Ha!  I knew the internet would have it!!!

I get emails from Instructables, which had Urban Homestead Garden which takes you step by step, but she was using the Square Foot Garden where if you read Mel's columns, it basically has the book.  He still refers sometime to certain page #'s, but if you read enough and go through FAQs, I think most of everything that could be in the book is……..enough for me!!  His first book talked about amending soil, where now he just uses the compost, vermiculite, and peat like Deb was saying above.  He also talks about growing vine plants (squash, cukes, etc.) vertical !  Talk about space saving…….

This is a very good concept, using all available space, which saves time and money.

I already have the boxes set up, I am going to do the SQF method this year and add a few beds in the front – maybe grow some vine plants vertically – that'll make the neighbors wonder what the heck I'm up to now!

I'm all about free!!

I know things were always done a certain way, but I'm sure there is an easier way to do things.  Soil has always been worked up because it was poor soil and compacted…1/3 of this soil is compost (which I have alot of in my compost bins) which is what you keep adding in when you harvest or to fill the boxes back up when they compact down – you only buy the vermiculite and the peat moss once (and I have a friend who works at the local Country Co-op store — discount!)

SQF gardening is like taking the lasagna gardening one step further with the spacing of plants to get more harvest out of a small space (which I have!)

Yes!!  That's it exactly, Mary!!  What did you use for the grid?

GeorgiaZ said:

That is beautiful Mary! So Im guessing the concept is one plant per sq foot? Or does it depend onthe plant? I just need the basics, and I hate to read! Unless its here of course!

And husband just called to see if I needed anything from home depot. I told him 12 2×12's 8ft long. That should make me 4 beds. that was my math for the day.

I took this from the website………..  also, did you see my message about the boards, georgia?

HOW TO SPACE PLANTS IN A SQUARE FOOT GARDEN

Extra Large	Large	Medium	Small
1 Plant 12 in apart Broccoli Cabbage Pepper	4 Plants 6 in apart Leaf Lettuce Swiss Chard Marigolds	9 Plants 4 in apart Bush Beans Spinach Beets	16 Plants 3 in apart Carrots Radishes Onions

Once you have your square foot grid in place, this is the easiest way to learn the perfect spacing for all your plants.  All plants, vegetables, flowers, or herbs, will fit either 1 – 4 – 9 – or 16 plants per square foot depending on how big they get.

Look in the Square Foot Gardening book for the correct spacing of all the vegetables or just figure it out from the seed packet directions.

    1 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 12 inches apart.

  4 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 6 inches apart.

  9 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 4 inches apart.

16 per square foot: plants that are thinned or planted 3 inches apart.

yes you can cut them in half………you'd have a great garden!!  you can put them right on the grass, no need to dig the grass up, just line with cardboard or newspaper to kill the grass under the soil……..