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Garden Gate:  Square Foot Gardening vs Raised Beds  |
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traildancer
True Blue Farmgirl
485 Posts
Loyce
Glide
OR
USA
485 Posts |
 Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 12:54:18 PM
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Is there an advantage one over the other?
Which might be better for a beginner?
Thank you.
The trail is the thing.... Louis L'Amour |
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njaw09
True Blue Farmgirl
397 Posts
Annie
NJ
USA
397 Posts |
Posted - Nov 22 2011 : 1:18:41 PM
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I have the raised bed. I mix in 4 different types of soils though. It was my first time this summer and it bloom beautifully and lots of produce. you have to research your soil if you use your square foot gardening.
Square foot gardening you already using the soil from the ground.
Raised bed you add your own mix of soils. |
Edited by - njaw09 on Nov 22 2011 1:19:53 PM |
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emsmommy5
True Blue Farmgirl
1547 Posts
Angie
Buckley
WA
USA
1547 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 10:00:47 AM
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We have raised beds for a number of reasons. We did an experiment using the "soil" mixture from the square foot gardening book this year in one new bed. It produced wonderfully! It was kind of spendy to start that bed, but it definitely worked.
The other thing I have been doing which works great is to make the bed, then dump all the compost (leaves, veggie scraps, shredded paper, etc.) into that bed until it's about half full. Then I put dirt over the top. Those beds have also done great.
Do what you love, love what you do. |
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njaw09
True Blue Farmgirl
397 Posts
Annie
NJ
USA
397 Posts |
Posted - Nov 23 2011 : 10:15:45 AM
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Angie-
Also I add eggshell, coffee beans/teas and layer it...soil, compost, different soil...lots of sunshine and it is good to stir the soils.
Almost forgot...charcoal works pretty good too. With charcoal you have to make sure it is not flammable not those type. I also add sand... |
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natesgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
1735 Posts
angela
martinsville
indiana
USA
1735 Posts |
Posted - Nov 29 2011 : 11:10:08 PM
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You can do both! A raised bed set into square foot method! I've been doin that and usin square foot method in my flat 'regular' garden.
Farmgirl Sister #1438
God - Gardening - Family - Is anything else important? |
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FarmDream
True Blue Farmgirl
1085 Posts
Julie
TX
USA
1085 Posts |
Posted - Dec 20 2011 : 6:59:48 PM
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I'm doing raised beds and will use the square foot method for everything also. It's definitely best for growing corn in blocks instead of rows.
~FarmDream is Farmgirl Sister #3069
Live Today, Cherish Yesterday, Dream Tomorrow
http://naturaljulie.etsy.com
http://julie-rants.blogspot.com |
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Pasthyme
True Blue Farmgirl
99 Posts
Gail
Mountain View
AR
99 Posts |
Posted - Jan 07 2012 : 2:27:19 PM
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Yes, you can do both. I just turned my raised bed garden into square foot boxes using old lumber and other things I have recycled. I live in "Stone County" and the name says it all--clay, rocks, and stone. I fill my boxes with compost that I've made from leaves, grass, and kitchen waste. I use newspaper and flattened cereal boxes for paths through the garden. I just took an old futon frame apart and put it in the garden as a trellis for climbing veggies, then built a box around that and filled it with compost. I used old rebar and some pieces off of an old TV antenna as stakes to hold the trellis up. The square foot garden is neater than the raised bed garden. I won't be stepping on the plants, and the paths will not be muddy. I also won't have to try to hoe large areas. Much easier once I get it finished. It's been fun working in the garden on these beautiful "warm" winter days.
www.pasthymesfashions.webs.com
www.ozarkfolkcenter.com |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 05:08:10 AM
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I have seven square foot gardens. Last year was my first year with this method and it produced beautifully! It is a little spendy when you first make the soil, but you just add compost to it in the fall and spring and use it over. A true square foot garden has the one foot grids on it, that way you plant X number of plants per square foot. I am adding a couple more beds this spring.
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http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Don't go with the flow...you are the flow.
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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StrawHouseRanch
True Blue Farmgirl
1044 Posts
Paula
Holt
Missouri
USA
1044 Posts |
Posted - Jan 08 2012 : 09:03:13 AM
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Diane, your garden is just beautiful...very inspiring!!
Paula
Farmgirl Sister #3090
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a Gift.
http://www.etsy.com/shop/StrawHouseDesigns |
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JacquiePutters
Farmgirl at Heart
5 Posts
Jacqueline
Crystal Lake
IL
USA
5 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2012 : 2:07:38 PM
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I do both simultaneously. The only things I do different from SFG is that I intersperse as many marigolds as I can for pest control. I do a lot of companion gardening (tomatoes like basil, etc.) and I probably have about 8" of soil instead of the prescribed 6". It's a bit expensive in the beginning because of the wood and soil. I established six boxes at once so I needed to have soil trucked in from a nearby nursery. My only expenses now are 3 bags of fertilizer (mushroom, cow and cotton burr) per box at the beginning of the season. And mulch. The growth is truly stunning. I don't even believe it but I have the pictures to prove it.
I would definitely recommended weeding fabric on the bottom of each box and 2" of mulch on the top. Weeding then becomes a strange pasttime other people do. One thing I'm adding this year is vertical supports for my tomatoes. HUGE vertical supports. When you first transplant the little darlings it feels like hubris to put in really tall supports. GO BIG! GO HUGE! Anything less than 7' high will topple from sheer weight. And prune the tomato plants heavily, particularly the bottom so there is a lot of airflow.
Enjoy! It really is the best way to garden.
Peace! |
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RosesAreRed
True Blue Farmgirl
62 Posts
Laurie
Lehigh Acres
Fl
USA
62 Posts |
Posted - Jan 16 2012 : 7:31:36 PM
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WOW Jacqueline! I love your garden beds and how you spaced off the 1ft box areas. Perfect!
Taffy |
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Fiddlehead Farm
True Blue Farmgirl
4562 Posts
Diane
Waupaca
WI
USA
4562 Posts |
Posted - Jan 17 2012 : 03:51:06 AM
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If you to to the barter section there is "Square Foot Gardening" book up for barter!
http://studiodiphotosite.shutterfly.com/
farmgirl sister #922
Don't go with the flow...you are the flow.
I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.
- E. B. White |
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minismith
Farmgirl in Training
41 Posts
Nancy
Moscow
TN
USA
41 Posts |
Posted - Jan 21 2012 : 8:22:07 PM
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Great ideas and inspiring pictures! I'm converting my "big" patch (50'x50') into a group of smaller patches with paths in between. My patches tend to be 6' wide since that's the width of the tiller that attaches to my tractor. I had a "strip" (60'x6') garden that worked really well this year, however, as long as I kept it mulched with untreated grass clippings.
Nancy
Naturalized Farmgirl
Live a Savory Life!
http://www.liveasavorylife.com |
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avlfarmgirl
Farmgirl in Training
14 Posts
Cameron
Asheville
NC
USA
14 Posts |
Posted - Jan 22 2012 : 7:16:26 PM
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I get organic mushroom compost and add one bag to each of my 8x8' raised beds at the beginning of spring. Also, if you'll tear up old phone book pages into strips and hoe into your gardens before you close them down for winter, they will help hold moisture in the soil, plus they add carbon.
It's what you do that makes your soul. ~Barbara Kingsolver |
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EastTXFarmgirl
True Blue Farmgirl
731 Posts
Victoria
Farmgirl #549
TX
USA
731 Posts |
Posted - Jan 23 2012 : 10:16:34 AM
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About 10 years ago I moved from the Cascades in Washington State to East Texas. In Washington the square foot gardening worked great. Here in East Texas not so much. There are far too many plant destoying insects and summers are entirely too hot and dry. The soil mixture for the square foot garden dries out too quickly here. The last time I used it here I was having to water 2-3 times a day just to keep things alive. I do several raised beds but the big garden is now in the field with regular tillings. I had almost given up on gardening altogether. I always thought being in such a warm climate the gardens would grow if you just thought about it. It is quite the opposite in East Texas. It is a daily (and in some seasons an hourly) battle. Your garden can be beautiful in the morning and you walk out to enjoy the sight during afternoon tea and everything in laid over dead for no apparent reason. I think it really depends on where you live as to which method is best. Your County Extension agent or your Master Gardeners club will prove to be your best resource.
Begin each morning with a song in your heart. |
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Bear5
True Blue Farmgirl
13055 Posts
Louisiana/Texas
USA
13055 Posts |
Posted - Jan 25 2012 : 3:07:09 PM
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We have our gardens in raised beds. The weeds still grow, the snails are still all over the place, etc... But, it's not so hard for my hubby as the lower gardens. He seems to think the raised beds are easier to handle. It really doesn't matter to me.
Marly
"It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up- that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had." Elisabeth Kurler-Ross |
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Garden Gate: Square Foot Gardening vs Raised Beds |
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Square Foot Gardening vs Raised Beds
