Gwen’s Garden Update #2
In our raise garden we are going to adapt to the ‘Square Foot Gardening’ concept by Mel Bartholomew; a new revolutionary gardening method that makes gardening simple to maintain and more successful. The thought is to use less square footage for gardening, do not walk on and compact soil paths where all you get are weeds, use fewer seeds, and maintain a harvest quantity you will actually use without wasting seeds. Mel suggests that one 4×4 raise garden bed will feed one adult all the veggies he needs for an entire season. I learned this weekend at our local Garden Club meeting that one footstep in the garden soil compacts it 75% and two footsteps compacts it 90%, thus making it harder for your veggies to grow! So make your garden without paths and in a square or rectangle shape no more than 4 feet across so you can reach the center from two sides.
We are using 4×8 raised beds. Filling with our soil and laying out lattice slats to divide into one foot squares. In each square we will plant 4-9 seeds of a desired veggie, keeping them together in the one foot square. So, in a 4×8 bed we are going to have 32 individual squares with potentially 32 different veggies planted!
Let’s talk soil. Mel suggests that soil is the most important element in a successful garden and ‘building up’ your soil by filling in with new soil is better than ‘Digging Down’ to amend the existing soil. Mel’s perfect recipe for the perfect soil is: 1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite and 1/3 Blended Compost. You can find peat moss at any local superstore like Wal-mart, Home Depot or Lowes. Vermiculite is found at most garden centers, make sure to get the ‘coarse grade’ and ask for it in the 4-cubic foot bags. Compost can also be found at your local superstore if you are not making your own. When buying compost do not buy 10 bags of the same brand/kind - buy one of this and one of that to get a good mix from different regions and companies. Try not to use manure for your original compost if you are just now preparing it. Raw manure needs to ‘cook’ for at least 4 months before using in your garden to avoid ecoli! The three ingredients combined are not manufactured, they are natural and will hold moisture better than any amended soil you have previously work with by ‘Digging Down’. For a good bed you only need 6 inches deep of this combination. And guess what - you will NEVER need to fertilize! Why, because we started out with the perfect soil combination, we don’t need to add anything else. Now you have a 100% organic garden!
Are you excited yet’ I am! We are ready to get our garden going! If you want to read up more on the Square Foot Gardening I highly recommend purchasing ‘All New Square Foot Gardening’ book by Mel Bartholomew. It will change your world on gardening!
I’m going to be traveling to Europe for the next two weeks so I will not be in my garden. We will have to get back to it when we return. But I will still be online so feel free to start asking questions. I will try my best to answer them or find the answer for you!
Happy Gardening! Gwen
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I’ve never really wanted a big garden until reading this. I love the raised box idea. It makes sense to me as far as weeds and soil go. And it I think it would look cool as landscape in areas.
Can’t wait to see what you do.
I’m so impressed, but not surprised, with all the planning and research you are doing. It is definitely going to lead to a VERY successful garden…just wish I lived closer so we could mooch your future harvest!! Have a great time in Europe — drink plenty of water for you and that baby!!