How many do YOU plant per square??

I know what the newest books says about it ( i have it and 2 older printings of SFG )

What i would love to know is what do you do?? I have read on here about planting 9 onion insead of 16. But what about carrots , strawberries, cucs...?


THANKS


Joy

5 lettuce rather than 4 and pull the middle one up early.

I am going to try and sow the snap peas more thickly to get a bigger yield.

Also I surround the zucchini squash with spinach. All 8 squares around it since the spinach has been eaten up before the zucchini needs the space.

dreamingoutloud wrote:I know what the newest books says about it ( i have it and 2 older printings of SFG )

What i would love to know is what do you do?? I have read on here about planting 9 onion insead of 16. But what about carrots , strawberries, cucs...?


THANKS

Joy

Joy,

Some people plant 9 onions instead of 16 because they are anticipating larger onions, so each one needs a bit more room.
Carrots I do plant at 16 per SF
Cucumbers will be planted at 2 per SF
I do plant my leaf lettuces, spinach and swiss chard closer than recommended because I pick the leaves when they are very small. Leaf Lettuces and spinach will be planted at 16 per square.
I plant Romaine 4 per square because I like larger leaves of Romaine
Swiss Chard is planted at 9 instead of 4 per SF, again, I pick the leaves when they are very small, 4 - 6 inches with the stem.
Bigger plants like cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, eggplant and tomato will all get their own square.

My first crops were planted just as Mel recommends. I made these adjustments after I determined what worked for the way I harvest my veggies.

I'll use the onion example, but this can be applied to any veggie.

For MY needs, 16 onions per square is perfect. One onion is just enough for a casserole for 2 of us or for hamburgers & a salad. For my neighbor I would suggest she do just 9 per square because she has 3 in her family and makes larger batches of things to freeze.

In one of the teacher videos they tell you to think about (paraphrasing) "gourmet" veggies not "prize winning" ones.

The beauty of SFG is it's adaptability. There's no "law" that says I can't plant one square of onions at 16 per square and a second of 9 per square - and I thank you for this question because I think that's just what I'm going to do this year. I've even been known to really push the limit and "mix" my squares - plant 8 onions & 8 carrots in the same square.

In the past I have followed the "old book" and planted the tomato with 4 lettuces in the corners to be harvested early and 2 radishes in between each lettuce. Through the years I have done variations of this.

I don't like my bush beans to be 9 per square so I do 6. I got this from an article, and in MY area I've found this to be true: Because bean plants have fairly weak root systems, deep, close cultivation injures the plant roots, delays harvest and reduces yields.

Yes, I "mostly" follow the spacing recommendations, but not always.

I agree that there are fundamentals of SFG that are debatable. Spacing is one for me.

I have gone from 4 leaf lettuces to a square to 9 because I harvest early. My spinaches may get tighter as time goes on, too.

But, the thing to consider is that these are individual tests by us. If we get too tight, the plants start cannibalizing nutrients and don't grow too well.....it will be hard to tell, imo, whether it was the spacing or if the plants are still really young.

I trust Mel's testing with spacing. But, there are a few debatables, too. I think, as gardeners, we just have to be willing to play around some....but realize we may have to go back to the drawing board, too. (The drawing board being Mel's recommended spacings.)

I don't think this is going to be worth quite $0.02 but, for what it is worth.... (penny thoughts)

I tend to look at how far apart plant should be in the row (final spacing) and plant them that far away from each other (all ways) in their square.

For things like Brussels sprouts, I look at Camprn's garden. (every other square)
For zucchini and cucumbers, this year I'll go 1 per SF and train them up a stick.

Onions... I do go 16 but selectively thin. (Always pull the largest plant when I need to use one; giving the others room to grow....works for me) Same with carrots, beet greens and leaf lettuce.

In early spring I make my grid with radish seeds.

Debs....dependent on the dumb luck the Creator built into His seed. A gift for us who live by the sweat of our brow.