So many veggie plants, so little space! Vegetable gardening is undoubtedly a popular activity–Americans spent an estimated $3.8 billion total on vegetable gardening in 2023.
But not everyone is looking to create the traditional garden plot–for many of today’s gardeners, that approach just isn’t practical. The median size of a home garden is actually fairly small, at just 96 square feet. And with gardening practices like urban farming on the rise, and likely to continue rising, more gardeners are looking for ways to break the mold on conventional growing techniques that require large amounts of dedicated space.
So, how do you grow an abundant and rewarding vegetable garden, even if you’re pressed for space? Enter Square Foot Gardening. This gardening method invites you to rethink the typical rows and rows of widely spaced vegetable plants, and instead go for a more compact, efficient approach.
It Started With a Man Named Mel
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Square Foot Gardening was developed by retired civil engineer and hobby gardener Mel Bartholomew in the 1970s. Bartholomew found that row gardening was difficult and inefficient, and as an efficiency expert, he decided to try another way. Thus, Square Foot Gardening was born, and it was a hit.
Bartholomew went on to write a popular gardening book and even hosted his own TV show on PBS and the Discovery Channel in the 1980s. So, what is Square Foot Gardening, and how can you do it with your own vegetables? We turned to Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening Foundation, as well as Good Housekeeping and the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University, to find out.
Why Rows in the First Place?
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Rows make sense for large plots tended by farmers, because they’re using large equipment like tractors and cultivators to mechanically tend their fields. However, if you’re managing your garden by hand, there’s really no need for rows. And who wants to spend a bunch of time weeding between rows where you don’t have anything planted, anyway?
Plus, if you’re crunched for space, you probably don’t have room for long rows. So, ditch them!
Switch It Up for Square Foot Gardening
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Square Foot Gardening offers several benefits over gardening in the traditional rows. The most obvious perk, of course, is saving space. But Square Foot Gardening also allows you to grow even more vegetables within that smaller space. And because you’re growing more vegetables closer together, there’s less opportunity for pesky weeds to spring up. That means less weeding for you!
Square Foot Gardening also requires just 10% of the water needed for traditional row gardening. Plus, since you’re growing your vegetable gardens in raised beds ( the usual Square Foot Gardening method), you have the versatility to grow vegetables on a patio or rooftop garden.
So, how do you do it? The Square Foot Gardening Foundation breaks it down into three steps.
Step 1: Build Your Box
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To get started, some type of box is needed. You can build a box from raw or recycled materials, or buy one. If shopping online, it will likely need to be assembled. If you buy it locally, you can even find one put together and ready to go straight out of a truck bed.
The Square Foot Gardening Foundation recommends a 4×4 box that you’ll later divide into 16 squares, but it’s not a hard and fast rule. Do what makes sense for your space. You do want to make sure your box is deep enough to support good root growth, between 6 and 12 inches.
While the Square Foot Gardening Foundation recommends creating your garden in a raised bed, Professor Steve Reiners of the School of Integrative Plant Science at Cornell University points out that you can apply the square foot spacing principles to a pre-existing in-ground garden, as well. So if you’re already happy with your garden plot, but would like to put that space to more efficient use, give it a shot!
Step 2: Build Your Soil
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Because you’re growing so many plants in such a small space, you want to make sure you have nutrient-rich soil to support their growth. You can always buy soil specifically for raised beds, or you can build your own.
The Square Foot Gardening Foundation offers a recipe for creating your own soil mix: 1/3 coarse grade vermiculite, 1/3 sphagnum peat moss, and 1/3 blended organic compost.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac points out that peat moss and vermiculite are both non-renewable resources with a high carbon footprint. They recommend using coconut coir as a substitute, which is a natural fiber extracted from the outer husk of a coconut.
Step 3: Build Your Grid
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Now it’s time to set up your square foot blocks. You can create your grid with anything from string to yardsticks to PVC pipe. Your grid is going to help you determine how many of each vegetable to plant in your space. It also just helps keep things looking tidy and organized.
Choosing Your Plants
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Now the fun part! Once you’ve done all the prep work, you finally get to put in your vegetables. When choosing your plants, it’s important to keep in mind your hardiness zone, and your area’s frost dates. Make sure your plants are suited to your area and the season in which you’re planting.
And, of course, be sure to plant vegetables you’re excited to eat!
The Square Foot Gardening Cheat Code
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With this method of gardening, you can toss out the spacing instructions on your seed packet. Just remember that each square in your grid will have either 1, 4, 9, or 16 plants in it, depending on the size of the plant.
For example, tomatoes are an extra-large plant, so you’ll only put one in a square. Lettuce is a large plant, so you can plant four in one square. Nine beets will fit one square, and sixteen small chives fit a square.
You can determine how many plants fit in a square by checking the spacing instructions (ok, maybe you didn’t want to throw those out, after all):
- Thin to 12” = one plant per square
- Thin to 6” = four plants per square
- Thin to 4” = nine plants per square
- Thin to 3” = sixteen plants per square
For multiple plants in one square, use your fingers to draw a smaller grid in the soil and space your plants within those smaller boxes.
You can find more info on how to determine plant spacing at the Square Foot Gardening Foundation website. This is not a hard-and-fast rule; different gardeners will have different preferences for how many plants go in each square. We also have a list of our favorite vegetables to plant with Square Foot Gardening.
A Note About Flowers
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You aren’t limited to vegetables in your Square Foot Garden! Other plants, like flowers and herbs, are a welcome addition and can have benefits for your vegetables. Marigolds, for example, are frequently planted with tomatoes and other vegetables to protect against whiteflies and nematodes (roundworms).
Just use the thinning instructions and Square Foot Gardening cheat code to determine how many of each flower to plant in each square.
A Note About Composting
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Compost is an important part of the soil recipe if you’re building your own soil. It’s part of what allows you to grow so many vegetables without needing to use fertilizer. If you’re planning on using your own compost, the Square Foot Gardening Foundation offers a few helpful pointers for making sure your compost is top-notch.
First, be sure to mix the types of organic matter you’re using in your compost; balance your food scraps with lawn clippings and leaves, for example. You also want to break those pieces up small, if you can, and keep your compost moist. This help speed along the composting process to when it’s dark, crumbly, smells like forest, and is ready to use. Don’t forget to shake that compost up once in a while! You can use a tumbler if you have one, or a pitchfork if your compost is in a pile.
It’s Hip to Be Square
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While Bartholomew’s method was considered pretty revolutionary in the ‘70s, it’s become a very popular gardening style and has proved successful for many backyard growers. If you’ve ever let limited space dash your dreams of growing your own vegetables, try your hand at Square Foot Gardening. You may be surprised by what you can accomplish with the help of a few squares!
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