There are many advantages to growing vegetables in a square foot garden (also known as a Grid garden) some of these – in fact twelve benefits in all are listed below, but this list is by no means comprehensive.
Indeed this is a sample of benefits that are gained overall when using this square foot system to grow a range of vegetables. However this list grows when you look into the advantages of growing vegetables linking to Companion Planting methods for instance.
With that said here is a list of the main benefits of the square foot garden as we see them, a fuller explanation below this list…
- Chemical free gardening method
- convenient and easy to use even in limited space
- Ecconomical way to grow vegetables
- Healthy organic method to grow your own food
- Only a 4 x 4 foot area needed
- Easy pest control
- Easy to maintain over the growing season
Chemical Free:
Because of the nature of this intensive gardening system, there is little or no chemicals involved either with the fertilization methods, or the pest control methods employed. Both are organic in nature and the planting rotation is done in such a way as to avoid the use of artificial stimulants or chemical sprays.
Companion planting methods are employed to a large extent in a Square Foot Garden, to ensure that each plant gets the ‘best of all worlds’ when it comes to growing conditions. This means that plants are grown together for mutual benefit, to control pests and to ensure proper nutrition and excellent quality produce free of chemical contamination.
Convenient:
As mentioned earlier, this method requires such a small space (4 foot x 4 foot) that it opens up the possibilities for almost anyone to consider growing their own veg – even beginners
!
Even if you live in a city apartment and do not have any garden ground, there is the possibility to erect a SFG on the roof perhaps, or maybe even to join with a local authority gardening scheme – or create one if it does not already exist!
People who have busy work schedules can also find this way convenient in that it is much easier and less time consuming than traditional gardening methods.
Weeding is reduced to a minimum as you are not using soil contaminated by weed seeds, and even when they finally raise their heads they are easily pulled out because the growing medium is not packed hard by footsteps.
Economical:
Especially relevant for those already involved in growing their own vegetables – a SFG system means that you are no longer growing heaps of veggies that end up in the compost heap because you cannot consume them fast enough!
This is often the lamentable situation with regards to conventional gardening, where rows of vegetables are grown all at once; leading to wastage and a lot of hard work for nothing.
Included in this “wastage” must be not only be the expense of the seedlings or seeds, but also the cost involved in compost, fertilizer, pest control, weeding and maintenance – whether organic in nature or not.
With SFG, the vegetables are grown in an intensive yet rotational manner which is aimed at providing a reasonable amount of the ‘green stuff ‘ right at the time when you can appreciate it most and put it to best use. This avoids needless waste – though it does mean that the compost heap may grow hungry!
More Benefits Of Square Foot Gardening
- Size: With the growing bed area being so small, it means that this technique can be used even by city dwellers, as long as they have a tiny area to place their SFG.
- Variety: Rotational planting method means that you can have a good mixture of different veggies throughout the growing season.
- Easy Maintained: Easy to keep and maintain once the plants are established. Loose compost means no hard work involved in weeding for instance.
- Natural Pest Control: The application of companion planting, as well as the mixture of vegetable types, means that pest control can be accomplished without the need for chemical pesticides
- No Chemical Fertilizer: Again, this is accomplished by using Companion Planting methods, along with crop rotation, and a good quality compost mixture.
- Longer Growing Season: Since the growing medium is raised slightly from the ground, and has ideal conditions for growing; the actual growing season is extended beyond that of a conventional garden.
- Portable: Especially with regard to the shallow bed model, this type of garden can be lifted and transported to a suitable location – provided it has a base of course!
Conclusion:
Ok, well so much for the benefits of the SFG method of growing vegetables; I hope that if you had any doubts about it before now, you are on your way to gaining an understanding of just what the fuss is all about regarding Square Foot Gardening.
