Square foot gardening in community garden plot

17 years ago

Hi everyone,

This is my first year trying a vegetable garden. I live in an apartment with a very small (and shady!) balcony, so I have rented a community garden plot for the season.

I have read both Square Foot Gardening books and am really excited about using the method. I plan to start with one 4'x4' bed.

Here is my issue. I can't keep any structures permanently on the plot because it will be plowed under every fall. I am allowed to have raised beds on the plot as long as I remove them in the fall.

I had thought of using the "old" square foot method with beds in the ground, but I do like the raised beds and especially having the grids permanently attached.

If I do raised beds, I don't really mind bringing them every year, although I may buy some of the plastic kind that snap together for that purpose so that it will be easier.

The thing is the soil mix. I would prefer not to have to bring it and mix it every year. And I'm assuming that one of the boxes with plywood bottoms that are used for patios and such would be too heavy to carry out if still filled with soil -- not to mention being pretty hard for me to store in the winter!

So does anyone have any ideas regarding whether it would be feasible to bring and remove the soil every year (I know I probably sound crazy), and how best to accomplish that? For instance, if I lined the area under the box with weed cover, could I dump the soil back into some containers or something to carry out?

Or am I crazy and should I just use in-ground beds -- and if so, is there a good way to make a frame around them that I could use to define the borders and permanently attach a grid to?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Andrea

Comments (8)

Violet_Z6
17 years ago
You're not crazy. If you build 4x4 beds and let the soil dry in the fall before transport, they shouldn't be overly heavy.

You could line with 4-6mm plastic and lift it out with the soil in it to move it (but make sure it has drainage) if it's too heavy with the box. If you line and don't have a bottom, to the box itself, that will be even less weight.

You can order border kits directly from the SFG site, link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Order the Frame
alexjh
17 years ago
I would make the boxes with 2x6's and hold them together with screws. At the end of the year, bring a drill and back the screws out.
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Drive to a nice wooded area where there are lots of leaves, you may have to dig through the snow for them, or maybe even a field full of tall grass, then cut it down and up into little pieces leaving out the seeded tops, pile them as high as you can on the entire garden area. Leaves are kind of big and fly away with the wind, so mowing over them will keep them in place and it will be easier to break them down. You can also drive by local restaurants looking for coffee and tea grounds, salad scraps from the salad bars, pick through their garbage if you're allowed to, the scraps are considered green and so is manure. You can even compost in between the rows as the garden grows, but you will waste lots of space that way. Compost is the cheapest method and most accurate to revive bad soil, but then you can plant green manure. Green manure is living plants that give nutrients to the soil like clover, rye grass seed, yellow dock, etc.. At the end of the year you can plant them in your plot and more than likely they will stay alive until you dig them up at the beginning of your garden season. You can also plant these plants around or near your other plants to make them grow better while your garden is growing. A book I have says for every 5 to 6 foot area, put 3 inches of course composting material down like twigs, brush, corn stalks, etc, layered on top of each other for ventilation underneath, 6 inch layer of greens (grass, coffee grounds, clippings), 2 inches of manure ( from rabbit cages, guinea pig cages, or any animal that does not eat meat like cows, goats, sheep, etc), add one inch of soil, then repeat until the pile is about 5 feet high, making sure you water each layer to keep it moist, but not muddy, punch holes in the top of the pile reaching the very bottom 2 or 3 feet apart, keep watered if it dries out, and turn it at 3 to 4 week intervals until it's finished. Manure does not have to be used, but it's got lots of nutrients, you can just use brown dead animal plant matter like leaves, and then green layers in between. If you want to add soil in the mix like I described, maybe dig the soil up in that 5 to 6 foot area to remove the first 1 foot of soil, then add it slowly as you build you pile. You don't need anything but leaves if you want to keep it simple. Cover the entire area with mowed leaves 2 feet high, mowed so they will keep the bulk down, then water them, they will break down.
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I have a friend who rented a community garden plot in MD for the last few years. She found out about it through U of M extension here http://extension.umd.edu/growit/community-gardens/baltimore-city-community-gardens I hope this helps. I'd hate to be a gardener without a plot of dirt to plant in so I feel for anyone who needs one.
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justaguy2
17 years ago
While they are not cheap, several garden supply websites offer corner frames for raised beds. This might make it even easier to disassemble the beds than backing out the screws.

1 by lumber is adequate for a 4x4 bed, but going much longer than that I also would suggest the 2 by lumber.
ajehly
Original Author
17 years ago
I like the idea of having a bottomless box with the plastic sheeting underneath. For proper drainage with the plastic sheeting, should I just poke holes in the plastic or is there a better way?

Also, I did find some corner brackets that could be attached to 2x6 boards and easily disassembled and assembled every year without unscrewing anything, so I think I will go with that idea.

Thanks for the good suggestions! And it's nice to know I'm not crazy... :)

Andrea
justaguy2
17 years ago
And it's nice to know I'm not crazy... :)

Well, in some circles you would be considered crazy, but in this here circle you are simply 'enthusiastic' ;-) Welcome to the club.
Violet_Z6
17 years ago
Well said justaguy2.

I suggest not screwing and unscrewing if you don't have to. You'll increase longevity if you just leave as is. The frame won't be that heavy at all.

As for holes, not sure, maybe someone will have a suggestion. Off the top of my head I'd say an ice pick or something that wouldn't turn into a "rip" if that would even happen, maybe Xs would be fine with a knife.

If you do line with no bottom, consider corner drainage instead of directly in the bottom center area. Maybe you could even build the box, line the box, fill with soil, and then drill some holes in the sides along the bottom. Just an idea...

Sounds like all you need to do is get started!
Violet_Z6
17 years ago
Oh, the side drilling was for a setup on concrete, otherwise go with the holes on the bottom!
gumby_ct
17 years ago
If it were me (but it's not), there is no way I would be hauling soil to/fro. Besides the weight, there are a host of other things such as storage, critters, disease, etc. Amend the soil if you must but I suspect they will be doing that which is why they don't want anything left behind. Get a soil sample at the beginning of each season to see where it's at. Consider using compost/manure tea.

I second the thought of using a 1 by frame on top of the ground. Fill bed with soil from the perimeter or they may have compost for your use. What could get easier than backing out a couple screws?

Best of Luck,
Gumby_CT

Square foot gardening in community garden plot

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Square foot gardening in community garden plot

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