The Square Foot Gardening method is applied around the world to urban and rural gardens alike for beds filled with flowers and vegetables and anything else you can imagine. What really got me was that it seemed surprisingly USER FRIENDLY. This, plus the fact that it is fundamentally based on ecologically-friendly principles like water, soil, and energy efficiency, and can be done to satisfy anyone’s standards for organic gardening…well, admittedly, I was sold.
The best way to learn about Square Foot Gardening is to check out the website and see if the method appeals to you. They even have a Wikipedia entry that really breaks down the method for you, as well as a YouTube clip where Mel explains the basic principles in about three minutes of video. If these sites get you interested, go ahead and spring for the $14 book – as I’ve said, it’s easy to use and very newbie-friendly.
Another great thing about the Square Foot Gardening method is that you can absolutely just Google the words “Square Foot Gardening” and dozens of blogs just like mine (but not nearly as well-written, interesting, or witty) will pop up for you to peruse through. It has its own little world of followers, you’ll soon see.
Whatever you do, though, don’t feel too beholden to Mel. Lol. I started out with this “Mel knows best” mantra because he does appear to be something of an organic gardening guru, but I quickly learned that this approach could lead you straight to the therpist’s couch. Gardening (I think) is about trial and error, care and pleasure. Don’t get caught up reading the book so much that you snap at the Lowe’s guy and your boyfriend for not understanding what the hell a “lath” is – after all, Mel refers to it no fewer than three times! (Just tell them you want “trellis wood”)
Follow some of Mel’s rules, take some advice from any sage old gardeners you know, peek over your neighbor’s fence to see how he did it, and at the end of the day – just give it a whirl. The pleasure is derived not from realizing Mel’s vision, but from running your hands through sun-warmed sandy soil, feeling the beads of cooling sweat trickle down your spine, and from the warm sweet-sour juices that will run down your chin as you bite into. your. first. homegrown. tomato. (I can’t wait!)
Good luck!
