All New Square Foot Gardening Quotes

“Also, as a general rule of thumb you should try to organize your plants within the grids so that tall plants will not overshadow shorter ones. Where feasible, this will mean that your vertical trellis plants and tall species, such as tomatoes, are best placed on the northern side of the box, with intermediate plants occupying the center grids and smaller plants toward the front, facing south. (The rules are, of course, different in the Southern Hemisphere, where the north side gets the most sun exposure.)”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“Finally, the Square Foot Gardening method recommends that you create deliberate diversity in your garden by not planting adjoining grid squares with the same vegetables.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“But for those that ripen and are then harvested within a short window, such as beets or spinach, make sure to plant them in grids that will be accessible for replanting—don’t bury them in the middle squares where it will be more difficult to replant.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“Extra Large vegetables generally can be planted only one per square (or sometimes even one plant for two grid squares); Large vegetables are planted four per square; Medium vegetables are planted nine per square; and Small vegetables are planted sixteen per square.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“Keep an eye out for the basics, such as putting taller plants on the north side of the box. Put plants that require a lot of attention, grooming, or harvesting (such as bush beans) near the outside and low-maintenance plants (such as radishes and carrots, which you can plant and pull) in the inside squares.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“One 4 × 4 Square Foot Garden box (16 square feet) will supply enough produce to make a salad for one adult every day of the growing season. Add a second 4 × 4 box and you’ll supply the daily supper vegetables for that person for each day of the growing season. Adding a third 4 × 4 box will supply that person with extra vegetables to be used for preserving, special crops, showing off, or giving away. So, each adult needs one, two, or three boxes with 16 squares each, depending on how much produce they can use. In other words, 16 square feet, 32 square feet, or 48 square feet. If you’re figuring a SFG for a child, remember that: One 3 × 3 Square Foot Garden box (9 square feet) will supply enough produce to make a salad for one child every day of the growing season. Adding a second 3 × 3 box will supply supper vegetables for that child every day. Just one more 3 × 3 box will supply the child with extra of everything for show-and-tell or science projects at school, special crops, showing off, or giving away. So, each child needs one, two, or three small boxes of 3 × 3, depending on how much they will eat. In square feet, that’s 9, 18, or 27 square feet of grid space.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“IN MEL’S WORDS The 10 Commandments of Square Foot Gardening I. Thou shalt not waste space with a large row garden. II. Thou shalt not use or dig up your existing soil. III. Thou shalt not use a hoe, shovel, or rototiller. IV. Thou shalt not waste seeds by planting, then thinning. V. Thou shalt not remove your Square Foot Garden “grid.” VI. Thou shalt not use any fertilizer, insecticides, or pesticides. VII. Thou shalt not plant more than you can harvest or take care of. VIII. Thou shalt not waste water by hosing, sprinkling, or heavy irrigation. IX. Thou shalt not fail to grow all your vine crops on a vertical support. X. Thou shalt not fail to replant each square as it is harvested”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening

“Now that the vertical frame has been constructed, it is time to add something for the plants to grow on. I used to use either special wide-opening fencing or good strong synthetic twine or cord, but then along came this beautiful, soft, indestructible nylon netting with large openings you can reach through. This nylon garden netting is now the only material I use for vertical gardening. It’s white, keeps its color, can’t be broken, will last forever, and is easy to work with. The netting is tied tightly and securely to the top and sides of the vertical frame, and the plants can then be gently woven in and out of the netting as they grow. The netting comes in 4- and 5-foot widths and various lengths and is available at most garden centers and catalogs. When”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Attaching Vertical Frame Netting To attach the trellis netting to your frame, first hook the netting on the two corners. Next, cut the netting at each connection. This will give you one long strand. (Be careful to cut on the same side of the connecting strand each time.) Loop the long strand over the top of the frame and firmly tie a simple knot. Try to keep the length uniform so your netting isn’t crooked. Make the same cuts down the sides of the frame and firmly tie knots around the supporting pipes. Tie the netting tight and your vertical frame will look neat and trim for many years.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“To make the vertical frame extra strong for watermelons, squash, and pumpkins, drive a steel fence post into the ground first instead of the rebar. A fence post can be just the shortest 3-foot tall size. Once the fence post is in the ground, then the conduit is attached to it with three pipe clamps. The whole frame then becomes so strong that it will hold up any weight no matter how high you go.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Your vertical frame should be installed outside the box, so it sits on the ground. Aside from driving the concrete reinforcing bars (rebar) into the ground, and slipping the conduit over them, you could also attach the vertical frame to your box with pipe clamps on the side. This would give them even more stability.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“HOW MUCH ROOM? Plants Per Square Foot Plants Per Two Square Feet Gourds (1) Melons (1) Tomatoes (1) Pumpkins (1) Cucumbers (2) Summer Squash (1) Pole Beans (8) Watermelon (1)   Winter Squash (1)”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Installing a Vertical Frame MATERIALS To construct a vertical frame, you need: two 5-foot electrical conduit pipes (1/2-inch diameter); one 4-foot conduit pipe (1/2-inch diameter); two 18-inch long rebar supports of 1/2-inch diameter; screwdriver; hammer; two elbow connectors; and trellis netting. ASSEMBLY Once you’ve attached the elbow connectors to your 4-foot conduit pipe, lay it against the north-facing board of your SFG. Next, hammer the rebar where the elbows are located. You’ll want to drive the rebar in about half its height. Slide the 5-foot conduit pipes over the rebar for a standard strength vertical frame. Or use a short steel fence post instead of the rebar for an extra-strong frame. Attach the top conduit to the legs and tighten the screws in the elbows.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Keep in mind that we harvest many of the crops continuously, if possible. For example, a leaf lettuce is not allowed to wait until it forms a large, mature head, but with a pair of scissors and a salad bowl you can continuously trim the leaves from such things as lettuce, chives, beets, Swiss chard, spinach, parsley, and even onion tops. As long as you don’t take too much at one time, the plant will easily survive and thrive. Filling your salad bowl each day should not diminish the garden in any way. In fact, right after you harvest you’ll find it hard to notice where you got everything and if anything is missing.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“What is the ideal storage condition for seeds? It is just the opposite of the moisture and warmth that make them sprout. You’ll want to store them in a cool, dry place—the driest, coldest place in your home. Some people freeze their seeds. But I find they get moisture even if they are in a zip-lock bag because it never seems to be totally airtight. I prefer refrigerating them in a wide-mouth jar with a screw lid. Label your containers and store them in the refrigerator on a back shelf. In each jar place a desiccant packet from a medicine vial, or add a little powdered milk wrapped in a tissue to soak up any excess moisture in the jar.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“I recommend, especially at the beginning, that you plant only what you want to eat. Occasionally try something new, of course, but especially at first only grow those vegetables and herbs that you normally eat. Remember, plant each adjoining square foot with a different crop. Why? Here are several reasons: 1. It prevents you from overplanting any one particular item. 2. It allows you to stagger your harvest by planting one square foot this week and another of the same crop in two weeks or so. 3. It promotes conservation, companion planting, crop rotation, and allows better plant hygiene and reduced pest problems. 4. It automatically helps to improve your growing soil three times a year in very easy, small steps. Remember the saying, “Square by square, you’ll soon be there.” 5. Besides all of the above, it looks pretty.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large Think of these plants as if they were shirt sizes. Shirts come in all four sizes: small, medium, large, and extra large, and so do our plants. It’s that simple. The extra large, of course, are those that take up the entire square foot—plants like cabbages, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and geraniums. Next are the large plants—those that can be planted four to a square foot, which equals 6 inches apart. Large plants include leaf lettuce, dwarf marigolds, Swiss chard, and parsley. Several crops could be one per square foot if you let it grow to its full size or it can be planted four per square foot if you harvest the outer leaves throughout the season. This category includes parsley, basil, and even the larger heads of leaf lettuce and Swiss chard. Using the SFG method, you snip and constantly harvest the outer leaves of edible greens, so they don’t take up as much space as in a conventional garden. Medium plants come next. They fit nine to every square foot, which equals 4 inches apart. Medium plants include bush beans, beets, and large turnips. Another way to get the proper spacing and number per square foot is to be a little more scientific and do a little arithmetic as shown below. You can see that one, four, nine, or sixteen plants should be spaced an equivalent number of inches apart. This is the same distance the seed packet will say “thin to.” Of course we don’t have to “thin to” because we don’t plant a whole packet of seeds anymore. So if you’re planting seeds, or even putting in transplants that you purchased or grew from seed, just find the seed packet or planting directions to see what the distance is for thinning. This distance then determines whether you’re going to plant one, four, nine, or sixteen plants.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“I want to make doubly sure you got the message of this chapter, so I’d like to summarize the critical facts about compost. You need blended compost made from at least five different ingredients. Mix several different types of compost together if you buy your compost. Most commercial composts have only one or two ingredients because they are merely leftover waste materials or byproducts from an industrial or commercial operation. By themselves, they do not make a good ingredient in Mel’s Mix. However, the good news is, if you can find at least five of these individual composted materials you can mix them together to make a well-rounded blended compost ingredient for your Mel’s Mix. And if you did your job and got a blended compost made from at least five major ingredients, you will be blessed with the most wonderful garden you could ever imagine. And no more work ever.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Get a large tarp, at least 16 × 16-feet, and open it near your garden where you have all your boxes built and located. Make sure you have them in their final resting place—check with the boss one more time and ask, “Are you sure this is where you want all the boxes, dear?” All of the three ingredients are dusty when dry, so do this when there is no wind. Don’t do it in the garage, or you’ll get dust all over your nice new car or workshop. Wear a painter’s mask and have a hose ready with a very fine spray. Don’t forget to have a few mixing tools ready like a snow shovel, a hoe, or a steel rake. Count out the bags and boxes, do the math one more time and start opening the bags and pouring the contents out on the tarp without walking on the ingredients. Roughly mix the three ingredients as best you can as you pour it. Then drag two corners of the tarp to the opposite two corners. You’ll see the material roll over, mixing itself. When you’ve pulled the tarp so that the mixture is almost to the edge, move 90 degrees and pull those two corners over. You just work your way around the tarp and repeat pulling corners together until your Mel’s Mix is uniformly mixed. It’s finished when you don’t see any single material or one color. Use the hose with a fine mist or spray to wet down any dust, but don’t spray so much you make puddles or wet the ingredients so the mixture becomes too heavy to move easily. Don’t let the kids play in the mixture, or they will crush the large particles of vermiculite. (By the way, I’d save a small plastic bag of vermiculite for seed starting. We’ll get to seed starting in the next chapter.) The next step is to fill the boxes, wetting down the mixed-in layers only as you fill it. Once the box is full and the top leveled off, don’t pack it down. It will settle just right by itself.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“So, let’s review how to figure volume. Volume is merely: area × depth = cubic feet. In other words, square feet (the area) times the depth equals cubic feet. Our 4 × 4-foot box is 16 square feet in area (that’s 4 feet times 4 feet). If it were 1 foot deep, the volume would be: 16 (the area) times 1 (the depth) equals 16 cubic feet. But it’s not 1 foot deep, it’s only 6 inches deep so we need only one-half or just 8 cubic feet for our 4 × 4 box. The math looks like this: 4 times 4 divided by one-half foot equals 8. Or to show it mathematically, (4 × 4)/2 = 8. (Now don’t laugh, kids, some of the parents will be thankful for this kind of help).”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Through the years I experimented with all different types of materials and frames. Finally, I settled upon one that was so simple, easy, and inexpensive to use that it was almost ridiculous. Then I began growing all different types of plants vertically. I originally thought I would need to design some special way to hold up and accommodate heavier fruits such as winter squash and pumpkins, but as it turned out, these plant vines seemed to understand the situation; the stem supporting the heavy fruit grows thicker and heavier as the fruit becomes larger. If you have a framework and support that will hold the plant, the plant will hold the fruit; it is as simple as that! Mother Nature always seems to know best. Pea and bean netting can be stretched taut across a box frame and held in place by four metal posts. Plants will then grow up through the netting and be supported. Best Material I use the strongest material I can find, which is steel. Fortunately, steel comes in tubular pipe used for electrical conduit. It is very strong and turns out to be very inexpensive. Couplings are also available so you can connect two pieces together. I designed an attractive frame that fits right onto the 4 × 4 box, and it can be attached to the wooden box with clamps that can be bought at any store. Or, steel reinforcing rods driven into the existing ground outside your box provide a very steady and strong base; then the electrical conduit slips snugly over the bars. It’s very simple and inexpensive to assemble. Anyone can do it—even you! To prevent vertically grown plants from shading other parts of the garden, I recommend that tall, vertical frames be constructed on the north side of the garden. To fit it into a 4 × 4 box, I designed a frame that measured 4 feet wide and almost 6 feet tall. Tie It Tight Vertically growing plants need to be tied to their supports. Nylon netting won’t rot in the sun and weather, and I use it exclusively now for both vertical frames and horizontal plant supports. It is very strong—almost unbreakable—and guaranteed for twenty years. It is a wonderful material available at garden stores and in catalogs. The nylon netting is also durable enough to grow the heavier vine crops on vertical frames, including watermelons, pumpkins, cantaloupes, winter and summer squashes, and tomatoes. You will see in Chapter 8 how easy it is to train plants to grow vertically. To hold the plants to the frame, I have found that nylon netting with 7-inch square openings made especially for tomato growing works well because you can reach your hand through. Make sure it is this type so it won’t cut the stem of the plant when it blows against it in the wind. This comes in 4-foot widths and can easily be tied to the metal frame. It’s sometimes hard to find, so call around.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“The second inexpensive material is wood lath, which is sold in home improvement centers. Believe it or not, they already come 4 feet long with square ends. Sometimes they’re a little crooked, filled with knots, or break easily, so sort through them. But they’re very, very inexpensive—less than a quarter each. Once you lay them out and drill holes at the 12-inch intersections, they’re very easy to connect together with a nut and bolt or some other type of fastener. Because the wood lath is rigid, it can span from one side of the box to the other side in case your Mel’s Mix is not level with the top of the box. Otherwise, it can just lie on top of the soil. If your grid spans across the box sides, keep the grid from moving about by drilling a hole in the ends of the two center slats and screwing them to your wooden box. Some people like to take the wood lath grid up for the winter so it doesn’t get wet and rot as easily. Unscrew the four screws, fold the grid, and hang it on the garage wall. Put the screws in a plastic bag and hang it up with the grid to keep the screws safe and dry over the winter. Attach Your SFG Grid JOINING Drill holes at the intersections of all the grid lath pieces. Next, insert a pin or bolt to hold the grid together. SECURING Drill holes at ends of each lath piece, into the sides of the box. Secure the lath strips to the box with screws driven through the holes. Once the grid is attached, your SFG is ready for planting.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Through the years I experimented with all different types of materials and frames. Finally, I settled upon one that was so simple, easy, and inexpensive to use that it was almost ridiculous. Then I began growing all different types of plants vertically. I originally thought I would need to design some special way to hold up and accommodate heavier fruits such as winter squash and pumpkins, but as it turned out, these plant vines seemed to understand the situation; the stem supporting the heavy fruit grows thicker and heavier as the fruit becomes larger. If you have a framework and support that will hold the plant, the plant will hold the fruit; it is as simple as that! Mother Nature always seems to know best.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Thinning is a lot of work and also seems to disturb the roots of the remaining plant, and that’s not good. But then I thought of an absolutely perfect solution. If you plant just a few seeds—a pinch—in each hole and two or three seedlings come up, you just take a pair of scissors and snip off all but the strongest one. That eliminates any disturbance of the plant you want to keep, and you’re not tempted to replant the others. The only thing you need to do is just muster the courage to make that initial snip and it’s all over.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“Did no one ever think, “Let’s just plant a few seeds every 3, 4, or 6 inches?” I guess it took someone outside of the garden industry to think of it. At first, I advocated single seed planting at the proper spacing for that particular plant, but many people found it tedious and even difficult, especially with small, unusually shaped seeds. Besides, as someone once teased me and said, “If a packet of leaf lettuce contains one thousand seeds and I only plant four in each square foot, how old will I be before it is time to buy another packet?” She’ll have to leave her seeds in her will! So back to the drawing board I went. How about just a few seeds in each hole—just a pinch of seeds? After testing this idea with many people and checking their dexterity and ability to pick up just a pinch (two or three seeds), this seemed to be the answer.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“After many experiments, I found that three of my favorite ingredients made the perfect mix when combined in equal portions: 1/3 Peat Moss—Available at any garden center or supermarket. 1/3 Vermiculite—Buy the coarse grade in large 4-cubic-foot bags at any garden center or home improvement store. Phone ahead to be sure it’s available in that size. 1/3 Blended Compost—If you don’t have your own compost operation, then buy bags of compost at the garden center to get started. Then, start your own compost pile as soon as possible. I’ll explain some simple steps for foolproof composting later in the book. However, one word of caution here: You must have a blended compost, so don’t buy all the same kind. Pick out one bag of this and one bag of that. But, more about that in Chapter 5.”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“TEN MAJOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE ORIGINAL SQUARE FOOT GARDEN METHOD 1. Location—Close to the House 2. Direction—Up, Not Down 3. Soil—Mel’s Mix 4. Box Depth—Only 6 Inches Deep 5. No Fertilizer—You Don’t Need It 6. Easy Access—Above the Ground 7. The Aisles—Comfortable Width 8. The Grids—Prominent and Permanent 9. Novel Idea—Don’t Waste Seeds 10. Expanded Opportunities—Tabletop Gardens”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space

“So, in summary, if plants should be thinned to 12 inches apart, plant one per square foot. If plants should be thinned to 6 inches apart, plant four per square foot. If plants should be thinned to 4 inches apart then you can grow nine within the space of that 1 square foot. If plants are thinned to 3 inches apart, you can grow sixteen in that same square foot. Doesn’t it all make sense and seem easy enough?”
― Mel Bartholomew, All New Square Foot Gardening: The Revolutionary Way to Grow More In Less Space