by 3 people |
Grow more vegetables with less effort
1) not enough time to tend the garden
2) lack of motivation to fight the jungle
3) what do I do with all that stuff now - can't eat it all at once
This new method of gardening solves all these problems, and it's equally useful for beginners as well as experienced gardeners. Moreover, if you are an experienced gardener, all the knowledge you gained so far will make you even more efficient and gardening will become an even more fun.
Grow more vegetables
What is Square Foot Gardening
1) each square is 16 sq ft: 4 ft by 4 ft
2) in between the squares, you leave a path wide enough to acces the squares - usually 1-3 ft wide.
3) Each square is in turn divided into 16 small squares: 1 ft by 1 ft.
That's it. Simple and eminently practical.
By dividing the garden into 4 by 4 squares, you know exactly how much area you are dealing with.
You can also create paths that keep you from stepping on, and compacting the soil around plants.
By dividing each square into mini-squares, it becomes very easy to plan your garden.
It also becomes very easy to do the weekly weeding.
Moreover, work can be effortlessly subdivided - so that you don't feel overwhelmed by it.
Square Foot Gardening
Square Foot Gardening: A New Way to Garden in Less Space with Less Work
Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 12/22/2009) 
Natural Pest Control with Ladybugs
They look pretty, and Ladybugs are all around good citizens.
Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer of them due to the insecticide use.
So instead of relying on a random Ladybug to grace your garden, you can now buy them, and release a few every day ( in the evening, so they don't fly away).
They will stay on the plant you put them on, and will keep on eating the pests.
May even lay eggs so you will grow your own Ladybugs.
Each package contains 1500 Ladybugs - no , I didn't count them :-) - plenty to populate your garden with this beneficial insect.
1500 Live LadyBugs
Amazon Price: $8.89 (as of 12/22/2009)
Ladybugs (Minibeasts)
Amazon Price: $4.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Ladybug Facts & Folklore
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
2009 - we went wild
We planted about 4 times as much as last year. Cucumbers are finally taking hold,
blueberries - well, they are a dream this year, but next year should be great.
Peas are doing OK, have been eating them in our salads.
As time permits, will add pictures.
Off I go to hunt down the snails, before they get to my strawberries.
My current stats 2008
Blackberries are in full focre as well - every day we get a plateful.
Expenses so far (10/27/2008):
seeds: $ 49.34
tools: $ 9.67
pots/planters: $ 41.85
total: $ 100.86
Returns: (10/27/2008)
Chives: $ 32.40
Blackberries: $ 83.60
Tomatoes: $182.90
Strawberries: $11.50
total: $ 310.40
Taste - Priceless!
Tools we use
We only use : hand pruners, trowel, cultivator, rake and a round point shovel. Small tree branches to keep the tomatoes going - free, we get them when pruning trees around the house.
Fiskars 7936 PowerGear Pruner
Amazon Price: $21.49 (as of 12/22/2009)
Fiskars Big Grip Trowel #7073
Amazon Price: $9.42 (as of 12/22/2009)
Fiskars Big Grip Cultivator #7072
Amazon Price: $5.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Ames True Temper Classic Bow Rake With 54-Inch Wood Handle #1880300
Amazon Price: $11.43 (as of 12/22/2009)
Ames True Temper Classic Round Point Shovel With 30-Inch D-Grip Wood Handle #1551400
Amazon Price: $15.92 (as of 12/22/2009)
So what is so great about it?
Mel provides guidelines for planting - how many large squares per person, how many vegetables per each small square, spacing, interplanting, rotation.
It's all there, explained and organized so even a beginner can start right away.
Mel lists yields you can expect from a variety of vegetables - per surface area. So you can easily decide how much you want to plant.
He also provides "model squares" - examples of how you might fill in a large square - remember, since the large square is divided into 16 small squares,
there is plenty of opportunity to mix and match.
On top of it, this approach lends itself to well to experimentation.
You can plant one large square per Mel's suggestions, then another one using your own ideas - then easily compare results.
Plants
Just for the fun, here are some plants - picked by Amazon's computer.
Olive Tree 25 Seeds - Olea europaea - Great Houseplant
Amazon Price: $4.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Bucks County Tomato 30 Seeds - Best Tomato 1999
Amazon Price: $1.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
AeroGarden Chili Peppers Seed Kit
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Kona Coffee Bean 10 Tree Seeds - Coffea - Gourmet!
Amazon Price: $3.99 (as of 12/22/2009)
Even easier...
Instead of digging in the dirt, he suggests puting up raised beds - by creating wooden 4 by 4 squares - you put them down on the ground, pour in a special mix of dirt, compost, etc (he gives all the details) - and you are ready to plant.
Needless to say, this saves a lot of time and effort, and helps with weeding.
I would say though, that the first book had more info on specific vegetables and how to use them in the square gardening method. So you are better off having both books.
New Square Foot Gardening
All New Square Foot Gardening: Grow More in Less Space!
Amazon Price: $13.59 (as of 12/22/2009)
I am doing it - and it works.
If you consider what it costs to buy organic vegetables these days - we are talking hundreds of dollars.
This year I am being ambitious - I am planning 5 squares, for a total of 80 sq ft.
Not only will it be fun, but based on last year's crop, I estimate I will save over $1000 NOT buying vegetables at Whole Foods - it's not just money - the prices are so high, I feel like a fool every time I shop there.
So come back and check out my progress - will put up pictures and monthly reports.
Plant Containers
It's only clay and some energy to make those. But looking at their price, you would think they are made of gold. Plenty of people I know refuse to buy them on principle - we don't like being robbed.
On the other hand, I picked up a few smaller Terra Cotta containers at $2 per piece - at Longs, of all palces. They were on sale, "Made in Italy" - how is it possible that stuff made in Italy and shipped accross oceans is cheaper than our own?
Indoor Gardening Tool Set
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Logee's Greenhouses Spectacular Container Plants
Amazon Price: $18.25 (as of 12/22/2009)
Hydrospike Hs-300 3-pack Worry-free Automatic Watering Kit
Amazon Price: $8.95 (as of 12/22/2009)
Easy Gardener 40200 Decorative Plant Protector Bags - 2 pack Medium
Amazon Price: $8.75 (as of 12/22/2009)
Nu-Dell Artificial Bonsai Plant in a Square Seagrass Container, 12" Overall Height
Amazon Price: $37.54 (as of 12/22/2009)
Unrelated to gardening, but worth visiting
About ETFs.
Couple other lenses to visit - to take a break from the money game:
Fun
and more fun
Back to money stuff:
Wealthencyclopedia.com
Fun pages to visit
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