The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Square Foot Gardening

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The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Square Foot Gardening – Gardening is one of my favourite pastimes. It connects me to nature, provides my family with fresh organic food and saves me money on therapy bills 😉 Traditional gardening methods can seem overwhelming or outright non-achievable, especially if you’re an urban dweller (like me!) or an apartment owner. This is where square-foot gardening comes in – a space-efficient, organised approach to growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs. In this guide, I’ll explain what square-foot gardening is, why it’s useful, companion planting, why succession planting is important, where to start, and provide some simple examples to get you started on your own square-foot journey.

What is Square Foot Gardening?

Square foot gardening is a method of intensive gardening that maximises space and minimises waste. Popularised by Mel Bartholomew in his 1981 book, “Square Foot Gardening,” this approach involves dividing a gardening bed into square-foot sections, each is used to grow a different plant or group of plants. The size of each section allows for easy access and maintenance, as well as great use of resources such as soil, water, and nutrients.

Why use the square-foot gardening method?

There are several great reasons to use square-foot gardening:

Space Efficiency: Square foot gardening is ideal for small or limited spaces, such as balconies, patios, or urban gardens. You can maximise your harvests by utilising vertical space and densely planting crops without needing a large area. Hello, small space energy!

Minimal Maintenance: The organised layout of square-foot gardening makes it easy to manage and maintain. With clearly defined sections, you can easily rotate crops, pull weeds, water, and harvest without disturbing neighbouring plants.

Maximise Harvests: By planting in small, concentrated areas, square-foot gardening ensures that each plant receives the nutrients and attention to thrive. This results in maximised harvests and healthier plants compared to traditional row gardening.

Accessibility: The raised beds commonly used in square-foot gardening make it accessible to people of all ages and physical abilities. Whether standing, sitting, or using mobility aids, you can easily reach all parts of the raised bed without bending or stretching. However, using inground beds works just as well.

A guide to companion planting

Companion planting is a game changer (or should I say garden-changer 😉 ) when it comes to square-foot gardening. It involves planting different plants to increase growth, improve taste and provide free pest control. Companion planting is especially beneficial because of the spacing and growing area between each plant. It’s so versatile too, you can use companion planting across all plant species. Here are a few common companions to get you started:

Tomatoes, Basil, and Marigolds: Planting basil and marigolds alongside tomatoes can help repel pests and improve flavour.

Carrots, Onions, and Radishes: These three root vegetables thrive when planted together, as they have different root depths and nutrient requirements.

Lettuce and Spinach: These leafy greens make excellent companions, as they require similar growing conditions and can be harvested simultaneously.

Carrots & Capsicums: Carrots can grow under capsicums and peppers due to their space requirements. Capsicums also provide shade for the carrots.

Apple Trees and Strawberries: both plants have similar soil requirements and the apple will provide shade for the strawberries. This duo complement each other so well, especially when it comes to pollination.

Flower Companions

Flower companion planting is an age-old gardening practice and one I thoroughly enjoy seeing throughout my square-foot garden. It taps into this natural synergy to create thriving vegetable gardens for us as gardeners and the beneficial insects they help to attract. Here are a few reasons you should consider Flower companion planting:

Natural Pest Control: Certain flowers have unique abilities that help to repel pests or attract beneficial insects. For example, planting marigolds alongside vegetables like Basil, Beans, and Brassicas can deter nematodes and other harmful organisms. It also attracts pollinators like bees and butterflies. This reduces the need for chemical pesticides and creates a healthier, more balanced ecosystem.

Soil Health and Nutrient Cycling: Different plant species have varying root structures and nutrient requirements, making them ideal companions for one another. Peas and Beans are known for their ability to fix nitrogen in the soil, which benefits neighbouring plants like leafy greens and Brassicas. Additionally, deep-rooted flowers like comfrey help break up compacted soil and bring nutrients from deeper layers, improving overall soil structure and fertility.

Enhanced Pollination: Flowers play an important role in attracting pollinators like bees, butterflies, and birds. They are essential for the reproduction of many fruit and vegetable crops. By planting a variety of flowering plants in your garden, you can create a haven for pollinators and guarantee continuous harvests throughout the growing season.

Aesthetic Appeal and Biodiversity: Beyond their practical benefits, flowers add beauty, diversity, and seasonal interest to your garden. I feel a sense of peace and beauty whenever I’m out in my garden watching everything grow together in harmony

Succession Planting

Succession planting is another gardening method used to increase your yield by planting new crops as soon as one is harvested. When used with square-foot gardening this is particularly effective because of the small, organized growing areas. As you harvest crops, you can replant the space with a new crop, extending your growing season and ensuring a continuous supply of fresh produce.

For example, when planning out my herbs, I always make sure I have multiple coriander plants on the go because we all know these track racers love to bolt! No matter what hack I’ve seen and tried, they do their own thing.

Short-cycle vegetables such as Radishes, Cucumbers, Beans, Lettuce and Baby Beetroots are great for successively planting.

Mel’s Mix

Mel’s mix is the soil blend recommended by Mel Bartholomew for square-foot gardening. It consists of equal parts of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite. This lightweight, nutrient-rich mix provides the ideal growing environment for plants in square-foot gardens. The compost provides essential nutrients, the peat moss retains moisture, and the vermiculite improves soil aeration and drainage. These ingredients create a fertile, well-balanced soil that promotes healthy plant growth and maximises your harvests.

Another variation of Mel’s Mix is equal parts of compost, peat moss (or coconut coir), perlite and charcoal. The charcoal is porous and while it adds no nutritional value, it can absorb and retain minerals from other sources of plant matter. I have used this recipe and found that it works very well.

I’m quite fortunate to have a supplier nearby who can provide copious amounts of this stuff. However, in this current financial climate (AKA you don’t make friends with inflation), filling my raised beds would cost me a year’s worth of seedlings and then some!

Composting on a Budget

If you’re looking to start Mel’s Mix on a budget, I suggest the following:

• Start a composting system: for our family of 3, we run 3 compost bins. Each takes about 4 months to fill and transform into the best organic matter for your garden. We add our food waste and mulched garden or grass clippings. You can also visit local cafes and restaurants to collect vegetable waste which will kick-start your composting. If you have poor soil, that’s lacking in nutrients, you can add it to your compost as well. Make sure it’s pesticide-free before adding.
• Use what you have: you can collect fallen branches and leaves from your local park or use what you have around your backyard. This process is called Hugelkultur (pronounced hoo-gul-culture, which translates to ‘mound culture’), which I used to start. It’s a great way to help fill your raised beds for free.
• Trade or Barter: you can always jump onto Marketplace or Gumtree (Craig’s list for my US friends) and source compost. I find trading my labour for removal or a few hours of garden work is a fair trade.
• Source local compost: while this goes slightly against budget needs, being limited on space will certainly hinder making your own Mel’s Mix. You can find bargains in your area however be aware that any composting supplier who claims their product is “100% organic” may not be. Most suppliers say their products are however some have material shipped in externally and cannot guarantee that it is organic. I would highly suggest a phone call to ask where they source their materials from; in-house or externally. And whether they guarantee their product is pesticide-free (through testing).

The 10 Basics of Square-foot Gardening

• Plant densely: Imagine your beds are like a tin of sardines, all packed together nicely. Don’t waste any space! It’s crazy how much you can grow. A few Square-Foot Garden beds in a small space is more productive than huge row gardens that take up most of your garden space.
• Think outside the square: By growing up! Use a trellis to maximise your growing space. It allows vining vegetables to take full advantage of their new space by growing up not out.
• Mel’s Mix not common garden soil: As mentioned above, using Mel’s Mix recipe or a variation creates a fertile, well-balanced soil that promotes healthy plant growth and maximises your harvests.
• The closer the better: Position your raised beds close to your house. If it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind and chaos ensues. It is easier to tend to something you see every day vs something you only check once a week.
• Grow shallow: If you’re using in-ground beds, make sure you’ve done proper soil testing first. For the raised bed option, you don’t need deep beds. A minimum of 7 inches will be more than enough for your vegetables. This will save you money, time and a few trips to the chiro!
• Fertiliser, who?: Mel boasts that his mix won’t need extra fertilisation. It provides all the nutrients your plants will need for the first year. His statement rings true, I am an example of this. What’s even more impressive is adding charcoal. As mentioned above, charcoal is porous and can absorb and retain minerals from other sources of plant matter. Winning!
• The space in between: Mel mentions keeping your aisles small (about 3 feet apart). This helps with weed control and gives you more growing space. However, what I have found immensely helpful, is ensuring my rows are spaced the same width apart as my wheelbarrow. The current beds I use are tall (big mistake I know). We needed proper access to bring our material in. If you’re going for shallow beds then skip my opinion and head straight for the 3 feet-apart measurement.
• Seeds: The concept of sprinkling your seeds into a bed and then thinning them out later has always been lost on me! I prefer to be frugal with the use of seeds. And yes I know what you’re thinking. “What if that seed doesn’t grow?”. Check your germination times and if it doesn’t come up with the rest, plant another or wait for the next succession.
• The use of squares: This is a no-brainer really. It’s the crux of Square-Foot Gardening! Planting in 1-foot squares will ensure your space is used efficiently and allows for proper pest management.
• Crop Rotation: while this is the last step, it is certainly not the least important. Planting a different crop in each bed allows for soil regeneration, improves water efficiency and increases nutrients available for your next crop.

Plant Spacing

Each vegetable you grow has different spacing needs. This plant spacing chart will provide you with the exact spacing per square foot and weeks from seed to harvest:

Square-Foot Garden Action Steps

We’ve covered a lot and I’m sure your head is spinning! However, stay with me, we’re up to the action steps! Below is a step-by-step guide to planning and setting up your very own Square-Foot Garden:

• Choosing a Location: Here in Australia, it’s ideal to place your garden beds in a north-south direction. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sun angles to the north, so put the larger plants on the south side of the garden so they don’t cast a shadow over the rest of your crops. Aim for at least 4-5 hours of direct sun exposure. Ensure your beds have access to water via a hose or reticulation.
• Build or Prepare Your Garden Bed: Build a raised garden bed or prepare an existing one by adding a grid system to divide it into square-foot sections. Aim for perfect squares. You can use thin wooden planks, string, or drip-line reticulation.
• Plan Your Layout: Consider the space requirements and growing conditions of each plant you want to grow. Plan your garden layout on grid paper or online with something like GrowVeg. I’m not affiliated, I just really like their product! Don’t forget to use a companion planting chart. You can refer to the below guide to get started.
• Plant Your Seeds or Transplants: Sow seeds or plant transplants according to your planned layout. Make sure to space them appropriately within each square foot.
• Water and Maintenance: Keep your garden well-watered. There may be a few weeds to start however once you’ve got your succession planting underway, they will become fewer. Walking through your garden daily to inspect for pests or diseases is always a good idea.

Square-foot gardening plan examples

Here is a draft example of my square-foot garden plan for my front yard. It includes vegetables, flowers and fruit trees. It’s a mix of permaculture and square-foot gardening principles. And you can get a sense of how the GrowVeg planner works:

The Square-foot method offers a practical, efficient, and rewarding way to grow your own food, even in a small area. You can create a thriving garden that not only nourishes your body but also your soul. So roll up your sleeves, grab your gardening gloves, and get ready to jump into the world of square-foot gardening! You can thank me later 😉

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