How Many Square Feet Do You Have?

WolfHeart wrote:I have 3 4x4 boxes for a grand total of 48 square feet. now if i only had a bigger yard

Time to go vertical?

This is my first year of gardening. I started with a 4 x 8 and have added two 4 x 4 boxes for 64 square feet. I am adding one more 4 x 4 this week so will have 80 square feet. Living in Tampa, FL gives me a big advantage with year round vegetables. Right now I have Romaine and Buttercrunch lettuce, various kinds of peppers, soon will be picking my first silver queen corn, broccoli, summer squash, cucumbers, cantaloupe and watermelon. So much more I want to plant.

Well.... I have 40 acres of sand, scrub and scorpions in the High Desert of So Cali... Now, I only garden on a small portion of it. I have a "small" kitchen garden of about 1000 sf and then the melon, squash and corn garden is about 3000 sf. Now, before you wonder what I'm doing here, I am a square foot gardener from waaaaay back and have always loved companion planting as well, for both happy plants AND conservation of resources (only one of which is space).

My 1K sf garden is, of course, the area which is fenced to protect my yummies from hungry rabbits and other desert critters and at this time the actual beds probably use about a third of that space. Another third is wide walkways that I usually toss some rye grass seed in to help keep the garden a tiny bit cooler during our hottest months, and the last 1/3 is as yet without beds and ends up as a catch all for various tools and equipment. The 3K sf garden is again the entire fenced area and there is about 1/3 that I don't plant in because there are a number of creosote bushes there. I get a lot of hills for melons and squash at one end and if I'm careful can plant a few gourds at the far end without worrying too much about cross pollination.

I am putting together two 4x4 beds that are 9 inches deep. Am I correct in calculating that I will need 23.9 cubic feet of Mel's mix to fill them both?

Thanks for the help

I have exactly 100 sq ft. Will probably be adding another 12 this year.

Can't help ya, Colleen. But there's a calculator on the site somewhere just for that purpose. Personally, I just add 1 heaping wheel barrow of each of the 3 components onto a tarp, mix it up while wetting, then fill the box. If I need more I make it, if there's any left I bag it.



CC

Colleen - Using Mel's Mix Calculator (see link below) each box takes 12 cubic feet (assuming a 4 x 4 x 9")

4 cubic feet of vermiculite, 4 cubic feet of peat moss, 4 cubic feet of compost. Each of the 5 types of compost are .80 cubic feet.

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t8344-mel-s-mix-calculator?highlight=mel+s+mix+calculator

With the addition of two 4x8 beds added this past fall I have 256 squares. I was so fired up for this spring that I had all my beds redone and ready by the middle of Feb. Finally for the first time I am going to be ready. Every thing is mapped out and am starting seeds as per SFG. Yesterday I walked out to get the mail and walking back I suddenly realized I haven't cleaned any of the front pots and barrels and recharged the soil. Then it dawned on me that none of the back yard barrels are done either. Back to the drawing board. On a brighter note we have 4" of snow so far today. Best moisture in weeks.

Johnp, that's awesome that your are ahead! Congrats!

camprn wrote:camprn on Sat Dec 03, 2011
2 3x3 = 18
3 2x4 = 24
1 3x4 = 12
3 4x6 = 72
4 4x4 = 64
----------------
total 190

Update:

Had 190 +
2 4x6 = 48
2 3x5 = 30
4 2x4 = 32
-----------------
total 300


for now

240! We have a mound system in our backyard that we are going to till up this year and plant asparagus, beets, and corn row style.

I now have 6 beds that are 4'x8' for a total of 192 square feet. I have moved one of the bushes now I have another location to add a bed; one more bush to go. My yard is big enough that I usually add more traditional planting spaces.

I got curious so I sat down and figured it for a total of 104 SF. After all the work building and filling these beds, I thought for sure it would be more.

Bob, Mel says we only need 3 boxes per person if we want extra to can or freeze. Of course he's never met my veggie appetite!

So that would be 48 sq ft per person. I'm covered.

CC

128 squares for this 2 person family where the kids are grown and moved out. One box is dedicated to strawberries, another asparagus.

I will have 9 beds that are 4 x 6. So 216 sq. ft. That is more than I probably need but I like to share with some neighbors and have family over. I also want to donate some to a food bank.

three 4x4 boxes, two 4x8 boxes, one 2x2 box, and one 2x4 box for a total of 124 squares.

I think we're close to 300 now. It's a lot, but hopefully it'll produce lots to share this time around

Just got the cedar boards today to make 3 more 3 x 6 beds. I had 36 squares last year and will have 90 this year. Hope to add more next year. We have 9 people in the family and I help run a food pantry so I wouldn't mind having lots extra to give away. I think I'll need lot more squares to get to that point.

Our back yard SFG planter, beds, and containers all add up to 550sf, or so of ANSFG. Late last season I was awarded space in my community "Victory Garden", and we have about 600sf there (see my avatar)! The plan for the new space is to add several ANSFG raised beds. Our total is 1000sf, more or less.

Windsor.Parker wrote:Our back yard SFG planter, beds, and containers all add up to 550sf, or so of ANSFG. Late last season I was awarded space in my community "Victory Garden", and we have about 600sf there (see my avatar)! The plan for the new space is to add several ANSFG raised beds. Our total is 1000sf, more or less.

With that amount of squares how much of your families vegtables do you provide for the year?

Turan wrote:
With that amount of squares how much of your families vegtables do you provide for the year?

More and more each year! There's only my DW & me. Before last year we froze whatever we didn't eat or give away. Added canning last season and even after eating LOTS, freezing LOTS, canning LOTS, and giving away LOTS; we're still feasting on LOTS of fresh frozen, and canned fresh veggies!

98 sq ft of raised beds, 1/2 in table tops and 1/2 in a large ground level raised bed.

Then we have 40 sq ft in straw bale gardens.

We'll have enough for our needs and to give the left overs to our kids for their families. I'm working on getting my youngest daughter interested in gardening and they're just starting to get the bug

I have only 1 2X8 bed. I had to leave my old garden at my last house (1 2X16, 1 8X8). My new beds are Table Top type as me and my wife now garden from wheelchairs. We have this bed bed for two years. This is the first time we have used Mels Mix and we are having some problems: All of the plants we have grown in it have sprouted, they grow an inch or two and then they stop. They are healthy plants, they just growing. The beans gow just like they are suposed to and they taste fine.
This year Im going to add 50% compost. Thats all I can figure, great soil, but no food for the plants. (And I hope to addf another 2X8 any day now)

Hi Glenn and Welcome to the Forum! Adding the compost should be a great help. Keep us updated!

I have 296 sq ft. 160 of the square feet is in mels mix and 136 is modified mels mix (soil, verm, peat, compost). Every year I have been adding MM to the top of my 4 x 32 bed (modified mels mix) as it drops a little bit each year.

Glenn L Gorman wrote:I have only 1 2X8 bed. I had to leave my old garden at my last house (1 2X16, 1 8X8). My new beds are Table Top type as me and my wife now garden from wheelchairs. We have this bed bed for two years. This is the first time we have used Mels Mix and we are having some problems: All of the plants we have grown in it have sprouted, they grow an inch or two and then they stop. They are healthy plants, they just growing. The beans gow just like they are suposed to and they taste fine.
This year Im going to add 50% compost. Thats all I can figure, great soil, but no food for the plants. (And I hope to addf another 2X8 any day now)

Glenn: Did you make your own mix or puchase the pre made? Just curious?