Hi from Sunny(drought) California

Debbie is my name and I'm old. Even older than I thought when we tried to..still working on it..put in a very very large garden. About 40 by 20 foot currently. I think we need to thing smaller even if we have 2.5 acres of weeds we could 'use'. Heh.

So many questions about a compact garden. I'm old school, from my parents and grands teaching.

 I can, freese, going to try drying, wildcraft (at least I know the plants but hubby is city boy so wouldn't eat anything I would bring back anyways LOL.

So far this 'season' we have okra- that something ate- corn that is growing like weeds! squash! lots and different types. Bell peppers that are doing poorly. a couple tomatoes for the table- there is a funny story about to many tomatoes and how those red balls just keep popping up in the freezer, 5 years later.......

So here's to a great growing year and learning new things!

Debbie, Welcome to the Forum from Fresno, CA! SFG is perfect for desert or drought areas.

My heart just did a little flip when I read you have a 20' x 40' row garden. That's room for 6 x 3 = 18 SFG boxes of 4' x 4', or 288 sq. ft. of weed free, water conserving, seed conserving, intense planting, pretty garden. It all depends on what you are able to do and how much $$ you have to get started. Do you have some younger help to set it up? You can start small, say 3 boxes 4' x 4' and expand as you can. My heart is still beating a little fast!

I recommend that you read All New Square Foot Gardening, 1st or 2nd Edition, by Mel Bartholomew. Reading this book will open up a whole new way of gardening. After you set up, you only need to replenish with compost, planting after planting, year after year. For those with health issues, there are Table Top designs (maybe just for herbs to start), For long carrots, parsnips, etc. the boxes can be made higher by adding another row of 2" x 4"s and filling with more Mel's Mix.

Again, welcome.

Hi DebbieLL.  Welcome from Atlanta, GA!

You're never too old to learn new (and BETTER) systems.  I'd say SFG fits into that description!