How to Practice Square Foot Gardening

You will need layout box frames, amended soil, grids, plant seeds, water, compost, walkways (optional), and seed packets (optional). Choose a layout that does not require you to walk on the beds and build or purchase garden box frames. Fill the boxes with amended soil and construct grids of 1-foot-square segments as overlays for your beds. Make holes in the soil with your finger and plant seeds in the grids.

You can use practically any material to make garden box frames, but avoid using wood that has been chemically treated. The boxes should be 6 to 8 inches high.

A soil mixture of one-third compost, one-third peat moss, and one-third vermiculite is recommended for square foot gardening.

Water the seedlings with sun-warmed water.

Add some compost to the soil each time you harvest, then replant with a different crop.