F.H.E. WITH A VENGEANCE
Last night I invited 20 people to join us for Family Home Evening!
I’m serious about finally learning the gardening aspects of provident living, and I’ve felt like we, mostly me, needed some serious help. So I hired a professional. You may or may not recognize the name of Lee Wilson but she’s one of the especially kind women I met at my very first Costco book signing. The rest of THAT story was posted on March 9th, 2009. Read it and weep. She’s the woman I accidentally jumped hugged, out of pure anxiety and desperation.
Turns out, not only is Lee a good soul, who freely hugs strangers in distress, she’s a gardening guru, a vixen of vegetation, and a true planting princess! Really, I would like to grow up and be half the woman Lee is. She’s one of those people that just exudes talent so I asked if she would come teach my family, and a few friends, the basic steps to square foot gardening. She immediately agreed and on Monday night Lee delivered a knockout presentation for our F.H.E.
By the end of the evening, we all felt like we could be successful, or more successful, gardeners. I’m especially encouraged because of the claims that this specific method produces a much higher yield, in far less space, and with almost no work. I’M IN!!! I’ve always said that it’s not that I hate gardening. I just hate the work, and the dirt. Nice.
With many thanks to wonderful Lee, a new crop of individuals learned the secrets to square foot gardening. Evidently, it’s all in the grid. (Here, I thought we were trying to get away from the grid, “live off the grid” and “think outside the box”, but NO! Turns out that grids can be our friends.) Now it’s up to me and Mike, mostly Mike (hey hon), to get our planter boxes built, with their GRIDS, or
“It’s not square foot gardening!”
Love ya, Lee!
Tags: less pain more gain, square foot gardening, the new pot heads
April 21st, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Just a note. When you make your boxes, don’t put weed block on the bottom of them. We did and our roots had no places to go. So, this year I have to take out the dirt and remove the weed block then put the dirt back in! Even though we did it wrong last year the Lord still blessed us for trying and we still got a lot of vegatables.
April 21st, 2009 at 5:14 pm
Hi Connie! Does “weed block” mean the black landscape fabric that you’re supposed to use??? And what vegetables would you suggest? Just curious. I’m thinking tomatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, swiss chard, maybe peppers…wishing for cilantro…
April 21st, 2009 at 8:14 pm
I LOVE Square Foot Gardening…or whatever anyone would like to call it.:) My sweet hubby made the boxes for me a number of years ago. The only thing I would stress, is to not make them too wide. For me about 3-4 feet is about right. If the boxes are too wide, it becomes too much of a strain to reach into the middle. Just a tip!
All the best with your gardening ventures!
Joyce
April 21st, 2009 at 9:47 pm
Thanks for the tip Joyce! Just like you, Lee also suggested being really really careful about the depth of the boxes. In fact, her maximum depth was 24″ per side so that anyone could easily reach to the back or center row.
April 22nd, 2009 at 6:05 am
I was interested in the comment, not to put weed barrier on the box. The only problem with that is you open your garden to the noxious weeds that come up from the ground. I for one don’t like to weed. They will take over. Grass is especially invasive. One solution to make sure the roots of your plants are not a problem is to keep the soil damp. If your plants have extra big roots they are seeking water.
Putting weed barrier down is one of the ways to make your gardening easier. Some people opt to make their boxes a little deeper. 8- 12 inches deep. But most plants will do as well in 6 inches.
The secret is to keep the soil damp and add compost every time you replant. Perennials need compost every 6 months.
April 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 am
Thank you again, Lee! This is helpful information and I appreciate the additional details and explanation. I guess I want skinny little, lazy roots, that don’t have to seek water…so that I can be a lazy gardener that doesn’t have to seek weeds. Yea!