Square foot gardening is the idea of growing plants in such small containers. This method is mostly used by plant growers who sell baby plants which will be transferred to people’s homes.

Normally, square foot gardening uses an open-bottomed box that will be filled with proper amount of soil and will be divided into sections using a grid. To be able to grow multiple types of crops, each grid will be planted with different kinds of plants. The number of plants that we can plant will depend on how many square grids we will create with our box.

Because we are using just a small space for this gardening, we may want to plant just the ones that don’t require too much space. Herbs are perfect for this kind of gardening. Plants like tomatoes might need a full box for each seedling. Basil, mint, and oregano together with other herbs can be placed in just one box. Strawberries on the other hand can be planted on four in one box. Climbing and tall plants like the beans and maize can also be planted but always keep them within the ends of the box and not in middle grids.

It is advised to use plant beds and boxes that are smaller. This way, we can easily get our crops from the middle sections. Larger ones may require us to step on the plants when harvesting the crops.

Square foot gardening only needs less work compare to other gardening methods. Other conventional gardening uses heavy tools just in order to loosen the soil, but in this case, the soil remains loamy and loose. Weeding task is also easier for it takes only seconds to weed an entire box. Plants will also be more productive, because the soil has more nutrients for each plant to have without having much competition from different growing plants.

This gardening method also saves more water. The plant boxes can hold water so it does not require frequent watering. Also, the water will be spared directly into their roots so less amount of water can be wasted.

What’s best with this method is that it is pesticide and herbicide free. Just natural insect repellents are needed, and no chemical and synthetic products. This kind of gardening is absolutely organic so it maintains the naturalness of the crops and keeps both the plants and the gardeners healthy.

We can also place the plant box anywhere we like. If we are artistic enough, we can even decorate our gardens with playful designs by placing the boxes in unusual areas like above the table, n a divider, or any other tops.

Those are all the ways and benefits of this interesting gardening method. Now we can start our own square foot gardens from our homes and back yards.