(In the Garden #1...)

Introduction to Square Foot Gardening

My grandmother always had a vegetable garden in the backyard when I was growing up. It wasn't huge, but it provided us with lots of tomatoes, green beans, squash and kohlrabi. When I got older, I liked the idea of growing my own food, but, well, I'm kind of lazy, and gardening seemed like a lot of work. I guess you could say I liked the idea of gardening more than I actually liked gardening itself.

Before we bought our first house and finally had room to garden, I stumbled upon the 1970s PBS show, “Square Foot Gardening”, and the companion book that was published at that time. The author, Mel Bartholomew, came up with an easier, more manageable way of gardening. I decided that when I had my first garden, I would use his principles in planning and laying it out. I've had three different vegetable gardens in three different houses and have used the square foot method each time. Each garden varied in size and shape, but all were based on the square foot gardening principles.

Over the next week, I will be writing a series of short articles geared for those of you who, like me, may like the idea of gardening more than the actual work of gardening. It is my goal to inspire those sitting on the fence to jump off on the side of trying to grow vegetables for the first time. The month of May is a perfect time to start a vegetable garden, and it's not too late to plan one this week, especially if you are willing to start small. I will tell you how to prepare, plant and care for a 4' x 4' garden square.

Tomorrow – Basics of Square Foot Gardening

They say I'm lazy but it takes all my time – Joe Walsh, Life's Been Good