(In the Garden #7 – Conclusion)

Rebel Square Foot Gardener

Time for me to confess - I've been a square foot gardener for almost thirty years - and I don't always obey all the principles of square foot gardening...

I was quite obedient with the garden in my first house - nine 4' x 4' blocks, neatly framed with 2” x 4”s, set about two feet away from each other in three rows of three - classic square foot gardening. I also had eight hours of sun over the entire yard and no rabbits or deer to contend with.

The next house had nine oak trees and a small patch of yard that got about five to six hours of sun at most. And deer...and rabbits... In this smaller area, I made three 4' x 8' frames, parallel to each other about 18” apart. I also had one 8' frame that was only 18” wide, dedicated to tomatoes, again, 18” away from the other frames. This smaller set-up allowed me to make the best used of the smaller sun area, and also keeps plants closer together to fence in animal-vulnerable crops such as lettuce and spinach.

Present U-shaped garden, with fence panels, planted with lettuce, spinach and peas.

In my present house, I have a U-shaped square foot garden, outlined in brick. It is the equivalent of seven 4' x 4' blocks, but all conjoined to one another. It gets lots of sun, but also a steady stream of deer and rabbits that use it as a salad bar.  The compactness of the blocks makes it easy to set up my fence panels and move them around as I change from cool to warm weather crops.

The herb garden, with oregano, chives, sage, tarragon and thyme, with room for the basil and parsley seedlings that are still in the cold frame.

This yard also has a dedicated three-tiered herb garden frame, 4' x 4' for the bottom block, with two smaller blocks each set at angles to the lower one. Not square foot at all, but very good for growing both perennial and annual herbs.

My final rebellious act of square foot gardening is how I grow peas. Rather than grow tall (4 foot) peas along an end trellis or support, I choose shorter (2-3 foot) varieties. Since I have to protect them from the deer and rabbits anyway, I sow the seeds in a fenced 4' x 4' square, quite thickly. As they come up, they grow together, support each other, and shade each others' roots (good for a cool weather vegetable). When it comes time to harvest, I just reach into the fenced area and pick the peas as needed. I can easily reach them, but the rabbits can't. (Sometimes the deer eat the top-most ones...)

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I hope I've encouraged some of you think about putting in a garden this year. Maybe I've encouraged you to think about it for next year. Don't be afraid to be a bit rebellious. If you only have a 2' x 8' area of ground in a sunny place, then plant it that way. The two most important rules of square foot gardening, in my opinion, are 1) make your garden small enough to reach in so that you never, ever, have to step on your soil once it is prepared, and 2) follow the plant spacing recommended for most plants, i. e., don't be afraid of planting things closer together than you think they should be. You'll be amazed at how much you can grow in a well-prepared, small garden. Now, go plant something!

The internet is full of articles and advice on square foot gardening. There are handicapped versions and patio versions of square foot garden plans as well. Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew is the classic text on the subject. You can also get ideas on his website at www.squarefootgardening.org.

Tomorrow is another day only up to a point. - Annie Dillard