How to Plant a Square Foot Garden

After you’ve built your square foot garden box, you’ll want to immediately figure out what you want to plant! My husband definitely enjoys the building aspect more, but planting and watching my plants grow is what makes me excited!

There are many factors you need to take into consideration when you plant a square foot garden because it is different from the traditional rows that you see in gardens. 

First, you’ll need to decide what you want to plant. We decided that we wanted to grow a salsa garden with a few other favorites on the side. We’re planting tomatoes, bell pepper, cilantro and jalapeno! We will also be doing some zucchini, green beans and strawberries just for fun! 

Second, determine plant spacing. Each square is designated to a specific plant. Depending on what plants you choose, you can plant anywhere from 1-16 plants in one square. If you are growing tomato plants, bell peppers or other larger plants, you will only need one plant per square. However, medium sized plants (beans, for example) you can plant 4 to a square. And for smaller plants like herbs, carrots and leaf lettuce, you can plant up to 16 in each square.

Please check the seed packet to see how much space each seed needs.

Third, get ready to plant!! To make your life a little easier, gather all the supplies you’ll need. If you don’t like getting your hands dirty, you’ll want some gloves! I actually love working with the dirt in my bare hands though. So it’s not required.

You’ll also need seeds or small plants that are ready to be trans-planted, a shovel and water! 

Start by digging a hole. Seed packets and plants bought from the store should come with instructions on how deep to dig your hole. Place the little seeds or plants in and cover them up! Don’t forget to add water.

Make sure to take care of your plants by watching out for pests that might want to eat or destroy them. We’ve already had some kind of animal digging in our garden!! So we’ll be getting some netting to protect our plants here soon!

 And of course, you don’t want to forget to water your plants. Especially once it starts warming up!

Now all you have to do is wait until your garden starts producing delicious fruits and vegetables for you and your family to enjoy!

Good luck!