Square Foot Gardening Project
Wednesday, 03 December 2008

Tutor Mike Hamilton explaining the Square Foot Gardening System to keen listeners
Square Foot Garden Taster Session at Denny WASP
Square Foot Gardening is a “new way to garden in less space with less work…no heavy digging or all-at-once harvest, less watering, weeding and thinning” .  It is a system of gardening developed by Mel Bartholomew in the USA that uses a number of square foot beds to grow fruit, vegetables and herbs.

The FVFL ‘Square Foot Gardening’ project aims to provide participants with the skills and enthusiasm to grow their own food in small spaces with minimum inputs in the most sustainable way possible.

The project is being run in Falkirk between November 2008 and March 2009 in response to a demand arising from a number of local strategies and consultations in the Falkirk area over the past 3 years. Read the article about the first 'Taster' session at the Denny WASP (Wider Access to School Project) on 25 November 2008 and see the photos by visiting the picture gallery.

    The main features of this system are:

  • It can be done in as little as 4 feet by 4 feet, -or as large as is required
  • The existing soil isn’t used.  Growing starts with an ideal soil mix that is weed-free and requires no tilling
  • It uses much less water - only about 20% compared to conventional gardening
  • No fertilizers or pesticides are used - it's all natural
  • The planting method requires no thinning and very few seeds
  • All the hard work has been removed in the Square Foot method - only the enjoyable part remains
  • It can be started in any season
  • It produces 5 times the harvest of a conventional garden
  • It can be done by anyone
  • It makes a great family project, all ages can participate - kids love to garden
  • It is ideal for those who have limited space, resources or time for growing or maintenance; no / limited cultivation knowledge, or no / limited knowledge of what to do with the produce 
Last Updated ( Thursday, 04 December 2008 )