Friday, February 16, 2007

Benefits of Square Foot Gardening

Benefits of Square Foot Gardening
Much less work. Conventional gardening requires heavy tools to loosen the soil, whereas in this method, the soil is never compacted and it remains loose and loamy. Weeding takes much less time due to the compact nature of the garden.
Water Savings. Due to the nature of the soil and its water-holding capacities, this type of garden needs water less frequently than other methods. Also, water is placed very near the plant roots, wasting very little in the process. It also increases your harvest due to the rich soil mixture.
Very little weeding. One benefit of this close planting is that the vegetables form a living mulch, and shade out many weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate.
Pesticide / Herbicide Free. Natural insect repellent methods like companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become very efficient in a close space and thus, pesticides are not necessary. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
Accessibility. A plywood bottom can be attached to the bottom of a box, which can then be placed on a raised platform for elderly or disabled persons to use.

2 comments:

Anthony said...

Nice post. I'm a big believer in SqFt Gardening mostly because I like to get the most out of my limited garden space. Plus taking advantage of vertical space and using trellises makes for a great looking garden.

steven wilson said...

Hi Anthony
I agree with you on them making a great looking garden.There are so many ways to blend them into the landscape.

Steven Wilson