My experiment this year

Since I live in a mobile home community, the lots are small and don't have a lot of room for gardening, so this year I'm going to do the "Square Foot Gardening" method. It looks easy, in fact that hardest part will get Al to build me the bed! But since I can't do most of my planting until early May, I've got some time to get him going on it!
I might try blogging on my progress with it.

Is Square Foot Gardening the same as using raised beds. We have used raised beds for years. It is the only way to go. You get more produce, less weeds, and its a lot easier to work in. You keep the soil fluffy, because you don't have to walk on it. You will love it.

You do use a raised bed, but you divide the bed into foot squares. Then you plant your seeds or plants. There's a plan for it. Cabbages, tomatoes and such you plant 1 plant per square, plants that need to be 6" apart, you can plant 2 seeds/plants...etc.
There's a great video on Google videos, I think it's the 36 minute one, that explains it! You use a mix that the inventor has come up with to fill the beds. 1/3 compost, 1/3 peat moss and 1/3 vermiculite.

now I like the sound of this ! I have acres to use but don't have the time ~ So this is something I could handle ~I am going to have patio roma tomatoes this year LOL
have you started this yet ? if so what did you plant? Our planting season is mid June , so I still may have time . I have also heard of people using kids pools or sandboxes to plant in ~

well I started some seedlings today :) hubby said he would make the frame this weekend so now I am into it LOL have you started yet cupcake?

I haven't blogged about it because basically I just got everything...well almost everything...waiting on maters and peppers...planted. My peas are doing good though...I was late in planting them....should be harvesting in a couple of weeks, but since I got a late start, it's gonna be a couple more weeks I think.
And instead of beds....Al had an idea and this is what we're doing. I'm using those plastic milk crates that gallon jugs of milk are shipped in. I like this idea because then I can move them around and the grass doesn't die and we won't get nastygrams from the office about it. So every other day I move them over and let the grass get some sunlight.
I'll get pics of my milk crate garden for you.

how cool did you use news paper in the bottom ?or landscape cloth ~ in our area we are told not to plant in the ground until mid June as there is always the chance of frost so that is why I seed started ! I am thinking about strawberry palnts too ~ what all did you plant peas , peppers and tomatoes anything else ~ I almost have the pplanting plan LOL I think I am going to enjoy this ~ Milk crates what a great idea !!

I like the milk crate idea. I was just wondering about the roots, and where they will go. Did you line the crate withsomething to keep the sunlight off of the roots?

I used cardboard for the bottom and sides to keep the soil in...it's compostable so I decided to use that because it wouldn't fall apart as quickly as newspaper would getting wet. We've had 9 days of rain and the cardboard in my peas is still holding up.

awesome I am still waitng for the boxes to get built ~ hubby is a little preoccupied with his new baby But I am hoping he gets it done this weekend , because I am going to pick up some veg plants today ~