Square Foot Gardening

>>It doesn't matter how vertical your crops are grown, if there is a freeze, they still die.<<

Well it really depends on what you are growing. Russia has very severe winters and only 110 growing days a year, but it still doesn't stop them growing a variety of crops to fulfil their needs. They are also doing a lot more than 'merely taking the edge off', they are removing themselves from the Food Grid completely. These new gardeners don't suffer malnutrition either, yet in the affluent West malnutrition is already a problem for even the apparently 'well fed'.

Many crops can withstand frost so long as it isn't prolonged, but for these raised beds ala Mel's system, you throw a fleece and straw over them, or put them in a cold frame. Much easier to do this with such confined spaces. Pots etc can be brought indoors until the danger has passed. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere have been dealing with bad weather for centuries - none more so than the Russians.

If each family grew enough for their own needs, then any excess they can trade or swap. That includes grains. You can grow wheat in small gardens, and oats. Not sure about rice, but I don't see why not. We didn't eat rice growing up, it was 'foreign' food, so if it can't be grown locally and must be imported we'll just have to do without. It isn't vital for Westerners to eat such foods. If they must then they should grow their own.

Only if you have the 'system' mindset where you must grow and sell vast quantities is large acreage required. The Native Americans killed one buffalo to eat, and perhaps a second to see them through the winter. We'd slaughter the whole herd to export and sell to others. God forbid people should have the skills to provide for themselves. People need to get back to micro-managing their food and growing/using only what they need.

>>It takes more than a few veggies to keep people alive - there has to be a nutritionally sustaining mix and there are a few food types, while necessary to a sustaining diet that just can't be done in small spaces - grains, fruit trees, nut trees, etc. <<

There are plenty of vids on YouTube showing you step by step how to successfully grow fruit trees in pots. My neighbour grows raspberry canes in small spaces, and strawberries in a growbag. Of course if we insist on eating foods 'out of season' then we need The System. Our Grandparents did fine without it, and it wouldn't kill us to go back to eating foods local to us, and only when they were 'in season'.

Wheatgrass and Hemp seeds contain all amino acids and proteins - in fact you could live on just the latter and water for quite a long time without detriment - and neither require huge acres if just growing for ones' own use. Both of course, can be sprouted indoors.

>>I had a 50x50 foot garden back in Michigan that was stuffed to the brim and it wouldn't have fed me for a full year.<<

Maybe you should take a tip from the Russians then, because they are managing to feed their whole families for a year and stick plenty in the freezer for the long winters. Perhaps they have a healthier diet than us? Also remember that we in the West are rather glutonous anyway, and we need to learn to eat less. (Mel's method also allows for growing all year round with a bit of planning.)

For someone so into nature and sustainability you are remarkably eager to stay dependant on technology. While you are content to have technology feed you, others are taking the responsibility for feeding themselves and becoming as self-sufficient as possible. Once it spreads that'll be the end of the technocracy and the 'overcarrying' bollocks it carries in it's wake. If Russia has indisputably proven that gardeners can provide "92% of Russia's harvest of potatoes, 77% of its vegetables, 87% of berries and fruits, 59.4% of meat, and 49.2% of milk." then they have proven we don't need science to save us.

Local farms provide the 'extras' like meat (not the huge amount we gorge in the West) and eggs for those non-vegetarians without their own supply. I'd hazard a guess their diet is much better than ours, even if not as large. (America has the advantage of not only a longer growing season, but it has many hunters in certain parts of the country, who can share/sell their kills to their neighbours, if you must have meat. As it's not chemically treated or factory farmed, it'll be healthier anyway.)

I'll pass on trusting 'science' to feed me. Fortunately many more countries are likely to take up the Russian/Cuban model and abandon Western industrialisation methods completely.

(For those with only a tiny balcony, well if the food supply route which The System depends on dries up for a while - which it will if there should be an economic collapse - then 'science' isn't going to be any help. The shops will be empty. A few potatoes from a barrel, and a few veggies from a tiny plot using Mel's methods will at least keep you alive until the supplies start flowing again.)

That's been around for years Phnx.
I've even got a book about it around here somewhere.
The concept is pretty simple.
On a seed pack it gives a distance between plants and between rows.
For square foot gardening you forget about the row distance and plant according to the distance between plants.
The total width of your beds can be determined by how far you can comfortably reach in the bed. If that is 3 feet then you can make your beds up to 6 ft. wide.
Now what's really neat is when you combine square foot gardening with lasagna gardening Lasagna Garden - How to Make a Lasagna Garden

Val Russians do have freezers ya know. ;-)

Although not up to our standards they do the job. Of course they have freezing winters so they could store things in the ground. I learnt that one from Americans. Because of all that "pioneer" history, you guys have a lot of cool info like that. Root cellars I think they may be called. Maybe those Russians who don't have a freezer use such a method.

LOL! I'm having such a good day. First the Lasagne Gardens and now this. It's the little things!

I'm bookmarking that blog, thanks!!

Square foot gardening and lasagna gardening have been around for a while. One lovely thing about them is there's little room for weeds to grow in the garden.

My Grandparents had a root cellar that was steps down from the regular cellar area. It didn't freeze in winter, and was cool all summer. The regular cellar was made of rock and had niches built into the walls that provided deep ledges for storing dozens of jars of vegetables, fruits, jams, and condiments that were made from the garden yield every summer. With no natural light, that cellar could have been a dark, scary place for a child but I loved it with its walls filled with colorful jars of food I could choose from.

My Grandmother also did square foot gardening with flowers and herbs where from early spring to frost one variety or another was always blooming in the flower and herb beds. Good memories.

kay

I've never gardened before, but I want to start.

I've been considering a small square foot garden to try it all out after reading about it.

I don't think the argument is that square foot gardening is the absolute best for the smallest space. I think it's just a philosophy that helps people keep it simple. (But what do I know about gardening since I don't do it.)

Not deep enough for a root system - try 15-20" or so. You can always add earthworms. Most square ft gardeners I know of use raised beds but usually just use landscape timbers to provide an edge and fill it with top soil.

Not the only argument - but that is one of the main reasons to garden using that method. Plus it's fun just to see how much stuff you can grow in one little area.

kay

I have planted using the Square Foot Gardening Method for a couple of years now. I don't have too large of an area open for sun, so this method helps with maximizing the potential for a bigger harvest and having variety.

I always had a problem with row planting. Sowing seeds, letting them sprout and then "thinning" them to space them apart. I couldn't understand that. Planting that way is a waste of seeds and the waste of the potential of the plants' production.

Within the past few weeks, I just built 2 raised beds. I used 2x6x8 boards cut in half, courtesy of Home Depot, and joined them at the ends with wood screws. A couple of layers of landscape fabric stapled to the bottom, and I was finished.

Thomas, you can buy earthworm castings here in the US to add earthworms to your soil.

There is a diagram/design in the Square Foot Gardening Method book for a wheelchair accessible raised bed garden.

Sal, I wasn't aware that snap dragons are a pest deterrent. I have planted marigolds. I did notice the author had quite a few of what appear to be chrysanthemums in the photos, now I know why.

I still need to plant some more this weekend. I could post a photo of the garden to see what it looks like.

Kevin