Mel solved the problem of space

Author's Rating:

Pros: Excellent. More produce per square foot.

Cons: You'll most likely be feeding your neighbors, too.

Author's Review
Mel Bartholomew's (Mel's) idea of Square Foot Gardening solves the problem of how many plants can go into one square foot. I found Mr. Bartholomew on my television set when I first became interested in vegetable gardening. I watched his program faithfully. I eventually purchased his book through his television show many, many years ago. I probably was one of the first people to buy it. I've been vegetable gardening that long.

We had almost 2 1/2 acres of property. When clearing out some trees to put in an above the ground 24 foot round pool for the offsprings, we decided to clear out a section for me for a vegetable garden. I previously had a small area where I had grown some vegetables and I wanted a larger area. So, off to the drawing board, we planned out the size and how the garden area was to be formed.

Using Mel's method, I was able to design my garden. But, I made some changes. My raised beds were four feet wide by twenty feet long.
The area for my garden was 120 feet long by thirty feet wide. I had garden top soil delivered, purchased the wood for making the raised beds and found a couple of local high school boys to assemble the gardening area for me. Along with putting up the wire fencing and posts.

My neighbors said that I had a mini farm because I planted 1000 tomato plants, 1000 pepper plants, 500 lettuce plants, 500 eggplants plus plenty of beans, corn and flowers.

I mail ordered live plants from a place in Georgia. They were delivered by UPS. To make straight rows, I used a ruler to lay out the width between the rows. I placed strings from each end of the raised beds to get straight lines.

We lived in northern New Jersey. My in-laws were up from Florida. I sort of took advantage of this. I was able to spend all day out in the garden putting the plants in, one by one. It took me several days to put the plants in. I had to keep the roots in water. The plants were bundled in 25's.

By the time I had all of my plants in, everyone was amazed at how many plants I had put into the vegetable garden, using Mel's "Square Foot Garden" method.

I had tomatoes galore along with peppers, egg plants and so forth. I was more or less feeding the neighborhood. I even put an ad in the newspaper to get rid of some of my vegetables.

I even had a family member come to see my garden and he questioned my spacing of the plants. He said that I had them too close together and tried to tell me that they wouldn't grow. I told him to turn his television on at such and such a time and what channel to watch for Mel's show and, then, make that same statement.

We would visit him and he never said a word about my gardening and plants again. My mother was a vegetable gardener. So was my grandfather. I'm now 60 years old and I still like vegetable gardening, but, in a smaller area, now. My offsprings are grown. I've moved to southern New Jersey. My gardening area is now only about 50 feet long by 20 feet wide. Almost 20 years later, I still use the "Square Foot Gardening" method. I skipped putting in a garden last year to give the area a rest. But, this coming summer, I plan to plant a garden, using the "Square Foot Gardening" method.

In southern New Jersey, I also feed my neighbors from my garden. I put in a couple hundred tomato plants. Same with the pepper plants. I put in less beans and eggplants. The garden down here is on my lawn. I add flowers to it, too.

It all started with Mel's Square Foot Gardening" method. One tomato plant per foot, one pepper plant per foot, one eggplant per square foot. And so forth. And it works. The tomatoes, I cage. I put several varieties of the tomatoes and peppers in. I buy live plants from local nurseries.

The wax beans, green beans and lima beans, I start from seeds, putting 2 plants per foot as suggested in Mel's book.

The book "Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew is well worth the investment. I've been using his method for about twenty years. Along with some companion planting. I cheat though, I put down newspapers covered with black plastic so I don't have to weed my garden. Did that up in northern New Jersey, too. My neighbors here are amazed at how many plants I manage to put into my gardening area and how much crop I get from it, too.

I might make some changes next year and do "Senior Citizen Gardening." That is, raised, raised beds on horses and wood, with it up in the air so I don't have to bend over. But, still using the "Square Foot Gardening" method by Mel Bartholomew. On my back deck, twenty feet wide by twenty feet long. I'll have to move the fence over and let the old garden become part of the lawn, again. More grass to cut with the riding lawn mower.

So, no matter what size your garden is, you can really get more plants per foot, using the "Square Foot Garden" method by Mel Bartholomew.

January is the time to start planning a vegetable garden on the drawing board. So, for Christmas, might I suggest buying the family gardener Mel's book for him/her for a Christmas present if he/she already does not have one?