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Introduction to Squarefood Gardening
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- 4. I know whatyou’re thinking . . .I don’t want to spend all day pulling weeds!Gardening is too hardIt takes too much workI kill everything!EquipmentSoil PH? What’s that?WateringIt takes too much time.FERTILIZER!PESTS!
- 5. My goal fortoday . . . “I can do THAT.”
- 6. Why would youwant to garden? It’s empowering to create your own food. It saves money. It promotes your vitamin D! It’s something families can do together. Great learning tool for kids.
- 7. What kind ofgardener do you want to be?Container gardenerSeed sprouterbig gardenersmaller gardenersquarefoot gardenerfruit trees and berry bushes
- 9. Why is itbetter?You don’t have to worry about your existing soil. Takes only 20% of the space of traditional gardening. Less work thantraditional gardening. Keep it simple!
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- 15. HumanitarianJust 3 StepsBuilda boxFill it with Mel’s mixAdd a grid and start planting
- 16. Pick a locationClearof trees and shrubs6-8 hours of sun each dayDoesn’t puddle after it rainsMost importantly, close to the house
- 17. The 10 Basics- #1 LayoutAlways think in squares: 4x4
- 18. #2 - BoxesBuild boxes4 feet wideand 6-8 inches deep
- 19. #3 - AislesLeave2-3 feet aisles
- 20. #4 - Mel’sMix 1/3 peat moss1/3 coarse vermiculite1/3 compost
- 21. #5 -Grid Markof your squares. Don’t just eyeball it!
- 22. #6 - CareNeverwalk on your growing soil.Work from the aisles.Pick off pests.Visit your garden once a day.
- 23. #7 - SelectPickyour seeds/plants and plan your squares using 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants per square
- 24. #8 - PlantPlantonly as much as you need. Thinning is all but eliminated.
- 25. #9 - WaterWateroften especially at firstand on hot days.
- 26. #10 - HarvestHarvestcontinually. Add additional compost and replant empty squares with a new crop.
- 27. #11 Cook andPreserve (according to Jen)FreezeDehydrateFermentMaybe some canning . . . TomatoesShare
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- 31. My Garden –1st YearOne tomato plant in an old wooden ammo boxOne pepper plant in a 5 gallon bucketHerbs
- 32. My Garden –2nd YearI asked for ONE 4x4 box. . .
- 33. My Garden –2nd YearI asked for ONE 4x4 box. . .
- 34. My Garden –2nd YearI asked for ONE 4x4 box. . .
- 38. My Garden –2nd YearI asked for ONE 4x4 box. . .
- 41. My Garden –2nd YearI asked for ONE 4x4 box. . .
- 42. All I askedfor was one little 4x4 box . . .
- 44. Resources – Missingfrom the handoutwww.omagro.comCity of Omaha compostcckw@cox.netIf you need help with your boxes
Editor's Notes
- #3 I fell down the rabbit hole.
- #4 About two years ago I fell down the rabbit whole . . . And the rest was history. The “rabbit” I was following was Rosie Vincent. She is a nutritionist here in Omaha and I took a series of her classes. I learned all kinds of “truth”. I was in this crazy work where nothing was what it seemed, just like Alice.
- #5 Gardening is too hardIt takes too much workIt take too much time.I don’t want to spend all day pulling weeds.Soil PH?WateringFertilizerPestsEquipmentI kill everything. No green thumb.
- #6 I have to tell you a little story:At the last event, the topic was Kombucha tea. If you don’t know what that is, google it. It’s awesom.I came thinking “I’m not really into it.” I came to say hi, see friends, etc.Then I listen to drlozier talk about the benefit.I watch Jackie demonstrate how she makes itTHEN I TASTED IT. WOW. I couldn’t stop thinking about the one flavored with cherry juice and raisens. WOWI went home mulling it over for a couple of weeks like I usually do with things.I got a call from my friend Donna who also attended the meeting and she offered me a mushroom. The rest is history. Now I’m practically addicted.I hope something similar happens with you today.I hope you walk away thinking “I can do that”.That’s how I felt after I was introduced to the book “Squarefoot Gardening”
- #8 You can apply the principles of squarefoot gardening to any of these things.
- #11 First published in the 70’s. Be sure to get the recent version. It’s simpler.