Planning the harvest
Once the box is built and filled with soil, it's time to think about what you want to sow and plant. Depending on the space requirements of each vegetable, the number of plants per square meter is determined so that the beds can be used optimally. They are roughly divided into four categories, from small to extra-large:
Small: If the spacing is 8 cm, sixteen plants fit in one square, for example carrots, radishes or onions.
Medium: With a spacing of 10 cm, 9 plants fit in one square, e.g. spinach, beetroot or bush beans.
Large: With a spacing of 15 cm, you can plant four plants in one square, for example, lettuce, chard, or parsley. X-Large: For plants that need to be thinned to a spacing of 30 cm, only one plant per square, such as cauliflower, broccoli, tomatoes, melons, or peppers.
The sowing spacing is the same as that recommended on the seed packet. This means that 9 (or 16 for 4 x 4 squares) different plant species can thrive in one box. This ensures you have enough vegetables for your own consumption. In the beginning, however, it's recommended to only plant what you plan to eat. By observing your mini-beds, you can quickly draw conclusions for the next year. Squares with fast-growing vegetables like radishes or lettuce can be replanted immediately.
Make sure tall plants don't steal light from shorter plants. Therefore, tomatoes are planted facing north in the Square Foot Garden.
To plant the seeds, use your finger to draw appropriate lines in the soil. Then, you can press small indentations into the soil at appropriate intervals for the seeds.
Good neighbors, bad neighbors – mixed culture is a must!
Since the fields are very small, you inevitably have to deal with the issue of mixed cropping. That is, which vegetables get along and which don't. Carrots, for example, can be planted perfectly with leeks or onions. The carrots keep the onion fly away, and the leeks keep the carrot fly away. Borage is an ideal partner for zucchini. It attracts bees and other pollinators that zucchini needs for flowering. Tomatoes, in turn, get along well with radishes, and so on. Make sure you don't plant two vegetables from the same plant family next to each other.
Many varieties should not be grown in the same spot in the garden every year. This would deplete the soil of nutrients, and the plants would no longer be able to receive sufficient nutrients. Furthermore, plants from the same family attract the same pests and diseases. Particular attention must be paid to crop rotation, i.e., plant diversity. Vegetables from the same family or type (e.g., cucumber and melon in the cucurbit family, or leeks and garlic in the allium family) should not be grown consecutively. A classic crop rotation would be lettuce, radishes, and spinach.
Advantages at a glance
- The gardening is concentrated in a very small space, but it is a very intensively cultivated vegetable garden on an area of just 1.5 square meters.
The higher the plant density, the easier it is to care for. - The entire bed can be worked effortlessly from any position without having to step into the bed.
- You only grow as much as you need, but you can also try out a larger range.
- Since the wide row spacing is eliminated, the plants grow at an optimal distance from each other.
- Even in confined spaces, tall vegetables like cucumbers, beans, or tomatoes can be grown. Netting provides good support.
- Suitable for occasional gardeners, new gardeners and city dwellers as well as for large garden owners and allotment gardeners.
- More yield per area, less weeds!
Text: Victoria Wegner
