolds
• Strawberries
• Bulb onions
• Basil

Plant 9 per square foot

• Bush beans
• Peas
• Spinach
• Beets

Plant 16 per square foot

• Carrots
• Radishes
• Green onions

Start Your Square Foot Garden Today

Square foot gardening is an excellent choice for any home gardener but especially for beginners and for people who may not have the biggest yard or space.

With just a few simple materials, you can set up a productive vegetable garden and you’ll have a steady supply of fresh produce year-round.

I hope these square foot gardening tips come in handy and help you start your own!

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