How Much Space and Thyme

In my current garden, I have 4 square boxes and 2 rectangular ones. The entire garden is enclosed by a chicken wire fence which, last year, did not keep anything out. I went out this weekend to measure the square boxes, hoping that they were at least the 48 inches needed to make them over into a square foot garden. They are! They are actually 53 inches.

While it may not be apparent in the picture, the inside corner of each of the boxes was cut at a slant so instead of having a full 64 squares available for planting, I will have 60. Maybe I will plant some pansies along the cut edge of those squares….pretty flowers and edible too!

So, 60 squares…..well, not quite. I also have some permanent residents out there.

A rather large thyme plant and a smaller sage plant have managed to survive and actually thrive. In spite of the disarray, in spite of the weeds that overtake everything, no matter how harsh the winter or how dry the summer, the thyme and the sage are always there. I won’t know for sure until I pull up all the weeds, but I think the sage will probably occupy one square in a box, and the thyme – probably 3. Okay, so 56 squares for new veggies! Back to the seed catalogues.

A New Cycle Begins

It’s January.

It must be January because my mailbox tells me so. All the many catalogs that had so recently filled it, enticing me with ‘the perfect Christmas gift’, are gone. In their place are the seed catalogs, and each year, those are so much more irresistible to me. Each year, I thumb through pages and pages of beautiful pictures of promise. Each year, I make a long, long list of what I would like to grow. Each year, I buy too many seeds and seedlings and start my little garden afresh. And each year, without fail, my little garden, planted with enough seeds for several acres, gets ahead of me and becomes a jungle. An unruly and totally unmanageable jungle. And so the cycle begins again…..


Well, maybe…..



This year, I am planning to try out the Square Foot Gardening method as described in Mel Bartholomew’s book by the same name. I heard about this book and this type of gardening while listening to the Alternative Kitchen Garden podcast. Okay, just because I can’t manage my own garden doesn’t mean I can’t live vicariously through other gardeners. I discovered that Mel has written a new book now, called All New Square Foot Gardening. In this version, he has updated some of his ideas from the first book, among them the idea of using raised beds. My garden is already a raised bed affair so it seemed a perfect fit. After reading the book, it all just seemed so….possible! Step by step instructions as to how to set it up….guidelines to keep me from planting too much….inspiring potential yields….tips to keep the gardening season running smoothly.



I think this just might work!

Welcome to my first year of Square Foot Gardening, and welcome to my blog.