For quite awhile now, we have been wanting to put in a garden. We have debated on where to put it, which trees/shrubs will need to be ripped out, how big will it need to be, etc. Well when Natalie went up to Women's Conference her dad introduced her to "Square Foot Gardening". Square Foot Gardening was developed by a Civil Engineer as a means to condense the traditional garden by 80%. The condensed gardens can then be planted in urban areas with little space and used in developing countries where resources are limited. Since I do not want to dig up my back yard I decided to give this gardening technique a try.
First I scouted out a lovely spot next to the fence where earlier Natalie removed a stump by herself with only a shovel. Then it was off to Lowe's for the box and dirt materials. After a FEW phone calls later to Garth (Natalie's dad) on where to find everything and how much and of what, we were off. We slowly put it all together (in the dark after dinner) over a few days. So far it has been quite fun and very easy.
Here are our results thus far:
Here's Natalie teaching the baby how to use a rake. You have to instill a strong work ethic in your child labor force while they are still young and can't revolt. (Note the dark grainy pictures. Once again we built it in the dark and the camera was left in Utah, so we had to use the cell phone.)
The finished "dirt" is very loose and easy to work. It stays moist all day and drains extremely well at the same time.
A five gallon bucket and tarp are all that is needed to mix everything together.
We used 1 1/8-in lattice for the grid.
The hardest thing about the whole process was deciding what to plant and where to plant it. So I made a sketch of the garden.
The cost of the "dirt" is a bit scary ($142.87 with all the parts and pieces--Yikes). The creator of Square Foot Gardening says you don't ever have to replace it though. It just keeps producing year after year.
First I scouted out a lovely spot next to the fence where earlier Natalie removed a stump by herself with only a shovel. Then it was off to Lowe's for the box and dirt materials. After a FEW phone calls later to Garth (Natalie's dad) on where to find everything and how much and of what, we were off. We slowly put it all together (in the dark after dinner) over a few days. So far it has been quite fun and very easy.
Here are our results thus far:
We used 2 x 8's for the box.
Here's Natalie teaching the baby how to use a rake. You have to instill a strong work ethic in your child labor force while they are still young and can't revolt. (Note the dark grainy pictures. Once again we built it in the dark and the camera was left in Utah, so we had to use the cell phone.)
We used old cardboard boxes for a weed barrier.
The ingredients for Mel's Mix (1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss, and 1/3 vermiculite), or the dirt for the garden.
The vermiculite and peat moss are very dusty when they are dry so I got to wear this fashionable dusk mask (I think it brings out my eyes).
The finished "dirt" is very loose and easy to work. It stays moist all day and drains extremely well at the same time. 
A five gallon bucket and tarp are all that is needed to mix everything together.
We used 1 1/8-in lattice for the grid.
We planted a few starts and seeded the rest. The biggest threat to our garden now is the snails and the 100°+ heat.
The hardest thing about the whole process was deciding what to plant and where to plant it. So I made a sketch of the garden. 
The cost of the "dirt" is a bit scary ($142.87 with all the parts and pieces--Yikes). The creator of Square Foot Gardening says you don't ever have to replace it though. It just keeps producing year after year.*note from Nat: In case the socks and sandals didn't tip you off, Quin made a graph and a table to inform you of his engineer/nerd factor.
7 comments:
LOL! Love Nat's additional comments. And as cool as the garden is, I LOVED seeing that little tummy! Woo-Hoo, there really is a baby in there!
Sweet Garden!!! We have something similar here is Texas, but our tomatoes have to read the newspaper for shade from the afternoon sun in the summer. Nerds RULE!!!
Like it! Very good idea for limited space and not digging up the whole garden. And I loved seeing Nat's little baby belly growing. Its gorgeous!
I agree with elena's comments. I was excited to see proof of that baby you've told us about:) And the socks thing cracked me up. Kade just about wore a similar outfit to Grammy's for mother's day, but then asked me if it looked dorky, i assured him it did. So he decided to change rather that be the brunt of everyone's jokes for the day. I can see Quin is comfortable in his Nerdiness:) Love the garden. I've heard good things about those gardens. Good luck with it!
Quin, you make such an outstanding model. And your geeky engineering degree has come in handy. Of course, you should wear socks with your sandals, all good engineers do. It all looks good. Glad to see you are following the prophet's admonition to plant a garden.
I love this! We had an awesome garden last year, but it was half of our backyard, too big. I'd love to research this and check it out!
Oh yeah, and I meant to comment on your absolutley adorable belly!! My mom is in town for graduation and we oooed and aaawwwed at how darling you are! You're going to be one cute momma!
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