My Square Foot Gardening Adventure

We got everything we needed. The biggest challenge was fitting it into the van!

My boys wanted to use the tools. This was a great project to teach them about construction! This whole project is also an excellent homeschooling project!

Okay, did I mention we were tool challenged? After drilling holes and screwing the first layer together (with a manual screwdriver), we decided to just nail the top layer box together. It worked. See, you can do this too!

We were so thrilled to get our garden box built. Unfortunately, the box was as far as we got that year. We got a late start, and by the time the box was built, we were into vacation and camping season, and never did get any dirt delivered or veggies planted. At that point, I may not have been growing plants, but I was growing children! But the story didn't end there....

Why did it take 2 years to get dirt and get going on our square foot garden? Well, I think I told you I was growing children instead of vegetables. I was in no shape to garden last year, I was just too pregnant. (Baby #7 was born last July.) So here we go again. Our garden didn't look too good after being ignored for 2 years, but hey, the box was already built. All I need to do this year is add dirt and veggies! Here's what our garden looked like when I started. I removed the top layer of the box so that I could dig out the weeds and grass.

I want to garden so I can eat healthier. And gardening is great exercise! Here I am working hard to dig out 2 years of weeds...

I dug out the sod and weeds and grass in about 2 hours. Then we reassembled the box and staked the corners to hold it together. Now all we need is some dirt and some vegetables! Looking good...

Before I filled the boxes, I lined the bottom and up the sides with weed block fabric.

My precious daughter (Annamadagan on squidoo) helped my fill the boxes. I ordered a load of mushroom dirt to fill my box.

This is my sweet 2 year old--she was the baby in the original picture!

Well, we accomplished a lot in a weekend, now we are ready to plant our veggies! Time for another field trip to Lowe's to get some plants and seeds!

Mel Bartholomew states you only need about a cupful of water on each square. This garden will be quick and easy to water.

I had a successful trip to Lowe's to get some plants and seeds. To plant in the square foot garden, you have to determine how big the plant will be and then you know how many plants you can put into each 12 inch x 12 inch square. My garden is 8 feet by 4 feet, so I have 32 squares to plant. After getting the seeds and plants into the ground, I realized that I have a few squares left, so I will make one more trip for a few more veggies. I can't wait for the harvest!

The kids were so excited to pick these veggies. I actually ended up moving the zucchini and squash out of the raised bed and into the ground beside it because they grew so big. I'll know better what to do next year!