You are here:
- Home
- Home/Garden
- Gardening
- Square Foot/Intensive Gardening
Square Foot/Intensive Gardening/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Pre-Plant Fertilizer | 1/27/2012 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: What web site gives the ingredients for pre-plant fertilizer that you recommend? I have seen it but ... A: Karl: A Mittleider soil-bed is 18" wide. Grow-Boxes (containers) are either 18" or 4' wide. If ... | ||
| Pre-Plant Fertilizer | 1/26/2012 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: What web site gives the ingredients for pre-plant fertilizer that you recommend? I have seen it but ... A: The Foundation's website is www.growfood.com. PP fertilizer is applied before planting at the rate ... | ||
| Winter | 11/8/2011 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I am considering growing some vegetables and possibly herbs in my garden, I have some small amounts ... A: To grow in the winter in places where it freezes requires a greenhouse or covering of some kind, and ... | ||
| grass clippings w/Bonus S Weed & Feed | 7/6/2011 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I live in the panhandle of Florida and have been an "organic gardener", very novice still, anyway, I ... A: Sorry that I don't know anything about Atrazine. The 16 elements plants need are: Carbon - ... | ||
| grass clippings w/Bonus S Weed & Feed | 7/2/2011 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I live in the panhandle of Florida and have been an "organic gardener", very novice still, anyway, I ... A: Can you learn the "life" of the material that was applied to the lawn? I would NOT allow any weed ... | ||
| Square foot garden; White Fungus | 6/12/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I live in Birmingham, AL....it's hot, hot, hot down here right now. Several weeks of mid-90s degree ... A: Josh, it looks like a fungus is forming on the surface of the soil. It's most likely caused by the ... | ||
| Square foot garden & Roundup | 4/29/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: If i spray my grass with Roundup can i put a SFG right on top A: Dick, I would not recommend it. It takes at least 30 days for the residuals from roundup to ... | ||
| Indoor gardening in small spaces | 4/10/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I want to grow some plants indoors. I would like them to be hardy enough to handle my lack of ... A: Heather, rather than try and answer every question in your letter, it would be best to start with ... | ||
| Protection from birds & rabbits | 3/12/2011 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: My son lives in the high desert (hot summers, snow in winter), and has been unable to grow anything ... A: Everything has a cost, and unless you are willing/able to control the competition, and mitigate the ... | ||
| Desert veggie gardening, keep out birds, rabbits | 3/12/2011 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: My son lives in the high desert (really hot summers, winter snow), and has been able to grow ... A: For animal control, you have four options at this point. You can fence your garden in, attempt to ... | ||
| Mittleider Method or Square Foot Gardening? | 1/8/2011 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I have a fairly large backyard and have all the necessary supplies for a rasied bed garden. I was ... A: DEPENDING ON THE TYPE OF GRASS YOU HAVE you might be able to "get away" with not taking the grass ... | ||
| Salinity of Non-commercial manures | 7/22/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I want to understand the salinity issues for manures collected from non-commercial sources (eg, pet ... A: Salinity can indeed be an issue when using manure to feed your plants, not because manure is ... | ||
| raised beds | 7/1/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: we are putting up a high tunnel, or hoop house this summer. We want to have raised beds, waist high ... A: You DO NOT need to worry about the sawdust robbing the soil of nitrogen, if you use the Mittleider ... | ||
| raised beds | 6/29/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: we are putting up a high tunnel, or hoop house this summer. We want to have raised beds, waist high ... A: Yes you can make it a box with a bottom. If you use dirt you will have a tremendous amount of ... | ||
| What type of plants should I grow in my garden? | 5/15/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I have a small area, about 8 feet by 5 feet, that I'd like to grow some things in, but I'm not sure ... A: You should grow the plants with the highest value. And you need to grow only those plants that will ... | ||
| Square foot raised garden | 4/25/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I built two 4x4 raised or square foot gardens. I put weed fabric underneath, and I gridded them. ... A: If the materials will grow vegetables in the soil of an in-ground garden they should be "safe" for ... | ||
| worms for raised beds | 4/21/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: how many worms should we add to a 4'x8'x10" raised bed for vegetables? A: There are two main ways to feed your plants, one is by putting organic material into the soil and ... | ||
| raised garden | 4/5/2010 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I want to build a raised garden waist high. What is the best method and material? I would like to ... A: Use treated lumber. 2 X 8 treated lumber is excellent. We don't recommend you have three feet of ... | ||
| Steer Manure On Fruit Trees | 12/15/2009 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I Have A Couple Of Fruit Trees That I Wanted To Put On Bigger Pots And My Question Was Can I Mix In ... A: Manure has fertilizer salts in it, and it often also has sodium chloride (table salt) from salt ... | ||
| Steer Manure On Fruit Trees | 12/14/2009 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I Have A Couple Of Fruit Trees That I Wanted To Put On Bigger Pots And My Question Was Can I Mix In ... A: We do not recommend using manure in pots, containers, or elsewhere in the garden. The nutrition is ... | ||
| Ants; Organic Control | 7/22/2009 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: Baldwinsville (near Syracuse) NY I have an ant problem in my intensive, raised vegetable bed. The ... A: The only organic product I have found to be effective on ants is diatomaceous earth. Ants will crawl ... | ||
| African roma tomatoes | 6/19/2009 | Sojourner |
| Q: I have four of these. How many squares will they take? A: If it's an indeterminate variety (grows long and viny) I would space them 2' apart all ways. If ... | ||
| squash leaves turning brown | 6/13/2009 | Sojourner |
| Q: I started a container vegetable garden a little over a month ago. The plants are outside, on my ... A: Are you sure they're fire ants? Fire ants are extremely aggressive and they build large mounds - ... | ||
| problems with my vegees, not sure what | 5/25/2009 | ben johnson |
| Q: I recently started gardening in raised beds and containers. I started some beautiful tomotoes, ... A: Your plants seem to be suffering from a combination of factors, cool to cold nighttime temperatures ... | ||
| raised beds | 5/17/2009 | Sojourner |
| Q: I am going to try and grow some vegetables. I am going to plant in raised beds and i got a load of ... A: Well now, we're planting using the Square Foot method, aren't we? Typically for carrots and other ... | ||
| Magazines OK to use to kill grass? | 5/10/2009 | Sojourner |
| Q: I want to start a raised bed garden to do some sq ft gardening in an area that's currently lawn. I ... A: I wouldn't do it. Not because of the ink, but because the glossy paper used in magazines doesn't ... | ||
| Shipping Passion Flower Suckers | 5/5/2009 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I have a large patch of passion flowers, the wild Maypop type, growing in my pasture here in Eastern ... A: I would definitely ship them in a light-weight clear plastic filled with peat moss. Just make sure ... | ||
| cinder blocks in raised beds | 4/2/2009 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: We used 18" cinder blocks as the walls for our raised beds and to get more space I put soil in the ... A: Remove your plants from those tiny places. There is not enough space for proper root growth. ... | ||
| Square foot gardening grids/Atlanta Georgia | 3/29/2009 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I'm making my 1st 4x4 garden and i what to know what to use to make the grid and the best soil ... A: Brenda, I use cedar wood because it will not rot. I would stay away from the treated lumber since it ... | ||
| Raised bed on cement patio? | 3/10/2009 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: Please help… we have a sunny area in the back that is paved with cement. I think it’s the perfect ... A: Diane, I would not use concrete as a foundation for your new garden. Regardless of what you line the ... | ||
| Square foot garden | 2/13/2009 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I'm considering putting in a square foot garden this year, mainly because I'm too darn lazy and old ... A: Yes you can place the box over the grass. If you do proceed in this manner, you will need to cover ... | ||
| Buying Seeds | 2/1/2009 | Sojourner |
| Q: I need to buy seed for a 5000 sq ft vegetable garden. I live in Southern New Hampshire and I was ... A: There are many good seed companies. I can't recommend any particular company as I don't know what ... | ||
| Watermelon & Square-foot gardening | 1/30/2009 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I am trying to find info on growing watermelon using the square foot garden method. I can't find ... A: Due to the limited space, most gardeners grow squash and melons vertically when using the square ... | ||
| optimizing garden soil | 11/15/2008 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I need advise about whether to amend a 1 foot deep raised bed of well composted horse, cow and sheep ... A: Dick, it sounds like all you need is sulfur to reduce the ph level to near 7.0, but I would not get ... | ||
| Beginner vegetable garden | 10/10/2008 | Sojourner |
| Q: I have looked around for information on beginning a vegetable garden. However most of these sites ... A: Mel Bartholmew's book on Square Foot Gardening is an excellent beginner's guide to gardening. There ... | ||
| Gourds; Planting Time | 9/16/2008 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I live in the central valley of Calif. and want to know when to plant hard shell goards, how deep ... A: Susan, sorry about that. You sow the seeds directly into the garden one week after your last ... | ||
| Growing roots in water | 9/15/2008 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I have a large indoor tree that grew so high, when i came home from a short trip the stems had ... A: You can transplant them into a pot now. Be sure to use a fertile potting soil in a 12" pot with a ... | ||
| planting gourds | 9/14/2008 | Mike Mascio |
| Q: I live in the central valley of Calif. and want to know when to plant hard shell goards, how deep ... A: Gourd seeds should be planted one inch deep and 2 feet apart. This is true for all members of the ... | ||
| Camellia | 8/25/2008 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I've had a pink camellia in a container for ovr 7 years in SC. It continues to bloom every year and ... A: Phyllis: Some varieties of camellia prefer some shade, but most need at least some direct sunlight, ... | ||
| Best direction of rows | 8/15/2008 | Jim Kennard |
| Q: I would like to know if there is a better or best direction to plant rows of vegetables? Is ... A: It really doesn't matter which direction your rows go. What IS important is that all of your plants ... | ||
Square Foot/Intensive Gardening
Answers by Expert:
Jim Kennard
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions on vegetable gardening - Raised Beds, Container, Soil-Beds, "Poor Man's Hydroponics", Organic, etc.
Experience
Gardened using The Mittleider Method for 30 years. Conducted seminars, college-level training programs, produced 80 video lectures, written hundreds of gardening articles, answered thousands of gardening questions, created a gardening website www.foodforeveryone.org with free ebook, free greenhouse plans, FAQ section with 355 gardening articles.
Organizations
Food For Everyone Foundation - President - Mission is "Teaching the world to grow food one family at a time."
Publications
Numerous website publications
Education/Credentials
Taught personally for 20 years by Dr. Jacob R. Mittleider, "The Garden Doctor", assisted him in creating and conducting major gardening training projects in America and Russia.
Awards and Honors
Master Mittleider Gardening Instructor
©2012 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.