Have a go at square foot gardening

Have a go at square foot gardening and find out just how much delicious home-grown produce you can harvest from the tiniest of spaces.

Square Foot Gardening – Give it a try?

When all you’ve got to work with is a single raised bed, as little as a metre square, packing variety into your patch becomes incredibly important. Divide it up, though, and you can harvest nine or ten different vegetables.

You don’t have to stick to the minimum size of 30cm (1ft) squares: just make them any size you like. Add plenty of well-rotted manure to the soil first, as this is an intensive system and the richer the soil, the better the results. Mark out your divisions with string, then plant one variety of vegetable in each segment.

Planning your planting on paper helps ensure you position veg where they won’t overwhelm each other. Courgettes, for example, (use a more compact variety like ‘Patio Star’) are best on corners where they can spill over the edge: good neighbours include climbing beans or peas.

Spread seeds across a segment

Broadcast seed across the segment instead of sowing in rows, and remember to fill each square again as soon as it’s empty – young plants sown in pots are handy gap-fillers. You’ll be astonished by how generous your little veg plot can be.