|
|
Bottom
Introduction
Square foot gardening is a technique developed by Mel Bartholomew in the
eighties, and it's gained a lot of popularity since then. When faced with
a community garden (allotment) where almost all
the renters gave up in disgust by the end of the year, drowning in weeds
and wilt, he decided there had to be a better way of doing this, and
invented one.
The Basics
The basis of the technique is that you create garden beds that are divided
into square foot areas. I use string (for now); you can use sticks,
pencils, pebbles - whatever will mark off a distinct square. His technique
is based on a four foot square, but I have limited space and use three
foot squares, plus rectangles in areas that are not big enough. I'm
finding that three foot squares is a good size for me - it has to be about
the right size for you to be able to reach across comfortably - though
you're supposed to have paths all the way round.
You can use raised beds, or dig the patch and use your ground, after
making it fertile in whatever way is best. Tall plants are grown upright
on supports - cucumbers, tomatoes, squash... you get the idea. You can
grow relatively large numbers of plants together in one square, following
the given spacing guides. Row planting was mainly developed for modern
agriculture; this isn't needed in your back garden, and it's why a lot of
people give up. They grow too many plants, and can't maintain the garden -
it becomes a chore.
As soon as you harvest a square, you add a bit of compost/whatever and
grow something else there. So, it's an intensive method, but you grow what
you need - and it's very simple and easy to maintain. You can use this
technique to grow a cabbage a week, or to grow a crop for freezing -
whatever suits you.
Me and Square Foot Gardening
I stumbled upon this technique while surfing Amazon.com - I thought the
book looked interesting. I got Cash from Square Foot Gardening
out of the library, then Square Foot Gardening - and after that
was hooked. I love squares and uniformity, so it seemed tailor made for
me.
I have joined a few clubs and groups along the way, and the people who
practise this technique seem friendly and willing to share advice and
information. I've become hooked on it - it's a real joy to see things
growing and shaping up, to experiment and learn. I am lucky to live in a
part of the world where one seems to be able to grow stuff year-round. My
original reason for starting to garden was to save money, but it's turned
into something from which I gain a great deal of satisfaction and
peace... while I work in the garden, I feel so much more together, and
carry that through the rest of the day. I can forget mundane troubles and
just be myself.
Exercise and fresh air are wonderful bonuses, and long-overdue. I hope
this interest will sustain itself. I am certainly enjoying every minute of
it. :-)
It is funny to me, because when I was a child I found
gardening dull and boring - I suppose it's true, we really do change as we
grow up. Also fun because Dad is also a keen gardener, so we can swap
notes and news. :-) The wyrd had a part to play in all of this, I don't
doubt - I have needed "space" of some kind for a long time now, and here I
have it. Also, Don was laid off just a few weeks after I began to garden;
we currently have no income, and it was as if something were telling me to
try and become a little less dependent on the rat race before the
event....
There are changes ahead for us, I know this; I have a
feeling the garden will be a central theme to those changes.
The Books
Top
This page created 21 Dec 2001
Last update 08 Nov 2003
© 2001-2007 White Raven
The Wild Wyrd World
Annwn, the Wild Wyrd Web Site
Affordable
Astrology Reports
Raven's Roads: Travels, Motorcycles and Writing
Markeroni, the Gentle Art of
Landmark-Snarfing
|
