Square Foot Gardening

family-crone -- we have the same problem as you growing broccoli, cauliflower and other cool season crops. Spring is just too short and unpredictable. We've had a little more success growing peas, but the plants usually wither as soon as it starts getting hot -- we can usually only grow them through June. Is there a particular variety of peas or are there particular growing techniques that you have had success with? It sounds like we live in similar climates (I'm in zone 6 -- close to zone 5). Warm season crops are no problem -- tomatoes, etc. do great.

If you're having trouble growing corn, you might try planting it together with pole beans. The cornstalks act as a trellis for the beans, allowing you to grow two plants in the same 1 ft. X 1 ft. space. The beans take nitrogen from the air, and symbiotic bacteria in the soil converts it to a form that can be absorbed by the corn plants. The corn, in turn, oozes special sugars from its roots that feeds these "nitrogen-fixing" bacteria. Native Americans in the southwest would traditionally plant corn, beans and squash together (the squash leaves cover the ground, keeping moisture in and weeds out). You can leave the sqaush out of the triad and still get good results in the square foot system.

Corn is wind pollinated, so you need to plant several plants close together for it grow properly. Like you, we have 4 ft. X 8 ft. beds. We've been able to grow corn by planting half of of one entire bed with corn and beans. We put three or four kernals of corn into a hole in the center of each square foot growing area. After the corn sprouts, we mound up some soil around the sprouts, being careful not to cover them. About two weeks after planting the corn, we plant two or three pole bean seeds in each corn mound. This method deviates a little from the principle of planting different things in adjacent squares, but it works well.

We have some raised beds in our backyard, and we tried using square foot gardening techniques in them last season for the first time. It worked out well. One of the nice things about it is that you always have different things coming up throughout the season. Instead of getting 20 pounds of tomatoes all in one week, you get a few tomatoes, and more manageable amounts of a variety of other vegetables.

Raised beds also make gardening easier because the soil doesn't get compacted, and it drains very well. They are nice for people with disabilities because you don't have to get down quite as low to work. You can even order or make raised beds on legs (they look like big planter boxes) from one to a few feet high. These are especially good for people with arthritis, etc. (see, e.g., http://eartheasy.com/store/proddetail.php?prod=CRG001).

Gardening is a great way to reduce your food bill and carbon footprint (most food travels an average of 1500 miles before it gets to your local grocery store). My grandmothers both turned their entire back yards into giant gardens. Growing vegetables at home used to be very common, particularly during the Depression and WWII. Now so many people want a neatly manicured lawn instead. With raised beds and square foot gardening, it's possible to have a little of both.