How to Start a Square Foot Garden

There are many ways to grow your own food, from growing fruit plants inside your home 
near a window, to having a container garden or a large plot of land with herbs and 
vegetables. Another popular option is to grow what is called a square foot garden. This 
involves using square sections for the growing area. Here is more information about 
square foot gardens and how to use them.

The Purpose of a Square Foot Garden

The main reason people will do square foot gardens is convenience and lack of space. 
If you are trying to grow a lot of different vegetables, fruits, and herbs, it typically 
requires spacing everything out properly. It can become a little disorganized and hard to 
keep track of, plus the spacing means you need a good amount of land in your 
backyard. With a square foot garden, you usually only have about 12 inches per side, 
so you can have each square foot be a separate crop or plant that you are growing. It 
keeps everything contained in a smaller area and separated properly, but letting you 
grow even with a small amount of land.

How to Build Your Square Foot Garden

When you want to build a square foot garden, each box in the area should be about a 
square foot, hence why it is 12 inches on each side. You will want to first decide where 
the garden will be, and then calculate how many squares you can have in that area. 
Creating a grid is really helpful when figuring it out. Then you will need to build a box 
with this layout, and add potting soil to each square evenly.

For the box, try to use lumber that has not been treated, as you don’t want chemicals to 
be touching your plants and vegetables. To prevent weeds from growing up, use some 
type of mat materials on the bottom below where the box will be. Compost works really 
good as potting soil for the square foot garden.

What to Plant

You can plant just about anything in the square foot garden, from vegetables and fruits, 
to herbs. You can use more than one box for a certain vegetable you want more of, or 
use each square in the grid for a separate vegetable and herb. Just make sure you label 
each one so you know when to water it.
