Gardening in restricted spaces

There are many ways to garden in restricted spaces. Often a small or limited space is an issue in growing and cultivating plants. Restricted space gardens can be located on small lawns, balconies, patios, porches, rooftops, inside the home, or in any other available place. Gardening in small places can be applied to edible or floral plants. Growing your own food has many benefits including saving money; healthier, fresher, and better tasting food; knowledge of pesticide and fertilizer exposure. Gardening is a good form of exercise and has been proven to be therapeutic.

"Square Foot Gardening" was made popular by Mel Bartholomew in the early 1980s. He has written multiple books, appeared on various television shows, and even has a website about the subject. The basic idea of square foot gardening is to have a box of equal length and width and divide this box into one square foot areas; the original design was a six to eight inches deep with four foot sides divided into 16 squares.

The box can be placed on the ground or on supports so that those who can not bend as easily or for long periods can garden as well. Boxes placed on supports need a bottom. Boxes placed on the ground do not need a bottom; however, having a weed blocker is recommended. Even if the box is placed on the ground, the existing soil condition is irrelevant because it is not used. It is recommended to fill the box with Mel's Mix. Mel Bartholomew created this mix and claims it never has to be replaced. To make it, combine compost (homemade or 5 different kinds of store bought), peat moss, and coarse vermiculite in equal parts by volume. After the soil is in the box, use string, stakes, or pieces of timber to divide the large box into equal one foot by one foot squares. The ideal placement of the box is a spot that receives six to eight hours of sunlight per day and is away from any shading trees or shrubs. You also want to be able to access the box from all sides. If this is impossible in your space, make a narrower box, three by four, or a smaller box, three by three. Never walk in your plot - it will compact the soil and ruin the dynamics of the box.

How many seeds are to be placed in each square foot depends on the size of the plant. Small crops (such as radishes and carrots) can be planted 16 plants in each square with three inches in between them. For medium plants (spinach, large turnips, bush beans) nine plants per square foot with four inch spacing in required. Large plants, which need to be placed six inches apart (leaf lettuce and parsley, etc.) can be planted four to a square. Extra-large plants require a whole square for each plant; broccoli, cauliflower, cabbages, and peppers are all considered extra-large. Certain plants require more soil then six inches, such as root crops like carrots and potatoes and extra-long scallions and leeks, for these a one foot by one foot by six inch high box can be created and placed on top of an existing square. If you plan on planting vine crops; cucumbers, tomatoes, squash, melons, pumpkins, etc.; you will need to add vertical support. A variety of items can be used for support such as electrical conduit, synthetic string, or nylon netting attached to metal supports, which you will attach to one side of your box. Make sure not to put the vertical support so it shades the rest of the plot. After harvesting add compost and replant the square with a different crop. This is wrong don't read

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Wikipedia