Mel Bartholomew - All new square foot gardening: grow more in less space!

Copyright 1981, 2011 Mel Bartholomew; Revised and Additional Content Copyright 2005, Mel Bartholomew

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Cool Springs Press, 101 Forrest Crossing Boulevard, Suite 100
Franklin, Tennessee 37064.

Digital edition: 978-1-61059-813-2
Softcover edition: 978-1-59186-202-4

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Bartholomew, Mel.
All new square foot gardening / Mel Bartholomew.
p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: Square foot gardening, 2005.
ISBN 1-59186-202-7
1. Vegetable gardening. 2. Square foot gardening. I. Bartholomew,
Mel. Square foot gardening. II. Title.
SB321.B37 2006
635dc22

2005025355

First Printing Revised Edition 2006

Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5

Managing Editors: The Staff of Cool Springs Press
Designer: Bruce Gore, Gore Studios
Copyeditor: Cindy Kershner
Photography: J. Paul Moore, except for pages 37, 81, 117, and 166. These photos are
by Neil Soderstrom.
Illustration: James Lindquist
Production Design: Bill Kersey, KerseyGraphics and S.E. Anderson

Visit the Cool Springs Press website at www.coolspringspress.com .

This book is dedicated to the loving memory of my daughter, Gail Bartholomew (19542000). Gail was my biggest supporter and was one of the original members of the Board of Directors for the Square Foot Gardening Foundation. She was most enthusiastic about our school gardening program.

I am most fortunate to be surrounded by a dedicated staff who not only worked many late nights getting this book ready, but who truly believe in and are dedicated to the principles of Square Foot Gardening.

Brenda Grow
Typist

Lori Pelkowski
Researcher

and Karen Bastow
My most able and devoted assistant

Grow More in Less Space!

MEL BARTHOLOMEW

W hy write an updated version of the best selling gardening book of all time? The old saying goes, If it aint broke, dont fix it. Well, Square Foot Garden isnt broken, but the all new model is so superior, so much simpler, and so improved that you can now forget all about the original book and the original Square Foot Gardening method!

Whats so new about the All New Square Foot Gardening book? The original can be considered the Model T of Square Foot Gardening. This new one... like the latest Cadillac! They are both cars and they both move down the road... butoh boywhat a difference!

In this expanded and revised book on Square Foot Gardening, you too can learn, as millions of others already have, how to become a successful gardener the simple and painless way. This easy-to-understand method will revolutionize the way you think about gardening; and the new ideas found in this revised edition will awe and inspire you as I share insights on how the Square Foot Gardening method can, and is, changing the world.

A reporter once asked me if I thought I had invented gardening for dummies, referring, of course, to the popular Square Foot Gardening method I developed in 1976. No, I answered.

Actually, when I invented the Square Foot Gardening (SFG) method, I thought it would be for expert gardeners. My method was very precise and detailed, yet very simple and easy to understand, and it provided all the conditions necessary for successfully growing a broad variety of plants in a very different way. It also eliminated all of the wasteful, inefficient practices of traditional single-row gardening. I thought the experts would shout Eureka! and immediately bless all of the new ideas and advantages of this new home gardening method.

As it turned out, the experts never understood this unique method. Apparently it was too simple and easy. But the beginning gardener, and those discouraged by previous failed attempts, understood it completely. They immediately saw the simplicity of SFG. The beginners instant response was I can do this! while the experts continued to question every aspect of this revolutionary gardening method. They just couldnt admit that home gardening could be that easy.

In my lectures, I like to reassure audiences that if they are new at gardening, or perhaps afraid or overwhelmed by the idea of starting a garden, they will be able to learn this simple method of gardening in just an hour or two. However, if they are already expert gardeners, it will probably take them about two weeks! After the laughter dies down, I remind my audience that beginners readily accept the minimal amount of technical information needed to become successful gardeners because they want to know how to successfully garden.

The experts, on the other hand, are so entrenched with the idea of single-row gardening as used in farming, with all of its wasteful methods, that they just cant see it any other way. You might say, They are stuck in a rut. As a result, Ive learned to leave the experts alone and concentrate on the beginner, or the tried-but-failed, gardener, and even the afraid-to-start person.

SFG appeals to other large groups of would-be gardeners. Years ago, I read some very interesting statistics (and Im sure the percentages are similar today) about these gardeners.

Every year there are about 15 million people who:

would like to begin gardening.

tried the traditional single-row gardening method, but failed.

dont want to begin gardening because they have heard of all the hard work, time, and cost associated with gardening.