We have taken on a new project this year that all of us are excited about. We have a flat yard now, and we decided to plant a garden. Jon had heard of something called a Square Foot Garden. The basic idea is that you build a 4x4 or 3x3 box, fill it with a specific soil mix, and you can grow lots of things much closer together than in a single row garden. It uses a grid, and you plant something different in each square. You don’t have to till, or prepare existing soil. It sounded intriguing, so we bought the book and dived in.
We each have our own box. The kids have a 3 foot by 3 foot, and Jon and I each have a 4x4.
The kids helped build their own box.
Clearing the ground
Ainsley when her box was in place. After this we put weed paper underneath.
Mixing the soil—1/3 peat moss, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 compost (from several different sources).
Jon had a good little helper putting the grids on the boxes. Notice his tool belt (thanks to Bill and Fran for that—both kids have really enjoyed these!)
Everybody is choosing what to put in his/her own box. We wanted to do strawberries, and the book recommended dedicating a whole box for that. Jon volunteered his box for the strawberries. We all helped plant . . .
. . . and water (he was so excited running back and forth with the watering can he got soaked!)
Here is the fully planted box:
It looks a bit different now. We have actually harvested 2 strawberries. The kids split them down the middle. The birds have gotten at least one. We need to build a frame to keep them off, but haven’t had time.
%5B3%5D.jpg "Square Foot Garden (3)")
I’ll post some pictures of the other 3 boxes soon, and I’ll try to keep posting our progress and our learning experiences.
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