Planning out a timeline for each of a few dozen squares in a Square Foot Garden can be daunting. There are a lot of variables to consider.

When do you have to pull out the plants to still have time for the summer plants?

Do you have time to fit three plantings in one square?

How do I get that hottie at Starbucks to pay attention to me?

Do these pants make me look fat?

Is it weird that touching cottonballs grosses me out?

NOTICE: My solition will not answer all of these questions.

Visualizing the data is key to understanding it. This year I used Microsoft Excel with some special formulas and formatting to see where I could fit in all the crops I want. Just click the link below to download my template.  I left some data in the sheet to help you get started.

Here’s how to use it:

1. Determine how long your growing season is and enter it in the cell next to “Season Length (days.)”
2. Add your plants and the length of time until the harvest is complete.
3. Below that first entry add the next crop you would like to plant right below it.
4. Notice the color of the cell at the top of the section you are typing in. As you enter data you will see that box change color. When you have extra time remaining for more plants the box is green, when you are getting close to running out of days it turns yellow and when you might not have enough time it turns red.

Have any questions?  Just ask here or on Twitter.

Square Foot Garden - Replanting Planner Beta 1

I’ve been sold on raised bed gardening for a while now.  I’ve seen great results year after year. What I have never gotten around to trying is Square Foot Gardening - even though I own the book:

What is Square Foot Gardening?
Square foot gardening is an intensive raised bed gardening technique where you build a box about 6″ deep and fill it with a specific soil mix. Then you greate a grid on top to form 1 foot squares, pick a crop for each square then put a new crop in whenever you harvest. Think of it as gardening for control freaks.

There was one reason for me not trying out this type of gardening. It’s a dastardly ingredient that is required for this technique. A material so elusive that no home improvement store, garden supply store, giant box store, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse, doghouse (Movie Reference) or mom and pop nursery carries. Vermiculite.

Nerd Tip:
Vermiculite is a mined rock that is then put through a heating process that makes it pop like popcorn. After the heating process you are left with a very lightweight material with a ton of surface area.

Well this year I was determined to build that first Square Foot Garden so I did some research. Vermiculate is commonly used in the construction of swimming pools. So I called a pool and spa shop that is on my work commute and they told me they would have it in a day.  $27 per 4 cubic foot bag.  I bought two.

Everything else is easy to find, here is the supply list for a 4′ x 8′  6″ deep box and enough of the mix to have some to spare for other containers:

Supplies:

Lumber: I bought A2 treated lumber. It contains no arsenic. To be really safe you can use untreated if you like. 2 2"x6"x8', 2 2"x6"x4'.

Vermiculite: 8ft³ If you can't find it in your garden center, call a pool supply shop. You need it in bulk to be cost effective.

Peat Moss: 8ft³ This isn't a renewable resource like you would think, but you only need it the first year.

Compost: 8ft³ and as many different kinds as you can find. Most of mine was bought in bulk from a landscaping company. This is the ingredient you will have to replenish yearly. Remember, variety, variety, variety.

Here are the small supplies you will need to build your box like I did:

• Cordless drill with philips screwdriver head and a drill bit appropriate for the screws you are using.
• 12 3″ - 4″ Deck screws.
• Landscape fabric.
• Staplegun & staples.

That is it for supplies. When you have your supplies gathered continue reading our post: Four Steps to a Square Foot Garden - Step Two: Construction