Sq ft gardinging methods used outside the box

we have a 20' x 27' area that used for a garden this past summer. we planted a row garden that really wasn't planned very well.



i read the all new square foot gardening book and am intrigued at some of its concepts. since i have this large area, i don't want to make boxes but use what i have. i have a compost pile going and will mix that with the soil before i plant next year. i'm looking to see what results people have had adapting the square foot gardening concepts to a larger garden.



for example, i'm going to build a trellis with emt as shown starting on page 148 of the book. page 192 of the book recommends 1 tomato vine per square foot, so i would like to lay out my tomatoes as such:

Code:

X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X

----------------------------

  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X  X


i will have two rows of plants. each row will be a foot apart and they will be staggered on the two sides, so they will not be using the same area of the trellis. so each plant will have a square foot on its side of the trellis. i plan on doing something similar with cukes, squash and beans. peppers will be set up in a 3x3 grid, so i will have 9 plants. something similar for patty pan, zuchinni, etc. i will leave 2-3 feet between everything for walking and working.



has anyone tried something similar to this and how did it work?



thanks

If you plan on planting in the ground instead of above ground, you might consider reading the old SFG book. I hear it's quite a bit different from the new SFG method, but you plant in the ground instead of above ground.

As for putting a trellis between two rows of tomatoes, I don't think that would work out too well. My tomatoes are super bushy and taking over the trellis, and I only have them on one side. I think having two rows of tomatoes on one trellis would be too crowded and lead to some disease from not enough ventilation. That's just my thought, though.

Your results may not be what you expect..when you do intensive planting (closer together) you need more nutrients in your planting medium...chances are your dirt won't cut it. Mel's method works because of all it's parts...the Mel;s Mix especially, it;s the backbone of the whole thing.

I did this in SFG. See this thread.
https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t7330-new-beds-and-new-trellis-pictures-from-knob-hill

I am pleased with the results. I have had some issues with early blight this year, and they are all trimmed back. Here is what they look like now. Plants are over the top of the trellis, and hanging over to the other side.

Barthie:

Have you considered putting out just one SFG box in this plot so that you can compare the two methods? I think this would help ALL of us to see how it goes.

Littlesapphire is right, the old book might be of interest to you. However, the cost of adding vermiculite, peat, compost & fertilizer over that large an area seems cost/labor prohibitive to me.

Mel's Mix is cornerstone of the Square Foot Gardening method. Sadly, when people don't use MM and don't get the results they they expect, they tend to blame SFG and not the fact that they don't follow the method. (I'm not saying you would do this, but we've heard it in the past)

If you would like to keep your large plot, but want a larger harvest, have you heard of/considered using the SPIN Gardening method?

Kim

barthie,

Before Mel came up with his All New Square Foot Gardening, I used his original Square Foot Gardening methods for years. His methods of amending the soil and intensive square foot planting was ground breaking, and I had results I'd never had before! I used 2 ft. wide x 24 ft. long boxes and I was VERY pleased. I had 6 of these boxes spaced 2 ft. apart. I did plant my tomatoes in one foot squares back to back, and they did just fine. They were determinates, however, and I used cages versus trellis. That said, I still had the issues of having to completely turn over and amend my soil every year, and the worst part was the WEEDS! I hate pulling weeds! The only person I've ever heard that loves to pull weeds is Prince Charles.

Then, I wasn't able to physically garden for about 4 years, due to an automobile accident. This year when I finally felt I could get started again, I began researching to see if there was anything new with SFG. I was thrilled to discover Mel had improved his SFG methods a hundred fold! I now have 3 boxes that are 2ft. x 9 ft. long and haven't had to pull but a handful of weeds the entire summer season. My harvest has been far beyond my expectations, especially considering I got such a late start for my area (mid to late June). Besides what we've eaten, I've canned 12 pints of bread and butter pickles, and 30 pints of tomato sauce. I've just planted a fall garden for the first time, EVER! I'm so excited! Normally, by the time my summer harvest is over, I'm so fed up with pulling weeds, I just give up till spring. I know now that I'll be able to get a head start next spring, as well, and am even planning to see how long I can keep my fall garden going.

I guess my whole point is this:

Yes, you can use Mel's original Square Foot Gardening method of amending your soil and his method of square foot intensive planting . You will more than likely get better results than you've ever had with normal "row" gardening. However, I totally recommend if it's in your budget to start at least one box using the new method, as well. Decide for yourself, which you prefer. Just be sure to use Mel's Mix with 5 DIFFERENT types of compost in your box, just to make sure you have a fair comparison.

Good luck!

thanks everyone for your input. i'll search out the old book.

i have a compost pile going and have plenty of leaves to keep it filled (my mother-in-law is on three acres, with a wooded area on one side of the property). the compost will be mixed into the soil. i only plan on working up the area where we're planting, not the whole plot - no sense in working up the walkways.

pulling weeds was a pain at first, but hasn't been too bad since we covered the whole thing with straw.

ksroman - i'll check out the spin method as well. i'm reading everything i find and will combine different methods till i find what works best for me. for most vegetables, the row concept doesn't seem to make much sense to me. what i really agreed with in mel's book was the idea that, if plants only need to be 12" apart, why do i need three feet between rows? didn't make much sense to me when reading the packages.

barthie wrote:i'm reading everything i find and will combine different methods till i find what works best for me. for most vegetables, the row concept doesn't seem to make much sense to me. what i really agreed with in mel's book was the idea that, if plants only need to be 12" apart, why do i need three feet between rows? didn't make much sense to me when reading the packages.

Yes! We each need to find what's best for US.

One point about plant spacing, and it's already been brought up . . . the ONLY way you can jam plants in that tightly is with HEAVY amending.

Best wishes & much success.

I started with Mels old method when it came out and still use it today because it does more than grow things in it, it helps improve the soil aound and under it. After the first year I had know problem mixing new compost in and really like that way much better than the new way. Didn't have weed problems after a couple years as I keep the space between the beds mulched and also mulched the bed with straw. The only reason I am using boxes now is because I live on pure limestone with only about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of top soil.