On Jun 3, 2:19*pm, "HeyBub" wrote:
Just got a new book: "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew.
http://www.amazon.com/Square-Foot-Gardening-Second-Edition/dp/1591865...

He dismisses conventional row gardening and promotes a different model. His
garden consists of, for example, a 4x6 foot 6" tall framed area with a
special mix of soil. Into this arrangement, he plants stuff within each
square foot (16 radishes or 1 lettuce). His garden is easier to tend, free
of weeds, and produces more vegetables than the standard model.

His "Mel's Mix" of soil consists of equal parts of three ingredients:
1/3 Vermiculite
1/3 Peat Moss
1/3 Manure/compost

He urges that the manure be made up of at least five different sources. That
way you get cow manure, mushroom compost, compost made from fast-food
scraps, etc., rather than just one source.

His book also give you recommended planting density (in parens below) by
categorizing plants based on their size.
Extra Large- (1) - Broccoli, cabbage, Pepper
Large (4) - Leaf lettuce, chard, Marigold
Medium (9) - Bush bean, Spinach, beet
Small - (16) - Carrot, radish, onion

That is, you can plant 16 radishes in one square foot.

By the way, he does not support this "throw in a lot of seeds, then thin"
business. For him, it's one seed = one plant.

Anyway, I got my 3x6 foot bed built and filled with Mel Mix soil. Tomorrow
I'll plant.

Watch this space for future updates.

HB-

This a totally viable option for gardening.
Sunset did some articles a while back.

http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-...0400000043335/
http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-...0400000062826/
http://www.sunset.com/garden/fruits-...0400000044403/

I've toyed with switching over but my garden is already setup &
functioning and it seemed like extra work to change methods.
If I were starting out or starting over in a new space, I'd definitely
do it.