Square Foot Gardening Anyone? (flowers, grass, cucumber, insects)

[snkalaska]

Originally Posted by Rakhi

Thanks Debsi. But I can plant different varieties of tomatoes in this 2/4 feet box right? I mean, I dont have to be very specific about which variety should go beside what?

And its just going to be me and my hubby...so you think 8 plants would be too much? We use tomatoes moderatly.

8 plants for 2 people should be about right. If you have a green thumb, when they are all in full production you'll probably be giving some away to lucky friends. I would start more than 8 cause you might lose a couple along the way, they break pretty easily.

[annken]

I tried squarefoot gardening for the first time last year & it did pretty good. It's just my husband & I so the one '4x'4 was more than enough for us. I had bell peppers, tomatoes, bush beans, radish, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peas. For pest control, I planted marigolds & green onions. I planted 4 corn plants in another part of our small yard/

I'm a little jealous that you guys can plant outside now . In western NY, our last frost date is near Memorial Day but I will be starting my seeds indoors soon. This has been a great savings on our grocery bill .

[Rakhi]

Originally Posted by snkalaska

8 plants for 2 people should be about right. If you have a green thumb, when they are all in full production you'll probably be giving some away to lucky friends. I would start more than 8 cause you might lose a couple along the way, they break pretty easily.

Thanks for the tip snkalaska. Just one more question...I know that I have to plant the plant 60 to 75% deep in the soil but how many inches of compost/soil mix i need to be using for tomatoes?

I am planning to leave the bottom of the box open to the ground and I was planning to mix the soil below with compost but I am just wondering how many inches of compost/soil mix is essential for tomato plants...

[younglisa7]

Originally Posted by annken

I tried squarefoot gardening for the first time last year & it did pretty good. It's just my husband & I so the one '4x'4 was more than enough for us. I had bell peppers, tomatoes, bush beans, radish, lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, carrots, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, peas. For pest control, I planted marigolds & green onions. I planted 4 corn plants in another part of our small yard/

I'm a little jealous that you guys can plant outside now . In western NY, our last frost date is near Memorial Day but I will be starting my seeds indoors soon. This has been a great savings on our grocery bill .

Wow you had a great garden for 1 box. Can you share your layout with us? And did you use any trellises? I can't believe you were able to grow all those veggies in 1 garden. Didn't the Bush beans, squash, and zucchini need a lot of space?

Thanks

[Rakhi]

Originally Posted by younglisa7

Wow you had a great garden for 1 box. Can you share your layout with us? And did you use any trellises? I can't believe you were able to grow all those veggies in 1 garden. Didn't the Bush beans, squash, and zucchini need a lot of space?

Thanks

you echo my thoughts. So many plants in 4/4!

annken, if you have a picture, can you please share it with us? I am trying to plant many plants in limited place due to space constraints.

[chelseagrrl]

Does anyone else do the vertical growing for tomatoes, cucumbers, melons, etc. that he mentions in the older version of the book (we have it from my father, who used it in the 70s)... I'm not sure if he still has it in the new updated SFG book.

Last year, we did tomatoes (9), watermelon (1), cantaloupe (1), and cucumbers (1) vertically. They each produced less than they would have in their more usual arrangements (1 watermelon and 1 cantaloupe), but they took up way less space and didn't crowd anything else out. Plus, it looks nice to have things climbing up a frame. I was still eating cherry tomatoes each day and got some nice fruits all-around.

We also made 2 4x4 boxes, one mainly for our herb garden and the other had carrots, rainbow chard, lettuce, broccoli, with nasturtium and marigold for pest control. We did our peas in an open area next to the veggie box. The best pest control was enclosing our veggie box with a hinged chicken wire and wood top... the rabbits never got a bit! lol

Does anyone have opinions on the vertical method?

[snkalaska]

Originally Posted by Rakhi

Thanks for the tip snkalaska. Just one more question...I know that I have to plant the plant 60 to 75% deep in the soil but how many inches of compost/soil mix i need to be using for tomatoes?

I am planning to leave the bottom of the box open to the ground and I was planning to mix the soil below with compost but I am just wondering how many inches of compost/soil mix is essential for tomato plants...

Tomatoes can get very big and have a big root system so I would say minimum of a foot. If you've got good soil underneath though you could do less. When you transplant tomatoes, don't be afraid to plant them deep. Just trim the leaves that you are burying and the stem will root out. Tomatoes like getting water deep and keeping the top dry will help prevent disease. If you don't have any pollinator insects, you may have to pollinate by hand. I use a toothbrush to transfer the pollen from flower to flower.

[Catmom69]

JAXSON - Preparation for next planting is easy using hand tools IF you have prepared the soil correctly with peat moss and vermiculite. For secondary planting during the growing season just loosen the soil with hand tools (fork and/or trowel). For preping before next year's planting, I use my Mantis mini tiller so I can mix in manure/compost and lime. You could also do it with a garden fork or spade.

[Debsi]

Originally Posted by snkalaska

If you don't have any pollinator insects, you may have to pollinate by hand. I use a toothbrush to transfer the pollen from flower to flower.

So that's why I only got one cherry tomato? Among other things I did wrong.

How do you know when to do the pollinating? how often?

[Jaxson]

Originally Posted by Catmom69

JAXSON - Preparation for next planting is easy using hand tools IF you have prepared the soil correctly with peat moss and vermiculite. For secondary planting during the growing season just loosen the soil with hand tools (fork and/or trowel). For preping before next year's planting, I use my Mantis mini tiller so I can mix in manure/compost and lime. You could also do it with a garden fork or spade.

Thank you guess I can close that part of my inquiring mind.