5 Reasons to Try Square Foot Gardening For Growing Vegetables
Have you heard about the latest buzz in gardening? Well, if you’ve been looking around the internet lately, you may have come across the term “square foot gardening.” And if you’re interested in an easy and fast way to grow your own vegetables then this is the method for you!
The basic idea is to build a box of manageable size, like around 3 x 4, add soil, section off areas of 1 square foot each and plant one type of vegetable within each square. There are so many great reasons this type of vegetable gardening is so great that it’s no wonder even beginning gardeners are having great success.
So if you’re still on the fence about whether square foot gardening is for you, keep reading!
Reason #1 – Grow Vegetables Anywhere!
Look, with square foot gardening, you no longer are limited to having a great yard with plenty of space. This method will work on a sunny balcony, an urban rooftop, a backyard deck or even a tabletop in your small yard. As long as the area gets lots of sun, you can place your vegetable garden there. Just build the size of the box or boxes to fit your particular location. But make sure it’s not too wide that you can’t easily get to the center squares.
Reason #2 – Much Less Work!
This is a great reason to me. With this gardening method there are no heavy gardening tools to wield, no hard soil to dig through and no tough weeds with which to contend. You’ll be working with soft, weed-free soil that makes growing your own vegetables a pleasure, not a punishment.
Reason #3 – Utterly Accessible
If you want your garden on the ground, you can put it there. But, if you’re one of the millions of people who have mobility issues, you can place your square foot garden up on a table top for easy accessibility! Don’t go to the plants…bring the plants to you. Simply measure the surface of the table you’re planning on using and build the box accordingly. Just be sure to add a plywood bottom to keep the soil in.
Reason #4 – Little or No Pesticides (Organic Friendly)
First of all, depending on where your garden is located, you’ll drastically reduce the amount of pests that can get to your plants. It’s a simple factor of location. And second, when you have a close grouping of different types of plants, it’s easier to keep fungus from spreading from plant to plant. A regular spraying of compost tea usually does the trick.
Reason #5 – It’s Just Plain Fun
Square foot gardening has brought the fun back into this wonderful hobby. It gives more people in more locations a chance to grow their own vegetables, it provides those with mobility issues a way to stay in the garden and it takes away a lot of the guess work that’s usually present with traditional gardens. Plus, it’s an easy way to get the kids involved in growing vegetables for the family.
Now that you know more about square foot gardening, hopefully you’ll decide it’s for you and you’ll take a stab at it. It’s really a wonderful way to jump into gardening for beginners and experienced gardeners will enjoy the break from all the typical work a vegetable garden takes.
So get out there and start gardening!
—————————————————————————————————————–
More Gardening Articles
