we teach square foot gardening. I wrote an ebook, in part, because of the vast amount of bad information that is floating around out there about square foot gardening. It’s amazing to read and it’s all over the place. This is an example of that. We had a great article about square foot gardening in one of the local papers yesterday. I read it and then saw some of the comments. There was a lot I could talk about but this one will do. Here is what it said: “I also think that the claim that most things only grow in the first 6 inches of soil is inaccurate. Here is a link that discusses root depth (among other things) of common garden vegetables. Most have a tap root longer than 6 inches within 3 weeks of planting! Do you really think you are going to be able to maximize your garden production by stunting the growth of your roots so early on?” How does that old saying go? “A picture is worth a thousand words?” Well, then here you go. This is a picture of 4 perfect heads of lettuce that grew in a 6″ container of Mel’s mix. End of story. We have pictures at the foundation of plants that are 8 feet tall which have been grown in 6″ of soil. Here’s the real problem. Folks who think like this(he’s a master gardener by the way!)have been trained in the university agricultural methods. That’s great-for farming! Not so much for us backyard gardeners. The reason he thinks this way? Simple. In the agricultural courses your taught that you’ve got to have these long tap roots. And you do! The reason why is that these old farming lands have been stripped of much of the nutrients and trace elements(despite all their efforts to amend their soil with manure in the off-season)and these roots have to keep going down, down, down in order to hunt for food(nutrients)and water. The reason why it works in 6″ of Mel’s mix is that everything you need is right there! No need for big tap roots! No need for plants to keep going down in order to find nutrition and water. Our gardens are at least 33% compost while the typical farm land is less than 5%. Therein lies the big difference. So, don’t be intimidated by your master gardener friends. Mel wrote his book and found that the experts, as a general rule, all came to the conclusion that square foot gardening couldn’t work because it’s too easy. And, their right-it is easy…..
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That master gardener definitely is wrong, and I have the weeds to prove it.
I have an old-style SFG bed (e.g., improving the existing soil) that I let go into blackberries. Goldenrod comes up between the blackberries, but pulling up is pretty easy, because even though I mixed in to 12 inches, they only have about 4 inches of roots. Outside that bed, I have to put my weight into it to pull out the goldenrod.
Plants only produce as many roots as they must to get what they need.
John…your right on with that! That was my point
Jim,
Thanks I will get in touch about becoming an instructor. What is the name of the red lettuce you have in the picture above?
Bruce
Bruce..that’s a good question! I’m not sure what kind it is but I know I don’t have it any more. I just went through my seed package and it’s not there. I can tell you what I grow now as far as red lettuce-its Red Cross from Johnnys and Firecracker from Burpees…they taste and look great
Hi Jim,
I am trying to find shade cloth but at home depot all they have is high end shade cloth for canopies. What else can i use for my lettuces? Can I use the black weed cloth or something else. Thanks.
I would call around. I just saw some last weekend at Home Depot in West Jordan. It’s green, and it’s not high end. This stuff is made for gardens. If worse comes to worse, use an old bed sheet to shade your garden. Just make sure it’s light colored. Don’t use the black weed cloth-that will heat it up…
Jim,
I do not care what the “master” gardeners say. I have never had much success with a garden before, so I quit gardening 7 years ago. I really tried, brought in topsoil, put in peat moss and other suggested soil amenities. I turned the soil over and ove , tilled and planted rows. I watered and weeded daily. Still the product that came out was not as great as I had hoped.
Now comes SFG, and I am excited, and very happy with the results. I used Mel’s Mix, did it myself, and have one 4X4 but I have enough in the garage, unmade, to put in one more 4×4 and three 4X8 SFG’s. My wife states that she has not seen me this happy in years. I wish I could post a picture of my current success with just one 4X4 SFG, I am ready to go and put in some more. I appreciate those that have aided me on this SFG journey. SFG works, it is easy, and it is very rewarding. Thanks so much for your guidance and help as I began this adventure, I will never “row” garden again. My sister-in-law saw my garden yesterday and she is building a new home and wants me to come over and show her how to do this…SFG success is spreading.
Bruce
Bruce, I couldn’t be happier for your success. And for passing the know-how along to those you know. Have you thought about being a SFG instructor? You’re the kind of person who we need-enthusiastic, positive, and on fire about SFG. It’s really the best way to go for us simple home gardeners…