Making a Square Foot Garden Box
Square foot gardens are based on a method of gardening made popular by Mel Bartholomew in his book, Square Foot Gardening, Maximize Your Yield While Conserving Water, Soil Conditioners & labor! Using raised beds, a small vegetable garden can be planted in areas where a traditional garden may not be possible. Depending on the space available, you can plant one or more square foot gardens to provide yourself and your family with fresh vegetables all summer long.
List:
4 - 2" by 6" inch untreated lumber boards, 4 foot long
8 Corner brackets
32 wood screws, 2 inches long
Drill with driver bit
Latex exterior house paint
Paintbrush
3 cubic feet of peat moss
3 cubic feet of compost
3 cubic feet of vermiculite
Large tub or old trash can
Vegetable seeds or transplants
Lay the four 2" by 6" lumber boards into a square shape. It is best to do this near where you plan to have the square foot garden.
Set two of the boards on edge and connect them with two corner brackets, using four 2-inch wood screws per bracket. Complete the square in the same manner by connecting the brackets to the wood.
Paint the outside and exposed edges of the square foot garden using a good, outdoor latex paint. This will help preserve the wood.
Mix together the peat moss, compost and vermiculite in a large tub or barrel.
Fill the raised bed with the soil mixture. The square food garden is now ready to plant with vegetable seeds or transplants.
Words to the Wise:
You can add a trellis to one side of the square foot garden bed to grow peas, beans or other climbing vegetables.
Although beds can be made any size desired, keeping them 4 feet across makes them easy to work as most people can reach across the bed.
