mega-sized SFG?

I'm wondering if anyone has seen or done any large-scale SFG.  All my life I dreamed of having a 1/4 acre garden providing all the vegetables my family of five could eat including canning for winter and spring.  Now, by the time I actually  have that much room for gardening available, and time to work with it, the kids are grown and I'm close to retirement and don't really need that much even for row gardening.  Besides, the few acres we have are so rocky that raised beds are the only real option.

But, even so, I can't help wonder if anyone's done a SFG with many hundreds or even thousands of square feet of SFG.  

I read the thread on how many square feet do you have.  OhioGardener's comments on going from 1800 square feet of row garden to getting more produce from 240 square feet of SFG was interesting but, still, I'd love to see pictures of a thousand square foot, or larger, SFG.

Interesting thoughts, but I can't imagine caring for that much raised bed area. The amount of compost alone to refresh the beds each year would be unavailable to me.  Since the post you referenced, I have expanded my raised beds a little bit to just over 300 sq ft, and it is unlikely I'll add any more.  There are just 2 of us now, and we produce all of our vegetables for each year, with more that we give away to neighbors and the food bank, so there is no need to grow more than we do.

That being said, I grew up in a very large family of 11, and we grew all of our own food. We not only grew all of the vegetables and fruit which was preserved for winter food, but we also had animals that provided milk, eggs, and meat for the entire year. The animals also provided the fertilizer for the gardens, which covered about 1/2 acre.  To be quite honest, it was a good life but I would not want to relive it.

Meanwhile, there was an interesting video on a youtube channel I follow about a young person turning her 100 square meter yard into a food forest that you might find interesting. It isn't SFG, but the process is doable.

dalepres wrote:I'm wondering if anyone has seen or done any large-scale SFG.  All my life I dreamed of having a 1/4 acre garden providing all the vegetables my family of five could eat including canning for winter and spring.  Now, by the time I actually  have that much room for gardening available, and time to work with it, the kids are grown and I'm close to retirement and don't really need that much even for row gardening.  Besides, the few acres we have are so rocky that raised beds are the only real option.

But, even so, I can't help wonder if anyone's done a SFG with many hundreds or even thousands of square feet of SFG.  

I read the thread on how many square feet do you have.  OhioGardener's comments on going from 1800 square feet of row garden to getting more produce from 240 square feet of SFG was interesting but, still, I'd love to see pictures of a thousand square foot, or larger, SFG.

one of the churches here have a community garden for the member and citizen of denton, tx and a farm where they grow food for community. This year they have built about 50-60 raised beds and that just the start. they have many volunteers helping them. The fall crops did well. I'm not sure if they are using the old or new square foot garden method.

Good suggestion on the Back to Eden Garden, Sanderson.  I had hoped to double the size of my BTE area this winter, but I haven't been able to get enough wood chips yet. Hopefully I'll get some chips soon, and get it done. I'll take some before and after pictures once I get to work on it.

Thanks for all the replies.

Raised beds are the only option for where I live in Oklahoma.  Out of nearly 3 acres, the only 2500 square feet that is tillable is almost all clay with really poor drainage.  Of course 2500 square feet, intensively  gardened, might be all we need but we're going with the raised beds and SFG.  Our first bed, 4x12, is in place.  I hurried it in last fall with locally made garden mix, leaving it 6 inches shallow (it's two 2x12 deep) leaving space to add Mel's Mix, so I could get my garlic in.  

I have the supplies, including for Mel's Mix, to top that one off and do three more that size before the end of winter for my early plantings.

So that already gets me to 192 square feet, which seems larger than most from the size thread.  I'm hardly expert enough to have the biggest garden here   so that's partly what's driving my questions.

My plans are tentatively for at least a dozen such beds this year for 576 square feet.  In the space we have planned, we were considering at least another dozen next year and still have room for another dozen beyond that.  

I'm probably going to retire later this year or perhaps next year and I'm building out all the infrastructure, etc., for  gardens, chickens, pigs, bees, etc. in preparation.  Planning over 1000 square feet, perhaps more, you all must think I'm nuts - and I might well be. 

dalepres wrote:Raised beds are the only option for where I live in Oklahoma.  Out of nearly 3 acres, the only 2500 square feet that is tillable is almost all clay with really poor drainage. 

This is somewhat a misconception.  I understand that you prefer to have raised beds, as do I, but clay with poor drainage can be turned into rich topsoil with BTE.  Here is southern Ohio we have nothing but clay with poor drainage, unless you happen to live in a river bottom area - which I don't. Farmers all tile their fields to pull the water out of the soil so they can attempt to plant early enough to get good crops. It is very difficult to garden in the clay because it wet and gummy in the spring, and hard as a rock in the summer. Root crops simply can't expand in it.

Five years ago I started a BTE area in what used to be an in-ground garden. I put down cardboard, and then covered it with 8" to 10" of wood chips and let it set.  A year later when it was time for spring planting I raked down through the chips and found 2" to 3" of dark black soil from the decomposing wood chips, and hundreds of earthworms working the soil. I transplanted some squash plants into the "soil" and they grew like none I had ever grown before. After 3 years I had to add more wood chips since the original ones had decomposed down to the point soil was showing through the chips, and then this past fall I added more chips to refresh the bed.  One of my projects for this winter was to expand the size of the BTE garden because it has been so successful, but so far I have not been able to get enough wood chips to begin the project.

But, then, BTE is a form of raised beds, too, isn't it?   Just not walled in.  I watched a recent video from Charles Dowding where he removed the board frames from some of his own beds.  In any case, you're both right, Sanderson and OG, there are ways to build up. 

One reason for building up so high is my wife is in a wheelchair and the higher beds will let her do some gardening - but that doesn't mean all the beds have to be 2 feet high.

Part of our retirement plan is canning our vegetables - we do it now with store bought so we'd like to do our own instead.  The bulk beets, beans, corn, etc., could be BTE or Dowding-style no-dig, and use SFG beds for fresh consumption and flowers.

Edit: Whoops - I just now caught the off-topic comment.  Ok.  No more BTE. 

dalepres wrote:Part of our retirement plan is canning our vegetables - we do it now with store bought so we'd like to do our own instead.  The bulk beets, beans, corn, etc., could be BTE or Dowding-style no-dig, and use SFG beds for fresh consumption and flowers.

We grow enough vegetables in the raised beds for canning or freezing to get us through the winter until the next summer's vegetables start coming in. Fortunately, we never have to buy vegetables, and we give away a lot of excess that we grow. Our raised beds are all No Dig, and they do just fine by nothing more than topping off with fresh compost spring and fall.  It is amazing how much food can be grown in 300 sq ft of raised beds with rich soil.

OhioGardener wrote:

dalepres wrote:Part of our retirement plan is canning our vegetables - we do it now with store bought so we'd like to do our own instead.  The bulk beets, beans, corn, etc., could be BTE or Dowding-style no-dig, and use SFG beds for fresh consumption and flowers.

We grow enough vegetables in the raised beds for canning or freezing to get us through the winter until the next summer's vegetables start coming in. Fortunately, we never have to buy vegetables, and we give away a lot of excess that we grow. Our raised beds are all No Dig, and they do just fine by nothing more than topping off with fresh compost spring and fall.  It is amazing how much food can be grown in 300 sq ft of raised beds with rich soil.

That's why I raised this topic.  I'm stuck on 1972 Storey and Mother Earth News along with old daydreams of a big Troy-Bilt tiller and 100 foot long rows.  Modern intensive gardening practices are awesome - if I can make them work for me.  Time will tell.

dalepres wrote:That's why I raised this topic.  I'm stuck on 1972 Storey and Mother Earth News along with old daydreams of a big Troy-Bilt tiller and 100 foot long rows.  Modern intensive gardening practices are awesome - if I can make them work for me.  Time will tell.

I have one of those old 8 hp Troy-Bilt tillers sitting in the garage. Bought it in 1976. Hasn't been used for years, ever since I went to No Dig. 

OhioGardener wrote:

dalepres wrote:That's why I raised this topic.  I'm stuck on 1972 Storey and Mother Earth News along with old daydreams of a big Troy-Bilt tiller and 100 foot long rows.  Modern intensive gardening practices are awesome - if I can make them work for me.  Time will tell.

I have one of those old 8 hp Troy-Bilt tillers sitting in the garage. Bought it in 1976. Hasn't been used for years, ever since I went to No Dig. 

I have a  20-year-old Craftsman rear-tine that hasn't been used for about 18 of those 20.  I hope to never use it again.

Thanks, Sanderson.  I'm going to try a table-top raised bed for a kitchen/herb garden closer to the back door.  Inspired by your beautiful garden, I'm going to do a variation on the bed in the picture below as a table-top.  I'm going to put in a three foot wide entry path with two foot wide beds on the sides.  Closer to the back side bed, I'll narrow the side beds to one foot wide, making the path five food wide allowing wheelchair turning diameter.  I'll post pictures as I go.

sanderson wrote:Yes, cardboard and wood chips alone is fine as long as one waits to plant for a year or so, when the lower chips are well on their way to breaking down.

This post has veered off topic.  Please, no more BTE discussion.

There is a BTE thread, just use the Search feature at the top left hand corner. I am going there tight now as that is something I want to do when I get back to England.
along with SFG on a larger scale than I have up to date.  In addition looking into a Frost Garden.

I will not be doing it alone, but will have help . Cant wait to get there. Very frustrating this Pandemic.  My brother's daughter and her husband, will start moving in to the new place next week, my brother and his wife some time later this month.  When they are settled in I will give them my ideas of what I need to be ready for when I get over there so hopefully I  will have a flying start.

sanderson wrote:KJ,  The BTE thread is not accessible for new members.

Sorry sanderson; when does one become and old member?

    Whew!  I thought you were referring to us almost 80-year-olds.  LOL

I appreciate being warned not to stray off topic    Usually I am aware of it.