I am planning to build another raised bed vegetable garden and have decided to try a new gardening concept called “square foot gardening.” What are the principals of square foot gardening?

Square foot gardening had become a popular gardening method using techniques that save time, water, work and money. The garden is laid out in squares.

If anyone in this part of the state has tried to plant a garden in our clay soils, then this gardening concept just might be the answer.

Square foot gardeners claim the method is well suited for areas with poor soil, beginners or persons with disabilities.

Square Foot Gardening is the practice of planning small but intensively planted gardens in an open-bottomed box divided into square-foot grids. Each section contains a finite amount of soil which is a mixture of one-third sphagnum “peat moss,” one-third expanded vermiculite and one-third blended compost.

Each square foot is planted with a different kind of plant, using one, four, nine or 16 plants in each square foot.

Tall or climbing plants such as beans or corn could be planted on the northern row so as not to shade the other plants in the bed and the tall ones could be supported by trellises or lattice.

Different seeds or transplants can be planted in each square, giving an array of crops; plant only two to three seeds per hole. Watering can easily be done by hand.

The logic behind the square foot garden is that using smaller planting areas, one can easily access the bed on all four sides. The raised boxes can hold nutrient-rich soils and can be designed so you have aisles between the beds for easy access to watering, weeding and tilling.

Location is important so pick an area that gets six to eight hours of sun daily. Square-foot gardening requires less work with no heavy tools to loosen the soil. Weeding only takes a few minutes due to the light soil, raised beds and easily accessed plants. Harvests per foot of garden are increased due to the rich soil mixture and spaced plants.

For information, look for the book, “All New Square Foot Gardening” by Mel Bartholomew.

Wanda Cannon is a Master Gardener trained through the Hall County program and also serves as Master Gardener coordinator and horticulture assistant for the Hall County Extension office. Phone: 770-535-8293.