Mel Bartholomew’s book, “All New Square Foot Gardening,” a revision of his 1981 small-space gardening classic,  tells new gardeners in direct, simple language how to grow vegetables and flowers in 16-square-foot grids, conserve water, use fewer seeds and make weeding something a child can do.

A foundation set up by Bartholomew helps teachers show children how to garden. Proceeds from his book teach small-space gardening to people in poor countries who garden to eat.

Bartholomew retired well as an engineer in the mid-1970s when he was 42. His books have sold more than 1.5 million copies.

Proceeds from book sales in the 1980s supported a square foot gardening show on public television.

“I didn’t need the money,” Bartholomew said. “I did well with my engineering company. My goal was to get people into gardening.”

Plants (and the occasional weed) in Bartholomew’s 4-by-4- foot gardens are easy to reach without stepping into the garden. Walking in a garden compacts the soil which means extra work to loosen the dirt.

The engineer built his gardens 4 by 4 because boards to make the box gardens came in 8-foot lengths at the lumber company.

“You just told them, ‘Cut the boards in half,’” Bartholomew said.

Inside the 16-square-foot box, the engineer plantsman laid out a grid using string. The  individual squares of dirt inside the box became 16 places to plant.

“The first book said to use string,” Bartholomew said. “String got dirty and broke. Now, I use six pieces of lathe.”

In the first square foot garden, Bartholomew had gardeners digging up the top 6 inches of existing soil and adding to that a mixture of vermiculite, peat moss and compost.

The idea: Provide nutrients where the plants are and don’t overplant.

“Our row gardens are a hand-me-down from farming,” Bartholomew said. “We thought, ‘If it’s good enough for farmers, it’s good enough for gardeners.’ Well, that’s dead wrong.”

Why fertilize and water an entire garden plot? What Bartholomew calls “perfect dirt,” his recommended mixture of vermiculite, compost and peat moss, makes additional fertilizing unnecessary. Since you’re watering just where the plants are inside the grid, there’s no need for irrigation hoses or sprinklers.

Weeds are few because the box garden is placed on top of cardboard or some other weed blocker and, then, filled with weedless growing medium.

Bartholomew tells new gardeners how much space is required for different vegetables, seed germination time, days to harvest, even sunlight requirements.

“I sat down and listed all the bad things about single row gardens,” Bartholomew said. “Why fertilize the aisles? Why plant a whole pack of seed and then thin?”

The engineer part of Bartholomew’s brain made him count the lettuce seed in a packet.

“There were more than a thousand seeds!” he said. “I don’t care if you’re a family of rabbits. You’re not going to eat a thousand heads of lettuce.”

Seed packets these days are pretty stingy, but there’s still more seed per vegetable type than most people need in one garden, Bartholomew contends.

“Why overplant when the seed companies guarantee 95 percent germination?” he said.

In a square foot gardener’s refrigerator, you’ll find seed stored in sealable plastic bags.

“What does seed need to germinate?” Bartholomew asked. “Warmth and moisture, right? So keep them cold and dry, and they’ll last up to 10 years.”

You’ll have seed left over after planting if you follow Bartholomew’s dictum of “a pinch of seed” (two or three seeds) to the hole.

“I studied thinning,” he said. “What happens to the plant you’re leaving when you thin? You disturb it, right? So, snip the ones you want to thin.”

Bartholomew’s Web site — http://www.squarefootgardening.com — will give you much of the information, and enthusiasm, found in his books.

“Yeah, they tell me I give away too much,” he said.

“They” are his publishers, but once Bartholomew warms to his subject, gardening thoughts sprout like spring pea blossoms.

Bartholomew came up with a  frame, an upside down “U” of galvanized steel he calls Mel’s Tomato Tower. The frame’s nylon netting is strong enough to support squash plants, melons and pumpkins.

Bartholomew likes teaching children because they’re empty grids waiting to be filled.

“If you have an open mind, you can learn the basics of square foot gardening in an hour,” he said.

“If you’re an expert, it’ll take three weeks because experts keep saying, ‘Yeah, but … ’’’


By ED CULLEN, Advocate staff writer, first published: May 17, 2009
http://www.2theadvocate.com/features/45151412.html?index=1&c=y