applying square foot gardening to container gardening! help!

Just to clarify, I'm not using a 4' x 4' box/raised bed; I don't have one, nor can I afford one at the time.  Even if I could afford a 4' x 4' raised bed, I wouldn't be able to afford filling the the box/raised bed.

Although I'm not using the 4' x 4' raised bed itself, I'm doing container gardening, and using the planting guidelines Mel suggests (4" plant spacing=9 plants per square foot; 3" spacing=16 per square foot; 12"  plant spacing=1 plant per square foot; 6" spacing=4 per square foot).

Somebody said I can figure out the square footage of my containers by multiplying the length x width of the container and dividing that by 144 and you will get the square footage of your container (you use 144 since a 1' x 1' square is the equivalent of 12" x 12" and 12 x 12=144)

I'll list an example of this below with one of my containers....

23 x 16=368; 368 divided by 144=2.5 square feet.

However what I'm confused about is how many 1' x 1' squares can I put for the container size I listed?  It is 58 quarts, which is the equivalent of 14.5 gallons.

ittehbittehkitteh 

from Kelejan in British Columbia.

A good idea basing your planting on the SFG spacing in your containers. Remember to make sure they are well watered and that you use some good compost.

Yes thank you for your kudos and replying to my post so quickly.  Unfortunately I still have no idea how many squares to use for the container size I listed with the dimensions I listed.  As I said it's a 14.5 gallon container and the dimensions of it are 23" x 16".  I am confused with how many 1' x 1' squares I could put in this container; can you please help with this?

ittehbittehkitteh wrote:Just to clarify, I'm not using a 4' x 4' box/raised bed; I don't have one, nor can I afford one at the time.  Even if I could afford a 4' x 4' raised bed, I wouldn't be able to afford filling the the box/raised bed.

Although I'm not using the 4' x 4' raised bed itself, I'm doing container gardening, and using the planting guidelines Mel suggests (4" plant spacing=9 plants per square foot; 3" spacing=16 per square foot; 12"  plant spacing=1 plant per square foot; 6" spacing=4 per square foot).

Somebody said I can figure out the square footage of my containers by multiplying the length x width of the container and dividing that by 144 and you will get the square footage of your container (you use 144 since a 1' x 1' square is the equivalent of 12" x 12" and 12 x 12=144)

I'll list an example of this below with one of my containers....

23 x 16=368; 368 divided by 144=2.5 square feet.

However what I'm confused about is how many 1' x 1' squares can I put for the container size I listed?  It is 58 quarts, which is the equivalent of 14.5 gallons.

Okay, I will try to give this consideration but I am not fully sure I know how to verbalize this.  You are correct, you have 2.5 square feet in that container that is 23 x 16.  The surface area is what determines the spacing.  It does not matter how deep the container is.  For instance, some on the forum use 6" deep beds and some use 12" deep beds (or somewhere in between.  The depth does not matter.  If it was important then we would be doing cubic feet and not square feet gardening.  In these situations it is the surface area.  ie - 1 square foot - if 4" spacing then nine per square foot no matter whether the depth is 6" or 12".  

So in your 23 x 16 container, you have 2.5 square foot - using 4 inch spacing -
1 square foot = 9 plants
1 square foot = 9 plants
1/2 sq foot = 4 or 5 plants
Therefore - you could put 9 + 9 + 4.5 plants = 22 or 23 plants.

ittehbittehkitteh wrote: As I said it's a 14.5 gallon container and the dimensions of it are 23" x 16".  I am confused with how many 1' x 1' squares I could put in this container; can you please help with this?

Is this a round container?  If so then the mouth of it, the opening, is either 23" or 16".  The other measurement would be the height of the container.  If it is round, then use only the measurement for the top of it.  At this point the height doesn't come into play.  Either way, whether it is 23" at the opening or 16" at the opening, you will only get, at the most, one square foot.  Hope this helps some.

Kitteh, I concur with Yolos. You only need 6" of Mel's Mix made with quality composts. If you want the fill higher, use a clean fill on the bottom, like washed, weed-free sand, place some weed fabric on the fill, then add the Mel's Mix.

I think the depth does matter as the deeper it is the more water it can hold so would not dry out as quickly as a more shallow container.

23"x 16"
I would fudge it a bit and call it 2 sq ft with an extra row across the top to add more or different seed to.