Starting my fall garden

Yesterday I set up a raised bed for my fall garden, and put in two parsley plants, mostly to have something to look at before the seeds start sprouting.  I assembled a 4x8 foot cedar raised bed from a kit I'd bought some time back, and filled it with a mix of 1/3 compost, 1/3 vermiculite, and 1/3 peat moss.

I use the Square Foot Gardening method developed by Mel Bartholomew, as outlined in his book All New Square Foot Gardening.  This method has several advantages, including space efficiency, ease of weeding and watering, high yields from remarkably small area, and attractiveness.  Most of the expense and work is up front, since once you have a bed set up and prepared, it can be used for a long time (until the material for the structure of the raised bed degrades) aside from regular addition of compost. 

The key trait of the method is that it dispenses with row gardening, and divides rectangular area into 12 inch by 12 inch grids of squares.  Depending on the size of the plant, you can get 16, 9, 4, or one  plant per each square.  Since my bed will give me 32 squares, I'm doing staggered plantings of 8 squares each over a four week period.  Staggering my planting avoids the problem of too much of one crop maturing at once.

My first week I'm planting Baby Finger and Royal Chantenay carrots, Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, Red Winter Kale, and a Bloomsdale spinach.  All the seeds are organic, and all except the spinach is an heirloom plant.  I'm considering adding beets, turnips, and chard to the mix in subsequent weeks.  Lettuce, carrots, and spinach will be planted every week, since we can eat as much of those vegetables as I can grow.

My goal this year is to garden all fall and winter, with cold-hardy plants like lettuce and kale dominating the outdoor gardening, and sprouting done indoors.  Sprouts will be a topic for a whole future post.  At the moment I have a batch of brocolli sprouts ready to eat, and soy and sunflower sprouts in progress. 

Comments

[Jeymison]

I rarely buy books, to be hosnet it's a matter of money + space great library = few purchases. However, I have bought several copies of this book because this method is superb: it's neat, it's clean, it's extremely and I mean extremely easy to manage. This is by far the easiest, best-laid out, user-friendly books I have EVER seen, complete with charts, pictures of each step you name it. And personally, as a frugalholic, I love a book where someone who doesn't have to worry about cost remembers that other people do Mel writes this for the frugal at heart complete with LOTS of money-saving tips!!! This book is SO thoughtful it even carries a plan for rooftop gardening and handicap accessibility! It is well worth your money even if you choose another method like lasanga or traditional rows (but why??? My goodness never again!!!) It calls for you to basically container garden in a four by four foot space and unlike the original square foot method, you do NOT have to til. Repeat: no tilling. That should cause you to one-click right there. You use a specially made soil called Mel's Mix . Wonderful stuff. It calls for 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 agricultural grade vermiculite in these very easy to construct 4 x 4 boxes, which are easy to cover, protect, and even make into mini-greenhouses if the need arrises. The one little caution I want to give is please be aware that the vermiculite is not as easy to find as the author seems to think it is and check in your area before making any real plans. I wound up buying a fine grade from a pool supply company, and then after the fact was informed by an older gardener that I should have looked at the co-op. Start there first, and make sure you always ask if it's agricultural grade. The fine works great for us, but the large pieces will break down over time and work at greater efficiency longer. And remember, you're looking for 40 pound bags, not the little $3 numbers at the home improvement store that will break the bank before you get the first plant in and the author again to his credit recommends avoiding this costly route. Be sure and stop by the website, squarefootgardening.com for a great in-depth view of the method it's a great site and includes a gardening plan for home-schooled children. Mel is a friendly author and one truly gets the impression that he is doing this because he loves it and the advantages this type of gardening can give the average joe (who usually has planting fever in the spring and burns out by the summer) and not because it sells gardening books. You would be well-advised to purchase this book it'll change your view of gardening forever in a good way. I have recieved several questions on my blog about purchasing this book, all of which are answered at moness.blogspot.com, all of which were posted in March of 2006, and I include our progress as well. One of which is no don't buy the old book at a cheaper price. They are apples and oranges, and after having read both, this is far and away the best way to go. Did I mention no tilling?

[Cal]

Luci,Thanks so much for looking at my new blog. I have to say that it is great to be wtniirg again, both for the blog and for the book. I'll let you know when the new book comes out, I think you are going to like it!Happy Gardening,Mel

[Niky Bojy]

I guess I have selected a mind blowing and interesting blog.

http://www.upkoming.com

[camping gear]

Knowledgeable, but entertaining, as are many of your blogs.
I read through the past entries over the past week or two,
and I must say I think I'm in love.

[baby einstein]

Danke for stirring me to go do my own my own analysis.
Yours was way more wide-ranging than mine.

[Bankruptcy & Debt Law Lawyer]

Other individuals studying your website and also the comments note that you are replying in order to feedback at the same time. Replying for you to responses is key to dialogue plus you've got to be able to lead through example and reply to the remarks to encourage others to retort at the same time .

[NapgfQyt]

NapgfQyt http://www.LU41oB4wSYOL6xJ88OF991.com/
[url=http://www.LU41oB4wSYOL6xJ88OF991.com/]NapgfQyt[/url]
NapgfQyt

[BVeZpaNc]

BVeZpaNc http://www.g8q8y1wiu4Oj9k8470RCBf.com/
[url=http://www.g8q8y1wiu4Oj9k8470RCBf.com/]BVeZpaNc[/url]
BVeZpaNc

[YHzkdCLB]

YHzkdCLB http://www.tH6fmNA7d072Dlyiy696x2.com/
YHzkdCLB
[url=http://www.tH6fmNA7d072Dlyiy696x2.com/]YHzkdCLB[/url]

[MoKkDRiK]

MoKkDRiK http://www.Ih7u5ZQ77ZgW8u0r9b2em7.com/
MoKkDRiK
[url=http://www.Ih7u5ZQ77ZgW8u0r9b2em7.com/]MoKkDRiK[/url]

[seo services]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden seo services http://scrapebox.over-blog.com/ seo services

[mulberry bags]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden mulberry bags http://mulberry360.over-blog.com/ mulberry bags

[miu miu bags]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden miu miu bags http://www.imiumiu.com/ miu miu bags

[整形美容]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden 整形美容 http://www.feimeizx.com/index.html 整形美容

[nike lebron 10]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden nike lebron 10 http://nikelebron33.com/ nike lebron 10

[chanel bags]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden chanel bags http://direttoredinogreco.liberazione.it/chanelbags.html chanel bags

[hermes bags]

atlantalarry: Starting my fall garden hermes bags http://www.hermesbags360.com/ hermes bags