Monkeyfister

I had one last garden box left to prepare, and I figured that it would make a great tutorial. This method of gardening is foolproof, and hugely productive. Here's a quick step-by-step.

(Click pics for larger.)
Make a four-sided bottomless box frame, fill it with your favorite dirt mixture, and make a 1-foot x 1-foot grid. I use jute twine because it is cheap, and compostable. Two months ago, I laid down some weed-blocker material to kill the damnable Bermuda Grass that plagues me, so I know that I have a weed-free area to plant into.






I'm planting Pole Beans and Bush Beans on this very windy day. I checked the back of the seed packet, and it gave me two sets of spacing information: A "Sow At" spacing, and the "Thin To" spacing. It really doesn't matter how you garden, Row Gardening or Square-Foot Gardening just always ignore the "Sow At" spacing entirely-- you're just wasting seed. So, the packet tells me to "Thin To" 3-inches, and THAT is what we will plant our seeds to. So, I poked four holes per foot, 1" deep.


I put one seed in each hole, covered them up, and watered thoroughly. Later, when the plants pop up, I will make an 8-foot string frame for the Pole Beans to grow up.

This bed is going to be entirely sown in Beans. I wanted Pole Beans for a constant harvest, but I am also going to plant in Bush Beans every week until this 4' x 8' bed is full. Bush Beans require 4-inches per plant.


In the squares that I have planted the Pole Beans, I still have space to plant six plants, and then nine plants in each of the remaining squares in each foot-row. I'm going to plant two 1 x 3 square-foot rows.









I've put in all the bean seeds. As you can see, they are in a very specific geometric pattern. If a seed doesn't germinate, I'll simply plant a new seed in it's place. anything that pops up that is not like the others, and not in the pattern is a weed, and I can pull it out.








Cover, tamp, and water thoroughly. Done.

I now have 32 Pole Beans for constant harvest until First Frost around November 15th, and 66 Bush Beans for a one-time harvest. That's a lot of Beans for eating and the freezer.







BTW: As you might be able to tell, it is a VERY windy day, and my string-trained vine plants are doing just fine.

I have cabbage plants starting in the house, and as the Bush Beans exhaust, I will plant in the cabbages for a fall/winter harvest. The nitrogen that the Beans have fixed in the soil will nourish the cabbages.





8-foot frame in place.
















To Top Of Main Page

Labels: Gardening, Square Foot Gardening