How to determine 1, 4, 9, or 16??

Hi,
We are planning our first SFG in a couple of decades and I'm needing help knowing how many of some plants you would put in 1sq ft. For example, it says to space cucumbers 6" apart... so would you plant 4 in the one square?? That just seems very crowded!
I hope someone can help me with this! Thanks! Samadhi

Samadhi wrote:Hi,
We are planning our first SFG in a couple of decades and I'm needing help knowing how many of some plants you would put in 1sq ft. For example, it says to space cucumbers 6" apart... so would you plant 4 in the one square?? That just seems very crowded!
I hope someone can help me with this! Thanks! Samadhi

Do you have the book All New Square Foot Gardening? There have been lots of changes from the original.

In the book is says cucumbers are 2 to 2 square and up a trellis.

No, I don't have the book... on the waiting list at the library. I may need to try to find it here. So, did you mean 2 in a square??

Samadhi wrote:No, I don't have the book... on the waiting list at the library. I may need to try to find it here. So, did you mean 2 in a square??

Yes, sorry for the typo. Two plants per square.

Do Not use the Space To number given on most seed packs.
Use the Thin To information as follows:

Example-- If it says Thin to 4:

Always start with 12 divided by (whatever the thin to number) in this example, 4 = 3.

3 squared is 9. Nine plants go in a square.

Briefly it goes like this: 12 divided by 4 = 3. And 3 times 3 is 9.

Or another way to put it is 12 divided by any thin to number equals an answer and square it.

Try it with a thin to number of 6. Your answer should be 4 per square

llama momma what about plants that take more then 1 square?
Like squash 2 squires per plant what squares do you place it in?

Check this webpage. It has good information.

http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net/plant-spacing/

A couple differences with the chart linked above for some varieties that I have grown:

Broccoli - 1 per square

Cabbage, Brussel sprouts, Cauliflower - I have only grown these once but it worked at 1 per square.

Potato - I think common wisdom on this site is more than one per square. I am trying 4 per square this year. It may depend on how many eyes are on each piece of potato that is planted.

thanks for the link clears up most of the question I've had even better then Mel's new book with Answers

yolos wrote:A couple differences with the chart linked above for some varieties that I have grown:

Broccoli - 1 per square

Like a lot of these things it seems to depend....
If you grow broccoli for one head and then pull the plant 1/sf works well. If you grow to have side sprouts all summer/fall 4/9sf works well. I grow older varieties that do a lot of secondary sprouts and by Fall they are small shrubs.

I guess you are right Turan. Here in the hot south we are lucky to get enough cool weather to just get a head in the spring. For me, in the spring, they will bolt before any side shoots come.

HillbillyBob

I put zucchini 1 per 2 squares, made that a corner square and the next one over and let the plant lean outside of the box. The plant was quite productive, and no trellis, it just took off.

Yellow squash I tried in tall orange home depot buckets and they looked great but I don't think there was sufficient pollination, the fruit grew and looked promising then just gave up. That's all the experience I have with squash so far.

I disagree with that link that was posted in regards to Asparagus which said not to to grown in a square foot garden or something like that. Mel's All New Sq Ft Garden book, the 2006 edition, says you can put 1 or 4 crowns to a square. I have a 4ft by 4ft bed ready for 25 crowns coming in April. So a few will have 2 per square and of course the rest will have 1 per square. If things go well then I'll add other varieties to the box.

My Yukon Gold potatoes were planted 4 to a square. I followed the directions in the book, Mel says use at least pieces with one sprouted eye and about 1 - 1/2 inch cut pieces. I've also read to plant whole potatoes if they are golf ball size, don't cut those. Just wait until the soil has warmed to 45 degrees. Been very pleased with the results so far. I'm getting ready to plant a whole box of 3 varieties early next week.

Thanks for the link hardcoir. I really needed that, also all the additional 'updates' several of y'all provided! How tall do Brussels sprouts get? I planted 9 transplants in 8 squares in one of my flip top beds. Hoping they don't get too tall for the tulle.

yolos wrote:I guess you are right Turan. Here in the hot south we are lucky to get enough cool weather to just get a head in the spring. For me, in the spring, they will bolt before any side shoots come.

Tell me about it. I guess I'm lucky enough to have a couple side shoots on my broccoli, but it takes about 12 plants to get a meal from them. Having such a short season for cool weather crops does bum me out sometimes, but then I look at my citrus trees and figure they cancel each other out.