Planted and Accessorized

And the square foot garden has been planted! In the back, along the trellis I have crooked neck squash, long neck squash and two cucumber vines capped on each side with dahlias. The next row has a jalapeño, red, yellow and green peppers and two okra plants. The third row has two marigolds, white onions, collards and strawberries. The front row has lettuce and collards.

I was a little bummed that I missed the opportunity to plant spinach, but I think it can be planted in the fall, so I will give it a go then. I am also a little bummed that most plants come in a 6-9 pack... When I only need one or two. Perhaps I will set up a free plant table in the front yard:)

Square Foot Garden

As much as I hate to admit it, I have recently had to use algebra to help with my garden:) That is because I installed a square foot garden- a gardening system created by a gentleman named Mel Bartholmew. The basic logic behind it is to utilize as much possible space for growing, while allowing plants the room they need, and only growing what you will actually use.

For instance- my garden is 6'x4', or 24 square feet. This means I can plant 24 plants that need to be 12" apart from each other, one in each square. Or, I can use one of those squares for something like spinach, that requires 4" spacing and I can plant 9 plants in one square foot. Essentially you can maximize what you grow in a minimal space. Pretty cool stuff. Assuming the wildlife in my backyard doesn't eat it all first;)

Here are the pictures of mine. I filled it with 1 part vermiculite, 1 part peat moss and one part compost. This is the mix recommended by Mel.