Most square foot gardens out there are typically in raised beds. However, you still need to weed once a week initially, then as needed once the plants are larger. The closer spacing of plants means that there isn’t much room for weeds to grow. Weeding is a pain for most gardeners out there, but a perk of raised beds is that you are not required to weed as much as in a traditional garden. To make sure you get it right, feel the soil with your fingers. However, be careful to only water when your garden needs it, as over-watering is a very common mistake for beginner gardeners to make. Plan on watering your beds everyday in the summer, and possibly twice a day if the temperatures start soaring. The soil in square foot gardens, especially in raised beds, tends to dry out faster. However, as long as you keep adding in compost and manure each year, it’s not as critical. It’s a good idea to rotate what you plant where. Add in compost, manure, and optional peat moss to replenish vegetables that the vegetables used. The soil in your square foot garden will need to be amended every year. If you have shade loving veggies, that do not require direct sun, plant you tall ones towards the middle of your garden! This way, the sun-loving plants can be on the north side and get their sun bathe, while the shade-wanting plants can be saved by the tall plants in the middle.
#Free square foot garden planner free#
I'd like to receive the free email course. If you fill this in, you will be marked as a spammer. For this pattern, I’ve come up with four done-for-you plans to plant in your square foot garden. This will allow the smaller plants to get their daily dose of sun. On the one hand, if there are heat-loving plants amongst your taller plants, make sure to plant taller veggies, like tomatoes, on the north side of your bed. These taller vegetables can work to your advantage if planted correctly. Vining plants can take up a lot of space – BUT – they are definitely a win for gardens since they grow upwards! Upward growing plants are a great utilization of space in your square foot garden. Not only are they from the same family of vegetables, the tomatoes will eventually shade out the peppers. Peppers beside tomatoes are a terrible idea. I like to think of companion planting more in terms of interplanting and preventing plants from shading one another out.įor example, Spinach under a cucumber trellis is a good idea–by the time the spinach is ready to be pulled out, the cucumbers will take over that empty space. (But seriously, I was one of the few people in town who had good tomatoes that year when I planted zinnias and tomatoes side by side.) For example, I like planting my zinnias with my tomatoes, but does that mean that just because one year it proved to be an idea pairing it will be every year in every garden setting? Maybe–maybe not. I personally take most companion plant pairings with a grain of salt. Starting small will be less costly and much more manageable, even though it’s super tempting to go overboard in the Spring after a long winter. Starting too big can become overwhelming and stressful if you are inexperienced in square foot gardening. If you are new to growing square foot gardens, don’t try too much at once! A smaller 2×2 (4 grid squares) or 4×4 bed size (grid of 16 squares) is a good starting point! It is easy to construct, grow a surprising amount of plants, and is accessible from all sides.
This will allow you to maximize your space and not overcrowd your vegetables. The seeding square will accurately place the seeds in each square with the minimum length apart for them to grow in the one foot square. I would highly recommend using the Seeding Square, as I use it all the time in my square foot gardens. Vegetables in a square foot garden are planted in spacings of 1, 4, 9, or 16, with some vegetables taking up 4 large squares. Like the planner in the picture? Get your free copy here. Since you can visualize everything, it will also help you see potential mistakes in spacing that will ruin the amount of vegetables you get. Grids are simple to see and gives you an organized framework to your garden. Planning out where you are going to put each vegetable in a grid before you plant everything is extremely important. Here in this post, I’ll tell you the top 12 things that I would recommend you do when making your square foot garden. Fortunately for you, you can use what I’ve learned to your advantage when you plant and calculate your square foot garden. However, I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my first couple years. Are you planning on square foot gardening? I have used the square foot gardening method and I couldn’t be happier with the results! I’ve been able to grow so much more food in a small space and cut my time weeding in the garden down considerably.