On Jun 3, 10:19*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

Must have time on his hands.
You never get 100% germination of seeds.
And different plants have different soil requirements.
You certainly don't want to be growing root vegetables in
fresh manure (mixture).
Raised bed culture has been known about for millenia.
Just another celebrity tosspot gardener trying to sell books.