{"id":370,"date":"2020-07-15T02:47:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-15T02:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bettertimesinfo.org\/?page_id=370"},"modified":"2020-07-21T01:34:28","modified_gmt":"2020-07-21T01:34:28","slug":"gardening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bettertimesinfo.org\/gardening\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Grow Some of Your Own Food"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Gardening is less work than most people think.<\/em>
Gardening is like finding money growing in your yard.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Compost: Because a rind is a terrible thing to waste.<\/a><\/p>\n

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The Ten Basics of Square Foot Gardening<\/strong>
The Easy\/Less Work Method for Beginning Gardeners<\/em><\/p>\n

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by Mel Bartholomew<\/strong><\/p>\n

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1. LAYOUT<\/strong>\u00a0– Pick an area that gets 6-8 hours of sunshine daily. Stay clear of trees and shrubs where roots and shade may interfere. Have it close to the house for convenience. The area should not puddle after a heavy rain. Arrange your garden in squares, not rows. Always think in squares: lay out 4 foot by 4 foot planting areas with wide walkways between them. Your boxes can be in one place, or in different places around the yard, and you can arrange them in interesting patterns that fit in with your landscaping. Don’t block traffic lanes, make your garden readily accessible.<\/p>\n

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2. BOXES<\/strong>\u00a0– Build boxes to hold a new soil mix above ground. Build box frames no wider than 4 feet, and 6 to 8 inches deep. The length is not as important, but a recommended size for your first time is one 4 foot by 4 foot bed. You can, of course, go smaller. A 2 foot by 2 foot works great on patios and 3 foot by 3 foot box is ideal for kids. Frames can be made from almost any material except treated wood, which has toxic chemicals that might leach into the soil. Don’t use railroad ties. 1 X 6 or 2 X 6, or 2 X 8 lumber is ideal, and comes in 8-foot lengths. Most lumber yards will cut it at little or no cost. Exact dimensions are not critical. Deck screws work best to fasten the boards together. Rotate or alternate corners to end up with a square inside. Look for FREE lumber at construction sites.<\/p>\n

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3. AISLES<\/strong>\u00a0– Space boxes 3′ apart to form walking aisles. For accessibility, ease of walking around, kneeling, working and harvesting, the ideal width is three feet between boxes. But it can be more or a bit less as long as you can navigate. The space between your boxes can be left in grass or covered with any attractive ground cover. We laid down brick in between the boxes in one area and made it into a patio garden.<\/p>\n

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4. SOIL<\/strong>\u00a0– Fill boxes with Mel’s special soil mix: 1\/3 blended compost, 1\/3 peat moss, and 1\/3 coarse vermiculite. A blended compost made from many ingredients provides all the nutrients the plants require (no chemical fertilizers needed). Peat moss and vermiculite help hold moisture and keep the soil loose. It’s best to make your own compost from many ingredients but if you have to buy it, make sure it is truly compost. Some stores sell mulch or humus and other ground covers but call it compost. Most commercial compost is made from one or two ingredients so to be safe, don’t buy all of one kind but one of each kind until you have enough for your garden. It’s really best to make your own compost, then you know what goes in it. When buying vermiculite, be sure to get the coarse grade, and get the more economical 4 cubic feet size bags. All three of these ingredients are all natural, not manufactured, non- chemical and readily available. This mix has a light loose texture, smells good, and is a pleasure to work with.<\/p>\n

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5. GRID<\/strong>\u00a0– On top of each frame place a permanent grid that divides the box into one foot squares. The grid is the unique feature that makes the whole system work so well. To show you why the grid is so important, do this little demonstration: Look at your 4 foot by 4 foot box with the grid on and imagine up to 16 different crops. What you see before you is a neat and attractive, well organized garden, that will be easy to manage. Now remove the grid. Could you organize and manage this space without dividing it up into squares? Besides, without the grid you will be tempted to plant in rows, which is a poor use of space. Grids can be made from nearly any material; wood, plastic strips, old venetian blinds, etc. Use screws or rivets to attach them where they cross. On a 4 foot by 4 foot frame, the grid divides the frame into 16 easy-to-manage spaces, for up to 16 different crops. Leave the grid in place all season. The grid can be cut long enough to fit across the top of the box or cut shorter to lay on the soil inside the box.<\/p>\n

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6. CARE.<\/strong>\u00a0The Golden Rule of Square Foot Gardening is:\u00a0“NEVER WALK ON YOUR GROWING SOIL!”<\/strong>\u00a0To accomplish that, you walk around your garden boxes and reach in to garden. If you do that, you’ll never have to do any heavy digging, and your soil will stay loose and friable forever.<\/p>\n

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7. SELECT<\/strong>\u00a0– Plant a different flower, vegetable, or herb crop in each square foot, using 1, 4, 9, or 16 plants per square foot, spacing depending on the mature size of the plant. If the seed packet recommends plant spacing be 12 inches apart within the rows, plant one plant per square foot. If 6 inch spacing; 4 per square foot. If 4 inch spacing; 9 per square foot. If 3 inch spacing; 16 per square foot. Each 4′ x 4′ bed has 16 spaces, that can take 16 different crops! There are many interrelated reasons for the “different crop in every Square Foot” rule. They deal with nutrients used, limiting over-ambitious planting, staggered harvest, weed and pest control, beauty of the garden, and many more factors that result in an innovative gardening system.<\/p>\n

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8. PLANT<\/strong>\u00a0– Plant one or two seeds in each spot by making a shallow hole with your finger. Cover, but do not pack the soil. Thinning is all but eliminated. Seeds are not wasted. Extra seeds can be stored cool and dry in your refrigerator. Don’t over-plant. Plant only as much of any one crop as you will use. This 4 foot by 4 foot box will grow more than a conventional garden that is 8 foot by 10 foot. Conserve seeds. Place transplants in a slight saucer-shaped depression.<\/p>\n

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9. WATER<\/strong>\u00a0– Water by hand from a bucket of sun-warmed water (use a cup or dipper). Warm water helps the soil stay warm. Water only as much as each plant needs. Water often, especially at first, and on very hot dry days. But, be careful not to over water – this special soil holds water like a sponge.<\/p>\n

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10. HARVEST<\/strong>\u00a0– Harvest continuously, and when you finish harvesting a square foot, add compost and replant it with a new and different crop.<\/p>\n

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Bob Waldrop’s Notes on Square Foot Gardening:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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