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Square Foot Gardening

With a raised garden bed and some old venetian blinds you can produce the same number of vegetables as your current garden in just 1/5 the space. Don’t believe it? Our square foot gardening articles have all the details on engineer Mel Bartholomew’s revolutionary gardening system.

Sometimes a little applied engineering goes a long way. Such is the case with retired engineer Mel Bartholomew. Bartholomew’s book Square Foot Gardening was released in 1981 and has since sold over a million copies and transformed the face of America’s gardens.

Most innovations are head-slappingly simple in retrospect, and such is the case with square foot gardening. Bartholomew’s idea was raised bed gardening with a twist, or more precisely, a grid.

By separating garden boxes into 16 smaller boxes of one square foot each, a square foot gardener can discover increased yields and an almost constant source of space for crop rotation. Square foot gardeners get all the benefits of raised beds, such as well-drained soil and efficient water usage, plus the advantages of companion planting and a visually appealing garden design.

If you have yet to discover the advantages and pleasures of Bartholomew’s brainchild, the square foot gardening articles below are a great place to begin.


Square Foot Gardening Guides

  • Square Foot Garden Boxes

    Square foot gardening requires garden boxes, grids, and soil mixes. In our guide to square foot garden boxes, we offer advice on which building materials are best, how to space your plants, and explain the difference between square foot garden boxes and raised beds.
  • Small Space Gardening Ideas

    There are two possible sets of words for a small space garden. One set might include cramped, restricted, confined. The other set is intimate, cozy, comfortable. If you want the garden described by the second set of words, the small space gardening ideas listed below will help you get it.
  • Square Foot Gardening Tips

    Square foot gardening may be easier and more efficient, but the novice gardener can still benefit from a few tips and tricks. In our collection of square foot gardening tips, we look at soil and size and ask the question “Just how square does square have to be?”
  • What is square foot gardening?

    It took an engineer to transform the way modern gardens are designed. Square foot gardening is an innovative blend of raised beds and companion planting that produces a maximum yield in a minimal space. We’ve provided the answers to the whats and whys of square foot gardening.