Square Foot Gardening Is A Gardening Method That Makes Good Use Of Small Garden Space
Popularized by Mel Bartholomew in 1981 through his book entitled Rodale Press, the square foot gardening is a fun and convenient method of growing flowers, fruits and vegetables without exerting much efforts normally associated with conventional gardening.It provides hope to people of various backgrounds, experience and conditions because this practice is adaptable to people of all levels of experience, geographical locations and physical abilities. With this approach to organic gardening, the gardener can save time, water, work and money. It also requires just 20% of the space of a traditional row garden. According to Bartholomew, to attain the optimum results, the concept of this specialized gardening method must be practiced with other organic gardening methods such as compost, and the raised beds should be planted closely. Enthusiasts of this gardening method take delight in the fact that gardeners with poor soil can still enjoy and benefit from gardening. Gardening by the square foot was done on an open-bottomed box containing finite soil divided into sections using grids. Each square was planted with different kind of plant to encourage a variety of crops over time. Also, the number of plants per square is relative to the individual plant size. Today, one unit of square foot garden can measure 16 square feet and hold an average of 130 plants. The vegetable yields are also enough for one person. 64 square feet of garden can supply fresh greens to a family of four. Organic gardeners may already have what they want for square foot gardening. This includes the space for the garden beds, compost, fertile soil, and of course, knowledge and experience. Row gardeners do their gardening in permanent no-dig beds, while raised-bed growers use raised beds. For people who are new to gardening, the first thing that needs to be done is finding the right place. It should have ample amount of sunshine with well-drained, loamy soil. If the soil is hard and rough, it can be fixed by covering it with a thick layer of grass clippings, dead leaves, hay and anything that makes good mulch. The treated area should not be walked on. It must also be watered. The material will become softer after a few weeks. Scoop out the mulch and start Gardening by the square foot. If the soil is not fertile enough, use compost. Poor, compacted, and rough ground needs 6 inches or more of the compost. The basic steps in Gardening by the square foot are three: building a box, filling with soil, and adding grids and start planting.Boxes can be built or bought from garden centers. Normally, the boxes are made of wood. Some use cement. After placing the box on the proper place, fill it up with the fertile soil. Use the mulch or the compost mentioned earlier and mix them with ground soil. Add the grid for partition and start planting. Top Of square foot gardening
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