What is square foot gardening?

Answer 1

Square Foot Gardening is a type of intensive gardening popularized by Mel Bartholemew. It is based on the idea that the wide rows in conventional home gardening are a waste of time, work, water and space, and that more quality vegetables can be grown in less space with less effort.

In this method, the garden space is divided into beds (a 4' x 4', 16 sq ft or 120cm x 120cm, 1.4m² garden being recommended) and separated by paths. These beds are further divided into squares of approximately one square foot, and planted with your vegetables. Common spacing is one plant/square for larger plants such as broccoli, basil, etc.. four/square for medium large plants like lettuce, nine/square for medium-small plants like spinach, and sixteen/square for small plants such as onions and carrots. The beds are weeded and watered from the pathways, so the garden soil is not compacted.

for more info try link given below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Square_foot_gardening

Answer 2

See below for the official web-site for square-foot gardening.

It's a beautiful system where you plant each plant at a certain distance from each other. The big garden squares are just over a meter by a meter, so you don't have to reach very far to plant, water or pull weeds. You can grow a great variety of plants, and keep your plants weeded very well.

Well, in theory. I have had a great success one year with a lettuce square -- it was beautiful and productive. But, I often find my seeds don't sprout like they should, and my square garden has embarrassing bald spots. And, I don't weed it like I should. If you are disciplined and only have a small space, it's a great way to grow many things. I think some things are better grown in a larger bed, though -- maize/corn, wheat, pumpkins, etc. Also, I've had problems with making the bed barriers and keeping them nice. The wood rots so fast . . . .

Still, it's a fascinating system.