Square foot gardening on the terrace

Hi,

Can you please let me know what are the different vegetable plants that can be grown in SFG.

Also, can we have SFG on the terrace garden.

Thanks,
Vijaya.

Welcome to the forum....I am sure you will get lots of great info from the ones that understand your weather temperatures so the zones matter greatly.....where I live in lower California in the United States below San Diego and 8 miles near the Mexico border we can grow mostly everything.....in the cold months we can just use a lil plastic sheeting to cover like a blanket....
Is the terrace on the ground level?
This is very exciting to me for you to be on our forum.....I help teach a few very young children 4 and 5 yr olds.....and I named each 3x4's and 4x4's differnt countries and one of my 4x4's on a table top is named India....so the children will know which squares I am talking about .....and most of the veggies are those that I eat in a salad.....
Love to hear how this system will be working for you and how did you learn about it....we are trying to spread the word all over the world.......
Ruth

In my time zone most people are sleeping ....so hopefully by adding India to your title will help get earlier responses....
Do you have All New Square Gardening book by Mel Bartholomew? he even teaches how to grow gardens on rooftops...for apartment dwellers....so your weather temps are important....
One of my daughters lives in Washington state which is much cooler than my area and tomatoes and peppers are very difficult to grow there....needs what is called Hoop houses ....pvc pipe curved and covered with plastic sheeting over the plants...
Another daughter lives a few states over in Utah....and that weather is very different......I visited for several months there last summer and grew herbs on their little 2nd floor balcony....and had a 5 ft tall x about 2 ft wide mini green house for starting plants from seeds...and now my 2 daughters are having fun with Square Foot Gardening.....the one in Utah is teaching her grandchildren....love spreading the info on the system.....
Ruth

Vijaya to SFG. Look forward to seeing how you manage things there in India. I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised with your results.

Lots of help and suggestions here with any questions you have.

Checked up on Goggle and found out your weather is similar to our state of Georgia...so will try to contact the powers that be what veggies grow good in that area.......
Members.....this is a new friend in India......needs lots of info.....
Ruth

Hi Vijaya Raman,

Welcome to the forum. Mel B. and staff have been working overtime to spread the word around the world. How did you learn about SFG?

You've asked a couple general questions that are hard to answer without more information.

1. Just about every vegetable can be grown in a SFG box. It may or may not be the best solution depending on your objective. For instance, growing eight squares of corn in a 4x4 for fun, is one thing. Growing enough corn to eat fresh and freeze for the family for the rest of the year is something that is not suited for SFG.

You live in a different climate, in a different country, in a different part of the world than I do. I'm not familiar with your climate or native vegetables. I would imagine that nearly everything grown locally could be grown in an SFG. But I have no way of knowing when your best planting times are.

2. SFG on a terrace garden? Again, a broad question. Are you worried about the weight, the light, or the watering? I am hesitant because of cultural differences of certain words. Do you mean a patio, or lanai, or balcony, or rooftop?

SFG is frequently used in container gardening of all different sorts. Mel's mix has excellent qualities for that purpose. If weight is a concern, a good ballpark figure is that a 4x4 foot box of saturated Mel's Mix is around 250 pounds. If you can imagine two men sitting where you would like to place a SFG box, then you are good to go, with a safety factor built in.

I hope you check in often here; I know there are lots of members who would enjoy helping you get started.

Vijaya Raman wrote:Hi,

Can you please let me know what are the different vegetable plants that can be grown in SFG.

Also, can we have SFG on the terrace garden.

Thanks,
Vijaya.

I agree with Boffer, almost any plant can be grown in a square foot/meter garden. If I were you I would ask gardeners around where you live what they grow, when they plant and how far apart they plant it after thinning. Get a copy of Mel's "all new square foot gardening" if you don't have it already and read it before you begin. That way you can adapt spacing and so forth also you will avoid many problems later on. I think Mel is working on a square meter gardening book if he has not written it already. Oh and also ask how tall the mature plants are too, so you can plant them to the north of crops you don't want them to shade or to the south of plants that would like a little shade.
It is so nice you found us I can't wait to hear more about you and your garden.

Hello Vijaya:

I know India is a large country, and I'm not sure where you are exactly, but you may be able to find information about Square Foot Gardening in India by contacting the Saint Alphonsus Social and Agricultural Centre which is located in the Darjeeling area.

http://www.harmonyindia.org/hportal/VirtualPageView.jsp?page_id=3473

I'm not sure if Amazon.com is available to you. If the US Amazon doesn't ship to you, perhaps amazon.co.uk, amazon.fr or amazon.de would.

Kim