The 100 Square Foot Garden Getting the Most

The 100 Square Foot Garden Getting the Most Out of Your Small Vegetable Garden Mary Anne Normile, Pam Hosimer, Erica Smith and Sandra Sundstrom (Design)

Our Vision A healthier world through environmental stewardship. Our Mission To support the University of Maryland Extension mission by educating residents about safe, effective & sustainable horticultural practices that build healthy gardens, landscapes, & communities. 4

Road Map Small-scale intensive gardening: What? Why? © 2012 Pam Hosimer Techniques 100 Square Foot Gardens By Master Gardeners On a Hill GROW 100 --the 100 Square Foot Garden Challenge 5

What is small-scale intensive gardening? 6

What is small-scale intensive gardening? "The purpose of gardening intensively is to harvest the most produce possible from a given space. " -- Virginia Cooperative Extension factsheet, “Intensive Gardening Methods, ” 2009 7

What is small-scale intensive gardening? Small-scale refers to the limited gardening space available to many urban/suburban gardeners. © 2012 Pam Hosimer 8

Small-scale intensive gardening looks like this… Photo by Sam Korper 2011 (detail) 9

Or this… © 2012 Pam Hosimer 10

But not this… © 2013 Pam Hosimer 11

Why small-scale intensive gardening? • To save space • To save time • New gardener—start small • Make use of odd-sized spaces • Limit costs Intensive vegetable gardening makes the most of your available resources. © 2012 Pam H osimer 12

Intensive Gardening Techniques • Beds, not rows • Close planting • Vertical planting • Interplanting • Good soil • Containers • Succession planting • Use suitable varieties 13

Plant in beds, not rows © 2013 Pam Hosimer • Row gardening a holdover from agriculture • Large unplanted areas are inefficient • Bare soil an invitation to weeds • Soil compaction in paths 14

Plant in beds, not rows • With raised beds, you control the soil • Better drainage, warms sooner in spring • Work in bed without stepping in it • Less soil compaction • Wide rows another variation Colorado State University Extension 15

Close planting • Plant tightly—no wasted space • Leafy canopy reduces soil moisture loss • Keeps weeds down, moderates soil temperature • Plant yield may be lower, but yield per square foot is higher • How close? Photo by Erica Smith 16

Close spacing--illustration Rows with traditional spacing Same area with intensive spacing 17

Vertical planting-grow up! • Stakes, trellises, cages can support plants • Peas, pole beans, cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, squash can be grown vertically • Saves space on garden floor Photo by Melissa Smith 18

Vertical planting Photo by Bob Nixon Photo by Erica Smith 19

Interplanting—mix it up! • Plant fast- and slowgrowing plants together • Tall plants shade heatsensitive plants • Alternate rows of plants in bed • Mix plants within a bed Photo by www. nikijabbour. com (used with permission) 20

Container planting • Plant where the sun is • Grow food on patio, porch, balcony, rooftop • Use space-saving varieties • Barrels, planters, tubs, pots, wading pools … Use your imagination!! Photo by Sam Korper 2011 21

Succession planting • Have something growing throughout the season • After harvesting one crop, replant space • Cool season warm season cool season plants • Requires some planning! Photo: http: //www. dogislandfarm. com (used with permission) 22

Succession plantingexample 23

Choose your varieties • High-yielding crops • Compact, small-space varieties • “Cut-and-come-again” greens • Economic value: grow crops that are expensive to buy in store © 2013 Pam Hosimer 24

Choose your varieties High-yielding: • Tomatoes • Peppers • Onions • Eggplant • Beans • Cucumbers • Summer squash • Lettuce and greens Less efficient use of space: • Long-vining crops: melons, pumpkins, winter squash • Large heads: cabbage, cauliflower 25

Importance of soil Photo by M. Tulottes, Wikimedia Commons • Soil preparation the key to successful intensive gardening • Deep fertile soil high in organic matter • Holds nutrients and moisture • Plants better resist pests and disease • Replace nutrients used by intensive growing 26

The Master Gardeners’ 100 Square Foot Garden Photo by Lauren Greenberger 27

Design of the Garden N 28

Design of the Garden-SPRING 29

Design of the Garden-SUMMER 30

Design of the Garden-FALL 31

Laying out 100 Square Feet Photo by Mary Anne Normile 32

Spring bed a few weeks later… Photo by Darlene Nicholson 33

Intensive techniques… • Succession planting (fall garden follows summer) • Container garden • Vertical gardening • Interplanting Photo by Melissa Smith Photo by Erica Smith 34

…yielded big rewards! • The garden produced over 170 pounds of produce from 100 square feet • Vegetables and herbs donated to Manna food center Photo by Mary Anne Normile 35

The 100 Square Foot Garden On a Hill © 2013 Pam Hosimer 36

Design of the garden Garden Plan • 100 square feet of vegetable garden using six raised beds and two containers • Vegetables in center of each bed • Perennials on either end of each bed © 2013 Pam Hosimer 37

Close planting in beds Tomato transplants in May… …staked in a bed… © 2013 Pam Hosimer 38

…are ready to harvest in August! © 2013 Pam Hosimer 39

Vertical Planting-an A-frame Maximize your growing space by growing on both sides of an A-frame structure. © 2013 Pam Hosimer 40

Vertical Planting-an A-frame Pickle cucumbers climb… …and take over their support © 2013 Pam Hosimer 41

Pallet gardens filled with herbs and annuals © 2013 Pam Hosimer 42

Vertical Planting-Trellis Set up the trellis in May… © 2013 Pam Hosimer …plant beans close together… © 2013 Pam Hosimer 43

…harvest in September © 2013 Pam Hosimer 44

Interplanting Mix it up in your beds by planting perennials, like Phlox (right) and Helenium (left), next to vegetables like these hot pepper plants. © 2013 Pam Hosimer It helps attract pollinators like bees and butterflies. 45

Container Planting in a pot Sturdy patio tomatoes… …grow robustly © 2013 Pam Hosimer 46

100 square feet can yield big rewards … © 2013 Pam Hosimer • 7 tomato varieties • 4 pepper varieties • Cucumbers • Carrots • 3 bean varieties • Asparagus • Chard • Peas • Zucchini • yellow squash • 15 herb varieties • potatoes 47

…and look beautiful too! This 100 Square Foot garden yielded a whopping 167 pounds of produce in this small economical space. © 2013 Pam Hosimer 48

© 2012 Pam Hosimer Thanks for listening! 49

Resources extension. umd. edu/hgic extension. umd. edu/learn/ask-gardening marylandgrows. umd. edu extension. umd. edu/mg • • • extension. umd. edu/growit Take a food gardening class Find local community gardens Learn about youth/school gardens

This program was brought to you by University of Maryland Extension Master Gardener Program Montgomery County