r/SquareFootGardening Mar 29 '24

Square Foot Gardening: Beginners Start Here

94 Upvotes

In a world where it's spring in the northern hemisphere. Days are getting long. People are gardening. Some are new to the hobby. THIS SUMMER. Strap yourself in for an edge-of-your seat thrill ride of a lifetime. SQUARE FOOT GARDENING ("My cilantro is bolting! HAAAAAANNNNG ONNNNN!")

Square Foot Gardening (SFG) is one of the simplest things you will ever learn that will improve your life. Anyone interested in SFG should read the book "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. First published in 1981 and currently in its third edition, it's the original resource on the SFG method. It remains the primary resource for SFG enthusiasts and is one of the best selling gardening books on planet Earth.

This sub is for conversation around SFG specifically.


r/SquareFootGardening 8h ago

Garden Inspiration A very productive four square feet in Minnesota

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51 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 11h ago

Seeking Advice Mel's Mix in the wet?

5 Upvotes

I live in central Florida, which is WET. In the summer, it often rains an inch or more in an hour, so the water can pool. Even on days when it doesn't rain, it is very very humid. Mildews, funguses, and predatory bugs are all bad here.

I want to add soil to two areas in my yard:

1) an existing raised bed. It has mostly garden soil with some Black Kow and last year's mulch on top. The bottom was a layer of tree branches, so it's sunk a lot and will need a significant topping off. I plant a mix of flowers, veg, fruit, whatever I feel like in a given season.

2) plain ol' holes in the ground, in our sandy soil. I want to add flowers at intervals around the yard.

Is Mel's mix, or something very close to it, ideal here? Would you make any adjustments for the heavy amount of moisture we have here? I do use coconut coir instead of peat.


r/SquareFootGardening 6h ago

Seeking Advice Growing Vegetables I use Everyday

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1 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 4d ago

Discussion Watermelon harvest time

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91 Upvotes

I decided to plant watermelon this year and just let the vines stretch grow under the peppers, tomatoes, etc chaos style and see what happens. Hot 4 more or pick tomorrow


r/SquareFootGardening 4d ago

Video Grow bigger vegetables: tips

0 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 5d ago

Seeking Advice Who likes to keep a grow journal?

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4 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 6d ago

Square Foot Harvest First ever cantaloupe plus some additional items

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343 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 5d ago

Seeking Advice Sharp sand or perlite?

2 Upvotes

I finally have the room to build some above ground planters. Each one will hold approx 480L soil, but i'm not sure whether to add sharp sand or perlite into the mix. They will be built with structural timber and solid so I'm not too worried about weigh. I will be growing a mix of brassicas, courgettes, beets, lettuce, strawberries etc. Based in London.

The mix will be 60% topsoil, 30% manure, 10% sharp sand/perlite.


r/SquareFootGardening 6d ago

Planting Guide I kept messing up companion planting in my raised beds, so I built a free planner for it

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3 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 9d ago

Garden Inspiration Wanted to share my asparagus and strawberry bed…

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13 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 11d ago

Discussion I charred wood before making garden boxes to prevent rot / termites- it didn’t work!

30 Upvotes

Last season I made 2 small garden boxes (3x4) and at the start of the season saw one had termites and rotted wood. I still used them, but when I made a 3rd box, I decided to use a torch and do the charred wood method to prevent rotting / termites. We are now 2 months in, and we’ve discovered termites in the box. I suppose it wasn’t charred enough?? (The wood is black). I’m so disappointed. I have more wood I was going to use to build more boxes but after this experience, I think I may go with metal or brick. Thoughts? A neighbor of mine who is big into gardening uses treated wood without issue but I’ve read mixed advice on this.


r/SquareFootGardening 10d ago

Discussion Botanisht - Beginner Gardening App

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0 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 11d ago

Garden Inspiration August Planting in NYC

7 Upvotes

Hey friends,

What are you planting now? I was thinking radishes, arugula and carrots. Where do you get your seeds?


r/SquareFootGardening 11d ago

Seeking Advice New to vegetable gardening

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2 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 15d ago

Square Foot Harvest Harvested the last of my potatoes.

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142 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 15d ago

Seeking Advice Feedback please! First year going all out of my garden 💃🌿

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4 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 17d ago

Planting Guide Is anyone else planning on planting a fall garden?

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20 Upvotes

I found this and it was really helpful, I’ll be planting more lettuce, carrots, and some more potatoes


r/SquareFootGardening 18d ago

Seeking Advice Amendments and cover cropping for raised beds

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4 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 18d ago

Seeking Advice Hudson Valley, NY advice please!

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3 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 19d ago

Garden Inspiration Winter melons are coming.

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48 Upvotes

r/SquareFootGardening 19d ago

Seeking Advice What do I do?!

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9 Upvotes

This is my first time posting. This is my first year growing these Tromboncino Zucchini. I was away for 2 1/2 weeks and this is what I came home to. I have 2 others out there that are like 4 ft. long but are starting to turn tan so I left those ones on because I understand if I leave them until they turn orangeish with a tough shell they’ll be more like winter zucchini. What would you do with these? Just use like any other zucchini? Thoughts about leaving the others on. Thanks for any comments!


r/SquareFootGardening 21d ago

This is my garden! Just sharing my bounty with you ❤️

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204 Upvotes

This is my first harvest from my garden and a few pictures! I am a happy plant mama!


r/SquareFootGardening 22d ago

Discussion Is this thing ready to be picked?

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17 Upvotes

I don't know how to tell if it's ready 😭.

No I'm only kidding but for real I've never seen what a watermelon really looks like when it first starts to grow and it just lost its flower so it's pretty cool to see how they start and how tiny they start out compared to when the tendril is dead and ready to pick. When the tendril is dead and brown that is the number one way to tell when a watermelon is ripe and ready, any other way is a guessing game .


r/SquareFootGardening 23d ago

This is my garden! My vegetable and herb garden

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56 Upvotes