Engineers and SFG

I happened to pick up a copy of "All New Square Foot Gardening, 2nd Edition" at the used book store, and spent the weekend reading it. While reading it, it occurred to me that Mel Bartholomew's engineering background is woven throughout the works of SFG, much like my engineering background is woven into my design/implementation of our raised bed gardens.

I built and set up the raised beds years before I became aware of SFG, so my beds do not have Mel's Mix in them, but it amazing how the soil mixture is engineered much like the description in the book.  My raised beds are 18" tall, so I could not begin to afford a mixture like Mel's Mix for the entire raised bed setup - the initial load of the beds needed 12 cubic yards to fill.  So I ordered 10 yards of "garden soil" from the local top soil & mulch company to fill the first 12" of all of the beds - it wasn't top soil, though, it was mostly clay. I mixed that top soil with Coarse Perlite and filled the beds to within 6" of the top (with the help of some strong neighbor boys). Then I made a mixture of my homemade compost, Coarse Perlite, and Coconut Coir. I used a different ratio, partly due to available resources, and partly because of past experience: 1/2 compost, 1/4 Perlite, 1/4 Coir, and supplemented with Azomite rock dust for minerals.  Over the years, as the dirt settled in the beds, I added more compost to re-fill them, so the percentage of compost is probably higher now.

Then I installed drip irrigation for the beds with zones to control the amount of water each bed gets based on the plants growing there, or not growing there as the case may be. The first fall I discovered I needed frost covers to protect the plants from the early frost, so I designed hoop-house covers for the beds. 

Another part of my gardening that was pre-SFG discovery, was intensive planting. Not in squares, but in rows with rows spaced the same distance apart and the seeds within the rows.  So, instead of having 40' rows in the in-ground garden, with enough room between the rows to walk between them, I now had 4' long rows with beans 4" apart and another row 4" away with the same spacing. Four 4' rows (16') gave more plants than the 40' rows in the old in-ground garden.  Carefully engineered spacing provided increased production of vegetables with less work, less weeding, less watering, and more beauty.

Then, I stumbled onto the SFG and a light bulb exploded! Whoa!  I already had the beds. I already had the growing medium. I already had the irrigation system. I already had the frost covers.  All I needed were square foot grids to place on top of the beds. Now instead of 1/4th of a section of the bed being beans, and another 1/4th being onions, etc., I could have a couple squares of beans, a couple squares of radishes, a couple of lettuce, a couple more of beans, etc., etc..  Much easier to plant & maintain, but also a lot easier for succession planting of vegetables.

My wife loves to say that if you give an engineer a box of toothpicks and a ball of string, he will build a mall.  Or, as Mel demonstrated, give him some compost & peat, and he will build a garden! 

I'll end this dissertation here, hope it isn't too long.


This is the original raised beds, before SFG took over....

Awesome beds.
Your story sounds much like mine.
I had designed my beds as hugelkultur beds.
I also utilized intensive planting.
I don't follow the SFG method as the folks here do but have learned a great deal that has helped me as a gardener.

Ohio, do you have a comparable photo with the new grids and early planting showing the spacing? Your beds are beautiful.

OhioGardener wrote:  My wife loves to say that if you give an engineer a box of toothpicks and a ball of string, he will build a mall.  Or, as Mel demonstrated, give him some compost & peat, and he will build a garden! 

sanderson wrote:Ohio,  do you have a comparable photo with the new grids and early planting showing the spacing?  Your beds are beautiful.

Thanks, Sanderson!  Unfortunately, I don't have any comparable photos. Until I started consciously thinking about spacing, I just automatically did things and never thought about taking pictures of them. One of the main reasons I wanted to move from in-ground gardens to raised beds was to get to total no-till gardening, and to stop walking on the garden soil. It was after the move that I realized there was no reason for wide spacing if I was not going to be walking between the rows. Then the gears in my engineering brain started turning.....

Liked your article. I have rebuilt several sfgs with 1/4 inch gal mesh on the bottom to keep voles out. I'll be rebuilding some of the others soon and like your metal sided ones. do you have any plans/dwgs/mat'l lists/ instructions I might be able to get? 
thanks,
Glenn

Glenn, I purchased those beds from Metal Garden Beds in Texas.  I selected them because of their design and the fact that they are 18" high, which is a lot easier on the back. (Plus the fact they had good prices with free shipping.  )  I filled the first 12" of the beds with "garden soil" that I bought from a local topsoil & mulch company, and then filled the top 6" with soilless mix. They have worked exceptionally well for me.

I will soon be posting some pictures of a new 30' x 30' area that I am developing for more beds. I am thinking of experimenting with Hugelkultur for the new beds, but haven't decided just yet.

Thanks Ohio Gardener,\
I have a friend who has built waist height hugelkultur gardens. She no longer has to bend over to garden! I will try to get her "structural design" info. they do have metal sides, but not from a kit, but metal purchased and then incorporated for the sides of the beds. She only uses certain species of logs and branches in the bottom, as some wood isn't good for gardening. she then fills the rest with her Mix, and adds compost each year. Let me know if you might want the info. 
thanks again,
Glenn

SQWIB wrote:I have quite a few photos of my Raised Hugelkultur bed builds if you are interested, let me know.

Thanks!  The photos would probably be worth seeing.  I have been doing some research on the Hugelkultur process, and the types of wood, etc., that can/should be used. Sounds like a worthwhile venture.  The new raised beds will be primarily for squash, cucumbers and other vining plants that will be there for the entire season.

OG, does the metal get hot in the summertime?

has55 wrote:OG, does the metal get hot in the summertime?

No, actually they reflect the sun off of them, and help keep the soil cooler.  I heavily mulch the beds, and they retain moisture very well.

Here is a reply to that question on the company's FAQ on the subject - good info if you ignore the marketing talk:

Hey all, I don't visit the forum much anymore but was inspired to come back on to read this article, as it was featured as a trending topic in the SFG newsletter (that somehow started coming to my inbox a few months ago). 

Just had to comment because I too was an engineer in a previous life! Yes indeed, the SFG method clicked with my engineering brain. Getting to build beds, build soil, make grids, the plant spacing... all of it. Took what seemed like a wild and organic thing and made it a precise method for my logic loving brain.

OhioGardener wrote:

SQWIB wrote:I have quite a few photos of my Raised Hugelkultur bed builds if you are interested, let me know.

Thanks!  The photos would probably be worth seeing.  I have been doing some research on the Hugelkultur process, and the types of wood, etc., that can/should be used. Sounds like a worthwhile venture.  The new raised beds will be primarily for squash, cucumbers and other vining plants that will be there for the entire season.

This will give you an idea of one of my Hugelkultur beds. This was a problem area that I had, I had just removed a tree recently.

I left out most of the build pics, because you already have your beds up.

Thanks, Sqwib! You have the wood a lot higher in the beds that I thought was done, but it makes sense.  I have an Ash tree that I cut down which I can use for the base - the small limbs were already shredded and used for mulch, but I still have trunks and larger limbs - and after the first freeze I will have the limbs from pruning the apple and pear trees. So, I think I will have enough wood.  I also have two Black Locust trees that I cut down, but I know from having used them for fence posts 50 years ago that they never, ever decompose.

Did you just water in the soil to get it settled down in between the tree trunks & limbs, or did you tamp it in a little?  I would assume it has to be pretty solidly packed in to keep it from settling too much after the beds are planted.

Again, thanks!

That is very interesting. I have never heard of Hugelkultur before. Very neat! What's the wood for?

Sounds amazing! That's a very neat method!

the raised hugelkultur beds  have logs and sticks in the bottom them to compost, but that also take up a lot of space . So the planting "mix" you use to plant in, doesn't have to fill the whole depth of the bed. 
There are plenty of sites with hugelkultur info, but the person I know who uses this method doesn't use any pine and a few other types of wood. You should be able to find this info easily. if not let me know and I'll ask her for her sources.

gwennifer wrote:Hey all, I don't visit the forum much anymore but was inspired to come back on to read this article, as it was featured as a trending topic in the SFG newsletter (that somehow started coming to my inbox a few months ago). 

Just had to comment because I too was an engineer in a previous life! Yes indeed, the SFG method clicked with my engineering brain. Getting to build beds, build soil, make grids, the plant spacing... all of it. Took what seemed like a wild and organic thing and made it a precise method for my logic loving brain.

Gwennifer!! Miss you! Your "Gwinnifer's table top beds is one of my favorite threads!

Folks, remember that this is a SFG Forum. I removed most of the photos, just leaving a few, as the method being described is not SFG. It can be researched elsewhere. Thanks, Sanderson

OhioGardener wrote:

has55 wrote:OG, does the metal get hot in the summertime?

No, actually they reflect the sun off of them, and help keep the soil cooler.  I heavily mulch the beds, and they retain moisture very well.

thank you.

sanderson wrote:Folks, remember that this is a SFG Forum.  I removed most of the photos, just leaving a few, as the method being described is not SFG.  It can be researched elsewhere. Thanks, Sanderson

Sanderson, Yes I know that, and I am very careful about my posts here.

My intention was to show folks an alternative to using a lot of Mels mix in taller beds, this absolutely can relate to SFG, the top can be covered with Mels Mix at a much lower cost, reduce water usage and add to the sustainability of a SFG.
Folks put marble chips, pea gravel and all kinds of things at the bottom as drainage and then top with Mels Mix, although I don’t agree with the stones.

Folks put fillers in the bottom of  large pots so they can save money on potting mix, why is this any different?

My reply was to  OhioGardeners post,
 "I selected them because of their design and the fact that they are 18" high, which is a lot easier on the back. (Plus the fact they had good prices with free shipping.  Very Happy )  I filled the first 12" of the beds with "garden soil" that I bought from a local topsoil & mulch company, and then filled the top 6" with soilless mix. They have worked exceptionally well for me.

I will soon be posting some pictures of a new 30' x 30' area that I am developing for more beds. I am thinking of experimenting with Hugelkultur for the new beds, but haven't decided just yet".

If Ohio gardener had some old wood and other materials on hand, he could have saved the cost of the first 12” of his new beds.

Folks that have non SFG existing beds that have switched to SFG have topped their existing beds with Mels Mix and called it a day, is that not SFG?

Folks build Square Foot Gardens over top of old compost piles and old lasagna gardens, does that disqualify it from SFG.

Not looking for an argument but I think you misunderstood my intentions and I think it was wrong to edit the post as it may have helped other forum members.

I think glenn got my point.

OhioGardener wrote:Thanks, Sqwib! You have the wood a lot higher in the beds that I thought was done, but it makes sense.  I have an Ash tree that I cut down which I can use for the base - the small limbs were already shredded and used for mulch, but I still have trunks and larger limbs - and after the first freeze I will have the limbs from pruning the apple and pear trees. So, I think I will have enough wood.  I also have two Black Locust trees that I cut down, but I know from having used them for fence posts 50 years ago that they never, ever decompose.

Did you just water in the soil to get it settled down in between the tree trunks & limbs, or did you tamp it in a little?  I would assume it has to be pretty solidly packed in to keep it from settling too much after the beds are planted.

Again, thanks!

No problem,
Just an FYI Sanderson is correct that this is a SFG thread and shouldn't deter from that.
I'll answer this last question then if you are interested in more on this subject, you should probably start a thread under Non-SFG Gardening.

Every layer is saturated, I dont tamp but most do, mine settled like crazy this season 3rd year.
I have been heavily watering to distribute the soil throughout the bed.