My Square Foot Garden--Square Foot Gardening Basics

Asparagus

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Emily

Asparagus is a hardy perennial vegetable that produces spears for 10-15 years. If you choose to grow it in a square foot or raised garden bed, you will need at least 18” (30cm) of high quality topsoil, and a location to dedicate to asparagus long-term.

Spring Planting

Plant asparagus crowns 2-4 weeks before the spring frost date. Dig a trench 18”(30cm) deep and 12” (25cm) wide. Combine topsoil, compost, peat moss, and fertilizer, then refill the trenches with 6” of amended soil.

Place a mound of soil every 12” (25cm), and place the crown on the mound, spreading out the roots. The top of the crown should be 6-10” (15-25 cm) below the final level of the soil. The shallower plants will produce stalks sooner, and the deeper plants will produce them later. This is a way you can stagger the harvest.

Cover the crowns with 2” (5cm) of amended soil and water well. As the asparagus plants grow, fill in the trench an inch or two at a time, until it is even with ground level. As you do so, leave at least 2” (5cm) of stem above the ground, and do not cover the ferns (leaves).

In subsequent years, cut off dead ferns from the previous season in the spring.

Fall Planting

In the fall, add fertilizer and 6” (15cm) of compost.

Soil and Fertilizer

Since asparagus will grow for so many years, it is important to improve the soil as much as possible before planting. The soil must drain well; if necessary, add sand or other amendments to ensure good drainage. Use high quality compost to mix with the topsoil for refilling the trenches.

Use a fertilizer with high nitrogen after harvesting in the late spring/early summer, and then a complete fertilizer late in the fall.

Fertilizer: 21-0-0 in late spring (after harvesting) 16-16-8 in late fall.

Harvest

Do not harvest the first two years. It is important to let the plants get established. Harvest young spears 6-10” (15-25cm) less than 1” around by cutting them at ground level with a sharp knife. Be careful not to damage any other spears that are developing.

The third year, harvest for two weeks, then let the spears develop into ferns. Increase the harvest period to four weeks in the fourth year, and six to eight weeks every year after that.

More Resources

Asparagus Reference Sheet (Utah Extension Service)

Happy gardening!

Posted in Veggies | Leave a comment

Spicy Sweet Potato Hash

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Tarah

Hi there! My name is Tarah and I blog over at What I Gather. I like to think of it as my little corner of the Interwebs where I can share healthy, delicious food with you and you can share your tasty tips with me! Eating nutritious, whole foods is not only good for your taste buds, I truly believe it has the power to heal.

I found My Square Foot Garden two years ago when I finally decided to take a little more control over where my food was coming from and grow what I could in my own backyard! This site really helped me find my way in what seemed like an overwhelming task. I am now in my second year of gardening and hope my thumb keeps getting greener every year!

This Spicy Sweet Potato Hash recipe was originally posted on my blog earlier this year. It is a quick and easy breakfast that packs a big protein punch to get you going in the morning. I LOVE spicy foods, but if heat isn’t your thing, simply omit the chopped chipotle peppers from the recipe.

Spicy Sweet Potato Hash
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 20
Total Time: 30

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef
2 medium sweet potatoes, shredded
1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, finely chopped
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
-Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat
-Add ground beef to pan and brown, stirring often to break it up as it cooks (about 5 minutes)
-While beef is browning, mix shredded sweet potato, chipotle pepper, onion and spices in a bowl
-Add sweet potato mixture to pan with ground beef and continue to cook until sweet potatoes begin to get crispy (8 to 10 minutes)

Posted in Recipes | Tagged sweet potatoes | Leave a comment

Indiana Square foot Gardening Plan

Posted on May 11, 2012 by pixelpusher

Gardening Year: 2012
Location: Westfield, IN
Planting by Color: Yellow

Hi there! I’m Kelly, and this is my 4th year attemptng a garden here in Westfield, IN (Just North of Indianapolis by about 15mi.).

In the years past, I had just sort of planted wherever- not rows, but not really organized, and with little attention to where what goes. I just stood back at the edge of my plot and said “OK, squash over there, tomatoes there…” We had decent yields on some things (tomaotes and squash are big growers here!) but my choices of plant groupings ended up in shaded out lost crop and hard to reach veg that ended up rotting.

I stumbled across Emily’s fab site when looking up companion planting and haven’t looked back. I used to watch Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Garden show with my little brother growing up, so the concept is not foriegn, just foggy.

My (just finished!) newly renovated garden plot consists of 6 4×5 beds and an oddball shaped 6×4 one (it is 6×4 on one end and 4×4 on the other. Sort of.)

Here is my garden plan, after many many revisions (and, actually, sinc eI originally did htis plan, I was able to expand that one 3×5 to the same 4×5 as the rest so I have a free row for ???):

Questions:
First and foremost, how does it look? Is this a viable plan? Does it make SENSE?

Is there a better way to arrange things to minimize pest issues? We have some hungry bunnies that ate ALL of my bean plants down to the ground last year, and about halfway through the season we got squash bugs that demolished everything. This year, as I dug, I discovered ANTS and they were tending to white blobs that I can only assume were squash bug larvae! GRR!!

Is there a better way to use the space I have- I am not well versed in interplanting and my attempt last year was dissapointing.

My husband just added “walls” to the beds this weekend, but since I have added loads of composted grass clippings, worm poop, etc over the years and have fairly happy soil and don’t want to cover that all up with new dirt….the “boxes” you see do not have bottoms, and I just added 2 40lb bags of top soil and 1 40lb bag of compost per box. I did not add vermiculite or peat as the soil we have, rocky and clay filled as it may be, drains pretty well and I plan on adding grass clippings as mulch to retain moisture – this worked well last year (for what it was worth!)

Thank you for any and all help – I am excited about having a productive, “happy” garden this year!!!

Posted in Garden Plans, Guest Posts | 5 Comments

Talk About Leggy

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Emily

My son came home from school with a cup of dirt and a bean seed. We watered it, and I put it in the window. Here’s how it turned out:

2 1/4 inches to seed leaves
3 1/4 inches to first true leaves
8 1/2 inches to second leaves
7 inches to third leaves

This is what we call “leggy”–tall and skinny, the poor plant is reaching to get enough light.

Many people ask or wonder if a sunny window sill provides enough light to start seeds indoors. If your intention is simply to germinate seeds indoors, and plant them outside when they are still small, a sunny window will certainly do the trick. However, if you need to start seeds indoors and grow them for 4-6 weeks, the window will not cut it.

Happy gardening!

Posted in Grow | 1 Comment

Artichoke

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Emily

Artichoke is a semi-hardy perennial vegetable that grows best in areas with a warm winter and a cool summer. In harsher climates it is grown as an annual, and replanted each year. It is not well suited to growing in a square foot garden because it requires so much space for one plant (16 square feet).

Spring Planting

Start seeds indoors 12 weeks before the spring frost date or plant from a piece of a divided artichoke plant. Harden off and transplant into the garden 4-6 weeks before the spring frost date. This is tricky, because the artichoke needs light frost and cool temperatures in order to flower, but it cannot tolerate hard frost. Ideally, transplant them into a cold frame or hoop house.

Fall Planting

After artichokes have produced their fruit or flowered, cut them down within 3” (8cm) of the ground. Now you can dig up the plant and divide it, keeping one stalk and as much root intact per transplant. If you want to try to keep the plants over the winter, mulch heavily to prevent damage from frost.

Soil and Fertilizer

Artichoke requires a nutrient rich, well draining soil. Before planting, amend with compost and fertilizer (chemical or organic), and every 4 weeks after transplanting.

Fertilizer: 16-16-8 at planting, 21-0-0 every 4 weeks.

Harvest

Harvest buds when they are soft, and just as they begin to open. Smaller buds will not grow larger given more time, they will simply become inedible. If you fail to harvest them, enjoy the beautiful flowers that will bloom.

More Resources

Artichoke Reference Sheet (Utah Extension Service)

Happy gardening!

Posted in Veggies | Leave a comment

Minneapolis Square Foot Gardening Plan

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Dewdrop75

Gardening Year: 2012
Location: Minneapolis, MN
Planting by Color: Yellow

My name is Tina, thank you so much for allowing me to post my garden plan. This is my first time doing a garden, and you can follow my progress on my blog Dewdrop Garden. I appreciate any advice I can get. My dad suggested I use pavers instead of wood for the raised bed, and I think it looks really nice. I am super excited to see what I can grow.

Here is what I have built, the bed is 13′ long, 3′ wide and 1′ deep:

Here is my plan so far, I have a couple spots that are to be determined. I would appreciate any comments as to if this is a good layout or not. I know I am going to have to hurry up and get my carrots, lettuce and spinach planted ASAP.

I am planning to plant tomatoes in their own pot, probably 3 plants in the pot since it is a pretty large pot.
I didn’t plan enough ahead, so I have not started any seeds indoors, is too late to start my pepper seeds inside for transplanting later? Wondering if I should buy pepper plants at this point.
I would like to plant raspberry and blueberry bushes (not in the square foot garden.)
I am also planning to make a separate bed for strawberries.

Thanks again for your advice. This blog has already been so helpful to me in figuring out how many plants I will be able to plant in each square.

Posted in Garden Plans, Guest Posts | 10 Comments

When To Plant Your Garden

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Emily

Once you’ve built your garden, created a layout, and prepped the soil, you can go buy seeds and plants, and put it all in at once, right?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Plants can be divided into several categories based on light requirements, sensitivity to frost, and ideal temperature for growing.

Types of Plants

Hardy plants require less light (3-6 hours of direct sun), can tolerate hard frost, and grow best in cool weather. Many will die, bolt, or go to seed when temperatures rise. These should be planted early in the spring, as soon as the soil can be worked, or late in the summer to be harvested in the fall. In areas with short periods of frost, hardy vegetables can be grown all winter.

Semi-hardy plants require more sun (6 hours), tolerate light frost, and grow best in cool weather. These should be planted in the spring, about 3-5 weeks before the frost date. They can also be planted late in the summer for a fall harvest, or during the winter in temperate regions without any frost.

Tender plants need more sun (8 hours), do not tolerate frost, and grow best in warm (not hot) weather. Any frost will kill them, so they should be planted on or after the frost date, which usually occurs in late spring or early summer.

Very tender vegetables require a lot of sunlight (8-12 hours), will be stunted by cold temperatures, and grow best in very warm weather. They should be planted after all danger of frost has passed, about 3 weeks after the frost date.

These vegetables have long growing seasons (they take a long time to go from seed to harvest), so you want to wait until the weather is warm enough for them, but you can’t wait too long or you will not have a chance to harvest before hot or cold temperatures set in. For this reason you should use transplants, not seeds.

With this in mind, you can see why it’s not best to plant onions and tomatoes at the same time. Hardy and semi-hardy vegetables benefit from growing in the cool, early spring while tender and very tender plants can’t be planted until there is no chance of frost and the temperatures are warmer.

Here is a chart that lists many vegetables and their category.

Hardy	Semi-Hardy	Tender	Very Tender
Asparagus Broccoli Cabbage Kale Kohlrabi Leeks Onions Peas Radish Rhubarb Spinach Turnip	Beets Carrots Cauliflower Endive Lettuce Mustard Parsley Parsnip Potatoes Swiss Chard Spinach	Celery Cucumber Dry Beans Snap Beans Summer Squash Sweet Corn Zucchini	Cantaloupe/Melons Eggplant Lima Beans Okra Peppers Pumpkins Tomatoes Winter Squash

You can use this as a guide, but if you want to know EXACTLY when to plant for your location, the easiest way is to sign up for my newsletter or purchase my Planting By Color e-book. You will receive an outline of which plants should be planted each week–if it’s on the list, go for it. If it’s not on the list, it’s not time to plant that yet (or it’s too late to do so). This makes it simple and easy, and you don’t have to keep track of anything.

Happy gardening!

Posted in Plant | 1 Comment

Eggplant

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Emily

Peppers are a very-tender vegetable that grow best in warm weather. plant will produce two or three fruits.

Spring Planting

Eggplant takes a long time to grow from seed to harvest. In most areas there is not enough time to grow eggplant from seeds before the weather gets too cold in the fall.

Start seeds indoors 7-8 weeks before the frost date or purchase transplants. Transplants should have 6-9 true leaves. Harden off and transplant into the garden 2-4 weeks after the spring frost date.

Fall Planting

Eggplant requires average night time temperatures of 60°F (16°C) to set fruit, so even in areas without frost it is unlikely you can grow them during the winter.

Soil and Fertilizer

Eggplant grows best in a soil that drains well; amend with lots of compost and fertilizer (chemical or organic) at planting and 4 and 8 weeks after transplanting.

Fertilizer: Apply 16-16-8 at planting, 9-59-8 after 4 and 8 weeks.

Harvest

Harvest fruits as they ripen and before they lose their glossy sheen.

More Resources

Eggplant Reference Sheet (Utah Extension Service)

Happy gardening!

Posted in Veggies | Leave a comment

Idaho Square Food Gardening Plan

Posted on April 27, 2012 by mgoics123

Gardening Year: 2012
Location: Boise, Idaho
Planting by Color: Green

My name is Megan, and I am a first-time gardener who would love some feedback on my square foot gardening plan. My husband and I built two raised beds (12 inches deep) and are excited to see them transform!

Reviewing old posts and comments on this site has been extremely helpful so far, and I would love any suggestions on my gardening plan and/ or thoughts on the following questions:

I’ve been told corn is difficult to grow in raised beds. Is this true? Are there certain corn varieties that are better than others? I’ve dedicated nine square feet to corn- is this enough to get a good yield? I am also not sure on the spacing – some sources say 1 per square foot, others say 4.
I am planning on planting the following seeds outdoors: carrots, lettuce, beans, cucumber, corn, marigold, nasturtium, and basil. I was going to plant onion sets, certified seed potatoes, and the rest store-bought transplants. Are any of the crops I plan on growing from seed better as transplants or vice versa?
I have tried to stagger the planting of certain crops (carrots, onions, lettuce, potatoes) to spread out the harvest. Did I go about this the right way?

I am excited to get started and any advice would be very much appreciated!

Posted in Garden Plans, Guest Posts | 3 Comments

April 2012 Garden Update

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Emily

To say I’m busy is an understatement–I almost have more posts than I have days and time! That’s good, it just means I’m a little behind and always have 14 drafts waiting.

Here is how my garden has been doing:

These are my vegetables I started from seed. These pics were taken at the end of March.

I’m also trying to grow some perennial flowers from seed to put in my front garden bed. This is what they looked like at the end of March.

At this stage and size, it’s time to thin. I plant 2-3 seeds in each pot, but to give the plant the best chance of growing healthy and strong, it’s important to remove the competition. Steel yourself, take your scissors, and make some tough choices.

My goal is to grow the shortest, stockiest plants. So I almost always keep the smallest one!

Here are my trimmings. Looks like a lovely salad, or a plant graveyard.

Two weeks later (mid-April), and check out the growth! I have been watering with plant food/fertilizer.

Look how lovely my tomatoes, peppers, and parsley are! Notice how the tomatoes have thick stems and are spreading out more than up. I think this batch is my best yet!

Out in the garden, my broccoli transplants are growing well. The peas finally came up. I just added an awesome trellis to this bed, and updated my irrigation. Watch for those posts (that makes 16 drafts!).

And last but not least, my onions. When they were a little shorter than this, I fertilized them. They LOVE IT! Two weeks later, and they are twice as tall. I’ve found fertilizer is really the key to getting great onions. The faster the “leaves” grow, the more time they have to develop bulbs.

Everyone who sees this asks “An entire bed of onions?” Yes, it’s true. Last year I stored 5 “legs” of onions, and we used them all by January. I had the extra space, so I decided to grow something I knew we’d eat.

Happy gardening!

Posted in 2012, My SFG | 9 Comments

Asparagus

Spring Planting

Fall Planting

Soil and Fertilizer

Harvest

More Resources

Spicy Sweet Potato Hash

Indiana Square foot Gardening Plan

Talk About Leggy

Artichoke

Spring Planting

Fall Planting

Soil and Fertilizer

Harvest

More Resources

Minneapolis Square Foot Gardening Plan

When To Plant Your Garden

Types of Plants

Eggplant

Spring Planting

Fall Planting

Soil and Fertilizer

Harvest

More Resources

Idaho Square Food Gardening Plan

April 2012 Garden Update

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