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Square Foot/Intensive Gardening/Questions Answered by Expert Jim Kennard
| Subject | Date Asked |
| Pre-Plant Fertilizer | 1/27/2012 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| Protection from birds & rabbits | 3/12/2011 |
| 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 ... | |
| Mittleider Method or Square Foot Gardening? | 1/8/2011 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| cinder blocks in raised beds | 4/2/2009 |
| 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. ... | |
| Camellia | 8/25/2008 |
| 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 |
| 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 ... | |
| no flowers on many plants | 8/4/2008 |
| Q: This is my first attempt at gardening in Maine we have had a lot of rain lately and I was wondering ... A: What vegetables are you growing? Many don't produce flowers until later, when they are going to ... | |
| Sq ft. gardening/raised beds in greenhouse | 7/25/2008 |
| Q: We are just building a greenhouse (14x20). I would like to use raised or elevated beds since the ... A: A good height for working would be 32" for the top of the beds. You could therefore build tables ... | |
| Sq ft. gardening/raised beds in greenhouse | 7/25/2008 |
| Q: We are just building a greenhouse (14x20). I would like to use raised or elevated beds since the ... A: I do not recommend plastic or rubber on the bottom of your containers. Usually the best bottom is ... | |
| vegetables dying? | 6/25/2008 |
| Q: S)and i recently planted cucumbers,watermelon,corn,tomatoes,canteloup,pumpkin,and carrots in small ... A: You should try getting them some relief from the sun and heat. Temperatures over 100 are very hard ... | |
| Container tomatoes | 6/18/2008 |
| Q: I need help with my tomatoes. I have grown them in a garden before. But this year is my first ... A: Tomatoes must have full sun to do well. The yellowing is probably being contributed to by the shady ... | |
| Green Beans | 6/18/2008 |
| Q: Have planted a row of green beans in my small garden. They aren't coming up very well. I followed ... A: Did you plant them into hard clay soil? Here's how we plant been seeds: 1) Make a straight ... | |
| growing onions | 5/12/2008 |
| Q: I remember my father pulling dirt away from green onions, was this to grow larger ones? I would like ... A: Sue: Don't take the dirt away from around your green onions. You DO need to make sure they are ... | |
| raised beds | 3/30/2008 |
| Q: I've read about using manure, compost and peat for planting medium in a square foot garden. What is ... A: I highly recommend you consider carefully before using manure and compost in your raised-bed garden. ... | |
| railroad ties | 3/21/2008 |
| Q: My wife and I put railroad tie raised bed in last June and haven't started a garden yet, now my ... A: Greg: If the railroad ties were brand new and had never been used there would be some problem with ... | |
| Shady garden area | 11/30/2007 |
| Q: The only area I have in my yard is behind a 6 foot block wall that blocks the sunlight in the ... A: Direct sunlight is essential for good vegetable plant growth - especially fruiting varieties - as ... | |
| snapbeans | 6/9/2007 |
| Q: Why can't I grow snapbeans? When I plant beans I get a brown blotch on the leaves and the leaves ... A: We'll have a difficult time being real accurate in answering your question without seeing the plant ... | |
| sq. ft.-cu. yd | 3/7/2007 |
| Q: if I have 1,125 sq. yd. 4" thick top soil how much would I need in cu. ft. thank you A: Carol: You have 1,125 X 1/9 cubic yards = 125. One cubic yard = 3 X 3 X 3 = 27 cubic feet. So ... | |
| Drip Irrigation in square foot gardening | 12/31/2006 |
| Q: Jim, I plan on growing vegetables using the intensive square foot gardening using 5 x 20 foot raised ... A: Steve: First off, please forgive my very tardy reply! I am in Orlando, Florida - at Walt Disney ... | |
| When is it the best time to plant? | 11/12/2006 |
| Q: I love flowers an I want to have my own garden I am wondering when is it the best time to plant a ... A: The time to plant your flower garden depends on many things. One important factor is the climate in ... | |
| soil preparation / green manure | 10/22/2006 |
| Q: I want to prepare an area in my yard for vegetable and flower planting next spring. The area has ... A: Sally: I would definitely dig up the area this fall. Also, you need to remove all crab-grass and ... | |
| creosote in railroad ties | 9/30/2006 |
| Q: I have read two responses to questions about raised beds with railroad ties, but I'm wondering if ... A: Fresh railroad ties are not good to use. The creosote is toxic to plants, and probably not good for ... | |
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
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