[PhilConnors]

I need to redo our raised beds to replace rotten wood. I'm toying with having a dart at some SFG style planting but am thinking of "improving" the system to beds of 3 foot wide rather than 4 and making them longer which fits my garden better. Are there any really good reasons other than a love of square numbers for the suggested 4x4 grids?

[Aunt Sally]

In my big trough planter in the garden I use 3x6 squares.  Works well !

[Yorkie]

The one thing which occurs to me about the narrowing of beds to 3' wide instead of 4' wide, given that putting edges on beds is a relatively fixed / permanent thing, is whether all of your beds would be this narrow, or you'd leave some wider.  I would struggle to grow more than 1 row of spuds in a 3' wide bed, once the space for earthing up is taken into account, but could easily get two rows in.  So it might depend on what your other plans for cultivation are, if any.

[Fishplate42]

I don't think it really matters. I suspect 4ft was adopted originally because it is generally accepted that a 4ft wide bed accessible from all sides. In the case of a 4ft square bed, from all sides.

Ralph.

[PhilConnors]

The one thing which occurs to me about the narrowing of beds to 3' wide instead of 4' wide, given that putting edges on beds is a relatively fixed / permanent thing, is whether all of your beds would be this narrow, or you'd leave some wider.  I would struggle to grow more than 1 row of spuds in a 3' wide bed, once the space for earthing up is taken into account, but could easily get two rows in.  So it might depend on what your other plans for cultivation are, if any.

I'll probably mix and match as we have a trapezoid shaped garden. The SFG aspect would mean that I'm sowing blocks rather than rows.

[Yorkie]

Sounds like a good plan.  Also bear in mind that if you want to crop rotate between the SFG and non-SFG areas, you'll need to plan areas that are compatible in growing space.  Good luck - what a great experiment 

[Aunt Sally]

This was my first year of square foot gardening.  I over planted it a little, just seeing what would work.  It’s great fun.

[PhilConnors]

This was my first year of square foot gardening.  I over planted it a little, just seeing what would work.  It’s great fun.

looks great Aunt Sally, did you make the hoops for protection yourself?

[Aunt Sally]

looks great Aunt Sally, did you make the hoops for protection yourself?

No Phil, they came with the trough but they would be easy to make from some blue water piping.

[Growster...]

Square foot gardening is a revelation for us - we just don't need acres of cabbages etc, and a small area used like this is so much better for the two of us! I used to have about thirty-five 8' x4' beds, and they worked pretty well when we needed more stuff!

SFG also means that I can start and maintain several high level buckets for carrots etc in the space we save, so it was a win/win last year!

As long as I don't get too complacent, the method works well for this 'dirt farmer'...