Square Foot Gardening Success Story

 

After the March 20, 2008, meeting, Robin Maymar was so inspired by Tom Harris’ presentation on Square Foot Gardening that she brought before and after photos to the April meeting. She has earned bragging rights on her month-old garden. Said Robin, “So far it has been more successful than anything else I have done.” We asked her to tell her story, so here it is in her own words.

 

I got the hardy plank boards (called decking) at Lowe’s over spring break and put together the garden on March 23. They recommended an angle plate. That was very easy to screw into the plank and put together the corners. I have wondered for a long time if that plastic and wood hardy plank would work as a garden edging. It is very expensive (16 ft for $31.94; they cut it in half for free), but if it lasts, it will be worth it. I got one piece at a discount because it had been broken, and I just cut the broken piece off. The sides are a little less than 6 inches—not ideal, but the only size I could find. I cut down into the yard to make it the full 8 inches deep.

 

Part of the reason the garden was so easy to do was that I was in the process of sifting through a thoroughly composted compost heap (see photo). So adding a bag of perlite and some peat moss was not difficult. I planted corn, beans, and squash from new seed, and cosmos from seed I had left from last year. Then cucumbers, and lettuce and mesclun from fresh seeds. The cherry tomatoes, which have now gone into huge vines were $3 each; they came from the Herb Society. I put a basil plant in between the tomatoes. It is hard to find now, but has beautiful purple flowers.

 

I have been making salads out of all the lettuce and the basil. The tomatoes today (May 1, 2008) are beginning to turn red.

 

I have found that putting the squash and cucumbers on the ground makes homes for bugs, so you can see the little metal platforms by the garden for them to rest on. These platforms came with the house and I was puzzled by them. It turns out that the former owner liked to cook in the fireplace when it was cold outside, and he had made lots of the racks for different cooking grills. They work great for cucumbers.

 

The “after” picture is about five weeks later, in April. The dividers are some lattice I had purchased for another project and then did not use. My husband used screws to attach them, so they won’t move. I have since made two more gardens and used old mini-blinds. They did not get attached, and the cat has been moving them around. I used brads to stick them together.

 

I have not been a very successful gardener in the past. We have had things in pots for ages, but I have not had very good soil, and my gardens have been too far away from the house. Some things have converged this year to make this garden a lot more successful. We moved a lot of brush, built a new garden shed, and removed an old one that made the spot available for a little garden. The cost of food went up, which encourages me to garden, and Dr. Harris gave us a really easy compost mixture recipe to use.

 

That compost mixture has made it easy to maintain the garden. The last key to this successful garden was “water by hand.” I go out every morning and sit with my coffee and water by hand. It helps that the dog loves to do this with me, and I can get in the car and drive off as soon as everything has had a good drink. Somehow that dawn chorus of birds and a thriving garden help get my busy day off to a great start.