NEWARK — Local proponents of the square foot gardening technique met this weekend and learned from the man who popularized it in 1981.
“When you read the book, it was like talking to him,” said BettyAnn Zimmerman, a Newark mother of three who met author Mel Bartholomew this weekend.
In Newark for a three-day symposium, the Utah native Bartholomew told a group of gardeners about how he began square foot gardening during a seminar Saturday morning at Second Presbyterian Church in Newark.
“I found out gardening is a lot of work,” Bartholomew said of trying it after retiring from civil engineering.
It didn’t make sense to keep on gardening the traditional way if there was a way to take up less space, use fewer materials and do less work.
“I was so frustrated with single-row gardening,” Bartholomew said.
Priscilla Hare, of McKean Township, attended the session with her 13-year-old son, Keegan Hare, adding that they started a year ago, and their efforts have grown quickly.
“We probably get more harvest from that than we get from the regular garden,” she said.
Keegan has spearheaded the square foot garden and said he enjoys it because it’s less work and can allow for a larger variety in smaller space than a larger garden.
Hare first tried square foot gardening in 1989 when she lived in a house with little yard space.
“We had no yard, and I came from a family that had a huge garden,” she said. “You do not need the 40-foot garden that I grew up with.”
Bartholomew showed the audience examples of what other square foot gardeners have done elsewhere, including other countries such as India and Kenya.
“Its not only all over the United States, it’s all over the world,” he said. “Our basic goal is just to get people to become more self-sufficient.”
Zimmerman, whose family started a square foot garden in her front yard in May, said they get almost all of their produce from it, and the concept makes it easy to replant a square with a new crop.
“We’re on our third crop already,” she said. “All you have to do is buy the book and follow the steps. It seems too easy.”
In Newark for a three-day symposium, the Utah native Bartholomew told a group of gardeners about how he began square foot gardening during a seminar Saturday morning at Second Presbyterian Church in Newark.
“I found out gardening is a lot of work,” Bartholomew said of trying it after retiring from civil engineering.
It didn’t make sense to keep on gardening the traditional way if there was a way to take up less space, use fewer materials and do less work.
“I was so frustrated with single-row gardening,” Bartholomew said.
Priscilla Hare, of McKean Township, attended the session with her 13-year-old son, Keegan Hare, adding that they started a year ago, and their efforts have grown quickly.
“We probably get more harvest from that than we get from the regular garden,” she said.
Keegan has spearheaded the square foot garden and said he enjoys it because it’s less work and can allow for a larger variety in smaller space than a larger garden.
Hare first tried square foot gardening in 1989 when she lived in a house with little yard space.
“We had no yard, and I came from a family that had a huge garden,” she said. “You do not need the 40-foot garden that I grew up with.”
Bartholomew showed the audience examples of what other square foot gardeners have done elsewhere, including other countries such as India and Kenya.
“Its not only all over the United States, it’s all over the world,” he said. “Our basic goal is just to get people to become more self-sufficient.”
Zimmerman, whose family started a square foot garden in her front yard in May, said they get almost all of their produce from it, and the concept makes it easy to replant a square with a new crop.
“We’re on our third crop already,” she said. “All you have to do is buy the book and follow the steps. It seems too easy.”
Seth Roy can be reached at (740) 328-8547 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
