Basic #2 Boxes for Your Square Foot Garden

Square Foot Gardening is done in a box 6" deep and no more than 4' wide.  It can be built out of many different types of materials. You might even have something on hand you could use like scrap lumber, old bricks or cement blocks. I've seen some pretty creative ideas like railroad ties,decorative rock and even colorful old dinner plates. This is why every Square Foot Garden is unique and has its own personality. Set your box in your yard close to the house where you might walk by it often and conveniently tend it. I like to set mine outside my kitchen window so I can see it every day.  Seeing it often will ensure quality nurturing and appreciation. For a larger garden layout multiple boxes can be spaced 3-4 feet apart. Generally the popular 4x4 size box will feed an adult a salad every day of the growing season. Amazingly a 4x4 box can grow over 100 vegetables with the Square Foot Gardening planting method. Saving space is the # 1 advantage to the Square Foot Gardening method.

64 Corn Stalks in a 4x4 Square Foot Garden

 The box also provides protective advantages that a single row garden cannot. A simple PVC tent can be placed over a box it secured outside of it with rebar. This can be covered with different materials according to the weather. In early spring use a 6 mil thickness of plastic to act as a greenhouse. In the summer cover with a shade cloth to keep lettuces and spinach from bolting. When a fall frost threatens, put a light blanket over the tent frame to protect tomatoes and squashes. A wood framed covering with chicken wire walls protects against dogs, cats, deer and other critters.

This setting shows the PVC tent and the square covering