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How To Start A Square Foot Garden

May 9, 2019

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When you’re short on space, square foot gardening is the answer! I’ve recently started planting my garden using the square foot gardening method instead of traditional rows, and I couldn’t be happier with the results!

But how do you start a square foot garden? And is it complicated?

In this post I’ll go over everything you need to know and what I do to make square foot gardening spacing practically fool-proof.

Want to get started square foot gardening?  Here's everything you need to know in a nutshell--raised beds, soil, what vegetables to plant and even some free printable garden plans.
Photo courtesy of Katelynn Peterson

This post contains affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission if you purchase something at no extra cost to you. You can read more about it in my privacy policy. Thanks for supporting Shifting Roots!

1. Read Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening

Sure, you can try to piece it together on the Internet, but it’s just better to learn about the method straight from the man who invented it. The book is an easy read, and you’ll be done it in no time. Get your copy here.

I love to square foot garden, but I never know that vegetable to put where in my raised beds--its so hard to make a plan.  Now I don't have to guess with these free printable square foot gardening templates using the seeding square! #squarefootgarden #seedingsquare #printable #plan #design

2. Build Your Raised Bed and Add Soil.

Square foot gardening is traditionally done in raised beds with a light soil mix. I’ve square foot gardened in both a raised bed and straight in my traditional garden space and the results are almost the same–there’s just a few more weeds to deal with in the traditional garden space.

I actually don’t use Mel’s mix, just regular potting soil mixed with compost and manure, and find that it works just as well. However, I garden in zone three in Saskatchewan, so I’m very far removed from the weather conditions that Mel experienced when he created the method.

Related: 8 Reasons to Start Square Foot Gardening

The nice thing about starting a raised bed from scratch is that you don’t have to till the ground underneath. Just place your bed on the soil, cover the ground with cardboard to kill the weeds and grass, and add your soil on top. So much less work!!

3. Decide what to Plant

I love to square foot garden, but I never know that vegetable to put where in my raised beds--its so hard to make a plan.  Now I don't have to guess with these free printable square foot gardening templates using the seeding square! #squarefootgarden #seedingsquare #printable #plan #design

Here’s where things get both fun and interesting. It’s very easy to obsess over what you can and can’t plant in a square foot garden, but the simple answer is this–plant whatever you want to eat!

Vining plants such as peas, tomatoes, and cucumbers are grown on trellises at the back of the grid. Larger vegetables like squash and pumpkins are grown at the corners so they can trail out over the edges.

Any vegetable can be planted in a square foot garden grid, you just have to follow the correct spacing.

I’ve come up with four done-for-you plans to plant in your square foot garden. You can download them here.

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4. Space Vegetables Out Correctly

All vegetables are planted in spacings of 1, 4, 9, or 16, with some vegetables taking up 4 large squares. You can make the little borders with wood, or tie string to map out your perfect squares. However, I like to use the Seeding Square.

The Seeding Square is a plastic guide that’s exactly one foot square and has all the different spacings, plus a handy chart showing which vegetables should be spaced at what distance.

It really takes the guesswork out of planting my garden, and I don’t have to drag the book outdoors with me or try and remember if bush beans are spaced in 4’s or 9’s.

Plus, my kid who has no interest in gardening actually wants to help me plant! That’s a huge win in my books.

Want to get started square foot gardening?  Here's everything you need to know in a nutshell--raised beds, soil, what vegetables to plant and even some free printable garden plans.
Photo courtesy of Katelynn Peterson

5. Water and Weed

The beauty of square foot gardening is that you won’t have to water and weed as often as you do with traditional methods. Sure, you’ll still have the one bigger weeding session 3-4 weeks after you plant your garden. But after that, the weeds are minimal.

The closer spacing of the plants means that weeds are shaded out and more moisture is retained. Win-win!

Everything You Need to Build a Square Foot Garden

Once again, here’s a handy list of all the things I use to square foot garden, and some nice options for raised bed kits:

  • Mel Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening Method Book.
  • Done-for-you Garden Plans
  • Seeding Square (Seeding Square site–Canada)
  • Seeding Square (Amazon.com)
  • I’m going to assume you have your own places you like to buy seeds. If not, here’s some places that I recommend.
  • Wooden raised bed kit
  • Vinyl raised bed kit
  • Metal raised bed kit

Will you give square foot gardening a try?


Wish you could grow fresh vegetables in a small space? Now you can, with Small Garden, Big Harvest. It’s the fastest way to learn all the intensive gardening techniques that can help you maximize every inch of your available gardening space. With lots of easy to do, real life examples, and 2 done-for-you plans, you’ll be able to start vegetable gardening, even if all you have is an apartment balcony.

Click Here to Learn More

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

13 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: seeding square, square foot gardening

About Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

Comments

  1. Carol says

    December 7, 2019 at 10:26 am

    I’m trying to down load the garden planner but there is a problem, as it takes me to the newsletter sign up which I have but no email with planner. I hav so checked spam. Please help. Thank you Carol [email protected]
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      December 8, 2019 at 9:19 am

      Hi Carol, Sorry about the issue. I've just sent you an email with the planner attached. Thanks for letting me know!
      Reply
  2. Melissa says

    April 14, 2020 at 6:07 am

    The download for the garden planner didn’t work for me. :( Any ideas? Thanks so much! Melissa [email protected]
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      April 15, 2020 at 8:51 pm

      Sending you a link ASAP. Sorry about that!
      Reply
  3. Tiffany Teague says

    April 21, 2020 at 8:18 am

    May I have the garden planner link, as well? Thanks!
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      May 3, 2020 at 10:05 am

      Yes, I will send it to you.
      Reply
  4. Renea says

    April 23, 2020 at 12:47 pm

    Your pictures are great. I love the little rock divider in the raised bed. This makes me excited to plant my garden next month
    Reply
  5. Jeni says

    April 27, 2020 at 12:35 pm

    Garden planner is not working for me. Can you help?
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      May 3, 2020 at 10:01 am

      I'll email you a link
      Reply
  6. amy says

    May 2, 2020 at 7:06 pm

    What a fun idea for getting kids outside this May! Just wanted to let you that I featured your post on my blog if you’d like to share it. https://amysenter.com/may-pinterest-roundup/ Happy May!
    Reply
  7. Ashley Hibbard says

    May 20, 2020 at 11:31 am

    I have also not gotten the template/garden planner email. Would you be able to send it to me?
    Reply
    • Kristen Raney says

      May 21, 2020 at 5:40 am

      Hi Ashley, Did you get the initial email with a list of the different templates? It might not have been clear where you click to download them. Or did you get nothing at all? I've been having some problems with this that I thought I fixed over a month ago, so it would be super helpful to know. I have your email on my list, but if you got the first email, there should be multiple places to click and download.
      Reply

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
⁠
➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
⁠
That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
⁠
Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
⁠
This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
⁠
Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
⁠
Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
⁠
I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
⁠
A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
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As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
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