Getting Ready To Garden

Last night was an interesting one.  First I have been babysitting an intern in the lab, which means I have been working 10-11 hrs everyday (plus an hr on the bus each way).  Then last night as I was trying to get out of the lab at a reasonable time, I missed the bus.  At the time it wasn't a big deal.  It was nice out and waiting an extra 30 minutes wasn't the worse thing in the world.  But then once I did get on the bus, it overheated and I ended up having to walk 6-7 blocks home.  And of course about one or two blocks before I got home, the wind picked up and it started to downpour.  So I picked up the pace and got my butt home, only to remember that I didn't have my keys.  So I sat down on the back porch and waited for J to come home.  Not a horrible night, but definitely not what I had planned.  Oh well, I survived.

But enough about my simple annoyances.  Lets talk about something important, something like gardening.

I hope this is what my harvest will look like

Now I am by no means a professional gardener, this is only my second year with a "real" garden.  But I like to think that I'm doing a pretty good job.  My garlic is growing big and my snow peas look healthy.  My seedlings are getting big and except for my basil, all of them have sprouted and seem to be flourishing.

But I've been reading about this Square Foot Gardening.  Where you build small raised beds (check) and don't grow in rows but in little square foot sections (check).  This way you are supposed to get more plants in a much smaller space then a traditional row garden.  In a way, I grew my veggies this way last year.

The Square Foot Garden uses no soil, but a combination of compost, peat moss, and vermiculite.  This I have not been doing.  But I'm thinking about trying it in the two unfilled beds.  From what I read, this combination is easier for roots to take hold, holds moisture better, and naturally fertilizes the plants.

It makes sense and sounds like it's easy enough to do.  I like the way that you divide the garden into square feet, which makes it easier to plan out the garden.   

Has anyone tried this before?  Does it work as wonderfully as they say it does?  I would love to try it, especially if it will make my garden strong and fruitful.  Let me know if you have tried it and if you have any suggestions.

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