Salad in My Back Yard!

Author's Rating:

Pros: Easy, inexpensive and innovative idea that gives us all a chance to "play farmer"

Cons: I haven't tried it yet. Can the crops really stay disease free?

The Bottom Line: 
It sounds like a great way for us suburban folk to grow enough to have a good time without giving up our entire postage stamp yard to agriculture.

Author's Review
If the idea of rows of green beans, fields of strawberries and/or "amber waves of grain" is your vision of gardening, then you will find this book surprising and, perhaps, fascinating. All that produce, according to author, Mel Bartholomew, is the reason why most of us fail at gardening. Bartholomew, a former engineer, wanted a simpler, easier way - hence "Square Foot Gardening".

The concept is that we can all garden one square foot at a time without becoming discouraged by weeds, thinning out plants and/or to many crops. By planting just one or two plants in each square foot of garden and keeping the total size easy to reach and work with, even a novice can grow enough food to feed a family in a very small portion of the yard. Since each square requires minimal work, the gardener will remain enthusiastic and not find the project burdensome.

Each plot is 4' by 4' and generally has 16 squares. Depending on the size of the family, an entire garden may consist of only two or three plots. Crops that need to climb are planted in the "back" with a vertical trellis. A square can hold a pepper or a tomato, a few radishes, a couple of lettuce heads, etc. By staggering planting and only using one or two seeds of each type, the gardener can have an ongoing supply of vegetables and still enjoy great variety.

The idea seems simple enough. It received worldwide attention when the book was published in 1981 and has been touted by various gardening groups and "frugal" folks ever since. However, as one who generally kills something green every time she gets her fingernails dirty, I can't personally vouch for it. I am willing to try and, perhaps, if necessary, to update this review sometime in the fall of 2002.