Square Foot Gardening: A New Way To Garden In Less Space With Less Work

Author's Rating:

Pros: Bartholomew’s methods can be used by novice and experienced gardeners

Cons: none noted

The Bottom Line: 
Writer Bartholomew presents his thoughts in lucid, easy to understand verbiage. One huge plus is that using Bartholomew’s technique results in less thinning, less weeding, and less watering.

Author's Review
I saw my first copy of Bartholomew’s Square Foot Gardening before I left California, almost two decades ago. And I have been following his gardening suggestions from that day to this.

The cover, of the book with small bed after small bed filled with abundant, luxuriant produce; immediately caught my eye. I have long gardened, however the mini boxes for maxi yield as touted by Bartholomew is a novel notion, and is easier to deal with. I have other gardening books, I always fall back to Bartholomew.

When Bartholomew first produced his square foot gardening outline, the retired engineer and efficiency expert offered a workable, easily managed, way for out to one of the major frustrations of many gardeners. Those long rows many of us were planting entailed so much weeding and thinning and watering, and just plain hard work, that many would be gardeners quickly gave up.

Square Foot Gardening is an ingenious planting process based on using square foot blocks of garden space instead of rows. The best part: Bartholomew’s methods can be used by novice and experienced gardeners.

The 347 page work is jam packed with valuable gardening information for the novice through experienced gardener. The Introduction offers a general idea of Bartholomew methodology. Writer Bartholomew presents his thoughts in lucid, easy to understand verbiage.

Using his methods; gardeners build up, not down, meaning no digging and no tilling is needed once the beds have been established. One huge plus is that using Bartholomew’s technique results in less thinning, less weeding, and less watering; what a tremendous help for those of us who work out of the home and garden.

The chapter titled Garden Sizes and Basic Layouts discusses how size of the garden determines how long it will take to work and maintain the beds. A major problem I have noticed for beginning gardeners is the tendency to think way too big for the first and as it becomes only garden.

Author Bartholomew discusses expected harvest to expect from small blocks of planting. I like the pages and pages of garden layouts presented as well as a sample garden for those who do home canning and freezing.

I did do a lot of canning when my kids were young, home canned foods do not have the preservatives which troubled my asthmatic son. I don’t can so much now, however as the food we find in the stores come under more and more scrutiny following outbreak of one illness or another; the notion of growing and canning again is beginning to send me to garden more again.

One of the most important of the chapters for novice gardeners, I believe is Garden Planning—What and When to Plant which helps gardeners know what to plant and when by following the author’s one-block garden plan from month to month. Another big problem for the novice gardener is understanding that every seed does not go into the ground on day 1 of this year's garden.

Beds, vertical frames for climbing plants – pole beans, or for upward growing plants, and suggestions for how to decide what to plant when and where are given. An indoor/hot house spring seed sowing schedule is provided.

Frost maps – planting zones are included as an aide for gardeners. Knowing your planting zone is very important, I still chuckle after living in my house for fifteen years; I realize that I live in a different planting zone than is found just ten miles south of us. However, every spring we are reminded again of the truth as daffodils burst into color in Bartlesville while my own daffodils are not yet showing bud.

Bartholomew discusses seeds, how to transplant little plants and how to label beds. As gardeners progress from novice to experienced; planting for continuous harvest, rotating crops, spring and summer produce is presented. Especially in this day of rising fuel costs and need for curtailing driving, as well as one outbreak after another of salmonella and other illnesses from produce more and more folks are beginning to turn to gardening. Charts listing plant dates for seeding, dates for transplanting and expected harvest times is provided.

Tools for the Square Foot Garden has been my guide for the past twenty years. I do have a small shovel, rake and hoe, but chiefly use a small hand held combination tool.

The author spends time discussing Getting Started—Sun, Soil, Drainage, and Location explaining the sun and shade issue of gardening. Too much direct sun is as bad for the garden as too much shade. Bartholomew guides the gardener toward an understanding of soil, including compost and soil structure and how to improve soil by using vermiculite and peat moss.

Understanding pH, including a pH tolerance chart listing many common garden vegetables is found. He discusses need for fertilizers including how to produced good fertilizer. I have horses, I use whinny poo in my composting.

Bartholomew’s first guide offered a recipe for creating perfect garden soil, and later printings continue to offer the list. A discussion centering on the importance of drainage and location of the beds rounds out the chapter.

Basic Spacing and Planting Methods is a chapter which novice gardeners will find very valuable. The chapter is filled with illustrations and photographs diagramming spacing needed for specific plants. Attention is given to a large selection of vegetables which can be grown as well as how to achieve large harvests. Bartholomew addresses vertical growing, and good basic planting tips.

Vertical Growing assures that plants such as vining pole beans, and plants which tend to creep and crawl: tomatoes, squash, watermelon, cucumbers do not overtake the whole garden area. I have used vertical frames successfully for climbers, corralling sprawling plants, and melons.

Produce will have less rot from touching soil as they are produced on the vine on the frame. Melons will need support when grown on vertical frames; but that is why many gardeners keep old panty hose handy. I have found by following Bartholomew’s instruction that pruning and training plants to grow vertically is not difficult.

The chapter titled Structures to Build provides first-rate instructions for constructing many plant supports, frames for those vertical crops, and portable planter boxes. A sun box is illustrated and how to protect boxes from moles and other burrowing critters is discussed.

Bartholomew gives an overview of seeding and transplanting. Depending on how much time the gardener has to spend on gardening, much or all of the garden can be begun from seed. Personally, I do buy a good many plants and set them out rather than beginning with seeds in a sun box. I do work, teach full time, and while I enjoy gardening, I do not devote as much time as I once did to the activity as I once did when I was producing foods for family.

For those who do want to garden from seed: Starting Plants from Seed explains how to store seed, describes germination and methods used for germinating from seed. How and when to sow seeds is provided with detailed instructions accompanied with diagrams and photos.

The how to section discussing Transplanting includes a chart for gardening through sowing seed only, sowing seed plus transplant, and transplant only gardening. Hardening off, what it is, how to and why; is explained. Bartholomew offers tutoring regarding containers and soils.

Watering guides are provided and will be used often by novice gardeners, too much and too little water results in the same problem; dead and dying plants. Mulching and its importance for water conservation is explained.

The need for Controlling Weeds, Pests, and Diseases is one aspect of gardening that often proves daunting and causes many would be gardeners to not begin or to give up when contemplating a long row type garden. I have found weeding and ridding the plants of pests or disease is more manageable one foot at a time.

Control of pests I don’t want in my garden: slugs and snails, cabbage worms, cut-worms, and horrible beetles here in Oklahoma are pests I don’t want in my garden. Bartholomew offers suggestions for natural methods to ridding the garden of pests.

Bartholomew details the wisdom of frequent harvest so the plant will continue to produce. Ideas for storage of produced and even a recipe or two are given.

Extending the Growing Season is a chapter I used more when gardening for family rather than just the two of us. Bartholomew gives information regarding how to protect plants from frost. Sun boxes for getting early start on the season, and the winter garden are also detailed.

End of Season Activities including mulching the garden following frost, how to care for tools before putting away for the winter and record keeping are discussed.

Special Gardens including my favorites at the moment: waist-high plans, an all-vertical area, an all-lettuce plot, herb garden, and patio garden are detailed by the author. Other plans are children's gardens, roof-top garden for those living in cities and other areas minus ground surface possibilities, gourmet garden, leisure garden, and for those who need wheel chair garden, or waist-high garden plans are offered. Other specialty gardens of indoor garden, winter garden, desert gardening, and specific areas ie northern, southern and western gardening assure the book has something for everyone.

A Guide to Growing Crops by the Square Foot Method is filled with valuable information for those wishing to try square foot gardening. Included in the chapter is a listing of plants, information regarding spacing of plants, growing season of various plants, as well as a discussion re how long seeds can be stored. A diagram for how to preparing the foot square or trellis planting is detailed.

An index is provided at the back of the book to facilitate looking up and finding answers to questions.

I have found my using The Square Foot Method limits the size of the bed and/or seeding areas to controllable size. One of the problems I found when my gardens followed the standard long rows was the need to overseed and then thin seedlings. By limiting the size of the garden, based on squares rather than those long rows, waste by thinning is reduced.

My original dog eared version of the book is kept beside the later edition I also bought. Happy to recommend.

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Reviewed by Molly’s Reviews
molly martin
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Product Details and Shipping Information from Amazon

Square Foot Gardening
Author Mel Bartholomew
Product Details
Paperback: 347 pages
Publisher: Rodale Books
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0878573410
ISBN-13: 978-0878573417
Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

About the Author
Mel Martholomew, a retired engineer, found the answer to the frustrations of most gardeners, "I found a better way to garden," says the writerl, "one that's more efficient, more manageable and less work." The result is Square Foot Gardening. His method has received world-wide recognition for its simplicity and uniqueness and has been written up in every major newspaper and gardening magazine.