While some gardeners make a reusable or even permanent grid to divide up their planting area, you can simply make a temporary grid using whatever you have readily accessible. When choosing screws, stainless steel is the best choice when using ACQ-treated lumber. Take extra care if you are thinking of using old wood lumber purchased before 2004 was usually treated with creosote and arsenic, and could contaminate your food. Look for ACQ-treated lumber approved for "Ground Contact," which is approved by the FDA for food production. When choosing wood remember that untreated lumber will start to rot within a year. Wood is the most popular building choice, although some gardeners do use bricks, stones, concrete blocks, or synthetic materials. The techniques for building a square foot garden bed are similar to those for building a raised bed. Aisles that are three feet wide are generally considered to be a good width. You don't have to limit yourself to just one planting box either, just be sure to leave yourself aisles that are large enough to work in.
Remember, you never want to step into your planting area, so you want to be able to reach into the center in order to weed, plant, and harvest. A 4' x 4' planting box is great because it gives you a decent sized area to grow in, without being so large that it's difficult to reach the middle from the sides. Generally square foot gardens are created in a 4' x 4' planting area. The smaller footprint of square-foot gardening makes it an ideal choice for beginners, those with smaller landscapes, and gardeners who might find bending down to ground level difficult. You use completely new soil in this planting box, an advantage for gardeners trying to grow in Florida's sandy soils. Many gardeners may be hesitant to dig up their front yard and plant rows of veggies, but adding a planting box or two to your landscape can be both productive and lovely.įor square-foot gardening, you build a raised box and divide the planting area into squares. Square-foot gardening allows you to make your vegetable garden efficient and more of a landscape feature. Many people are familiar with traditional rows of edible plants square-foot gardening offers something a little different. There are so many ways to grow edible plants in your landscape.