Square Foot Garden in North Dakota – Steven’s Plan
- Location: Fargo, North Dakota
- Gardening Year: 2012
- Planting By Color: Green/Purple
Big Plans
Hello to you all from chilly Fargo, North Dakota. My name is Steven and this is my first time square foot gardening. Currently I am in the process of starting nine 4’x4′ square foot gardens. They will be constructed of 4”x6”x4′ boards of untreated lumber provided by my step-dad Eric.
I am using Mel’s Mix. I gathered some vermiculite from a local nursery here in Fargo. Also gathered locally was compost provided by the City of Fargo, what a great local program! All I had to do was drive to the weigh scale at the dump and load up as much compost as I want, all for FREE! As far as the peat moss goes, I will get (unfortunately) what I need from K-Mart or other big brand store.
Starting my seed germinator
I started some of my crop inside on March 20th and it is coming along NICELY! I have planted the following seeds: garden bean, corn, cherry tomatoes, big boy tomatoes, big max pumpkins, cucumbers, yellow hot peppers, red sweet peppers, bell mix peppers, jalapenos, other peppers, carrots, cilantro, mint, basil, parsley, chives, lettuce, spinach, etc. I hope I don’t run out of room before I can get these guys outside. I approximate my last frost date being around the end of April or mid-May, which gives me enough time to start another batch inside before the middle of June.
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- Starting my seed germinator
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- Full Frontal
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- The Plants
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- Broad Spectrum
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- Seedlings Starting
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- Big Plans
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- Looks shady but it was taken late in the day.
I have made a lot of progress since I took these pictures so I’ll be keeping you all up to date with new ones as soon as I get more taken! HAPPY GROWING!
- Questions for you all to answer:
What do you think?
What could I do better?
Suggestions for cheap/easy fertilizer (if I need it, I will be testing soil soon)
What ideas do you have on my current plan?
What ideas do you have for my other three boxes?
Anyone else gardening up in North Dakota?
Thanks to everyone for great feedback!
–MamaNiff
Good to see someone else from Fargo on here! No, I didn’t put a hold on the book, I’m mainly an online type of research guy. I am nervous about the compost as well but we’ll see if Mother Nature can amend any chemicals that might’ve been thrown in there. I also signed up for the Bluebird Garden’s CSA and can’t wait to pick up my first box! Can’t wait to get started planting, I HATE that our last frost date is so late 🙁
–Ken D.
Thanks for the great advice. I have constructed three trellises (one 10ft, two 6ft) that I will be using to trellis my pumpkins, tomatoes, cucumbers, and NOW zucchini thanks to your input! Also thanks to your (and Emily’s) input I’ve decided to skip corn and try to plant all of my peppers (spicy, sweet, and mild) all in one or two 4ftx4ft plots. I plan on sharing a lot of my produce with my family as I know I will have LOTS left over. Thanks for your other great ideas.
–Emily
Have I said your site is amazing yet? If not, IT’S AMAZING!! Thanks for developing a great way for gardeners and enthusiasts to come together to share their ideas. Also, thank you for your knowledge on my planning, I will be making adjustments and will post another update as soon as I get the ball rolling (hopefully beginning of May).
STEVEN
Steven-
I’m from Fargo! 🙂 I haven’t done any SFG before, just kind of read through the book from the library last month or month before but had to bring it back since someone else had a hold on it. (Was it you?!? LOL) And I’m very new to this blog.
What nursery did you get the vermiculite from??
I’d be nervous about using the city compost – how do we know there aren’t chemicals from people’s lawns on the stuff that goes in there. I’m afraid to use it for food items. I love it for my perennials though!
I’m hoping to do a mini garden with strawberries and rhubarb. Maybe something the kids will like to grow…. I don’t really need veggies since I signed up for Bluebird Gardens (local CSA) this summer – also a first for me.
Jennifer
Your tomatoes look close together. I understood those to prefer 2 sq ft each, not 1 sq ft each as it looks on your plan.
I would be cautious with the hot pepper placement, if the fruits rub agaisnt you or other plants it can leave something spicy and uncomforatable on you or your other plants. I hear reports of hot tomatoes because of this. I would keep hot peppers bunched together, since they will grow a little smaller than normal peppers I would place them “in front” of the sun, whatever angle that is for you. Just try to make it so you dont have to reach past them too much in order to get somthing else.
Basil is a good coplant with tomatoes, you can put them pretty close together. Word is it adds flavor to your tomatoes.
Since you have allot of free space you can try planting something unusual such as melons. Or you can try some winter squash. (like the pumpkin). Like the tomatoes though, they need space. About 4 sq ft unless you trellis/train/stake them. 2 cucumbers to 1 sq ft? unless you let them grow out over the lawn, they may not have enough space unless you train or trellis them. Luckily cucumbers are supposed to take to trellising with a little aid (I will find out this year).
I’m partial to homegrown green onions. Fresh spring scallions taste the best. They sow readily from seed directy grown in the soil. It also appears your garden lacks zucchini, a flaw that I would correct. In other areas I might try growing some mixed greens such as lettuce, kale… Quinoa is supposed to look lovely grown in the graden, never tried that one.
If you do like hot peppers, you can explore the myriad varieties with extra space you have, I’ll be doing nearly 8 3-gallon buckets of hot peppers this year.
If you like fruit and want less work, you can plant some fruit trees!
Enjoy your garden.
It’s so fun to see gardens all across the nation! Thanks for submitting this.
Some ideas/suggestions:
*Before you plant potatoes, consider doubling up two boxes to make it taller. 6″ is really not enough soil to grow potatoes. Read more about how to grow potatoes in a square foot garden.
*You can grow tomatoes in one square, but then you have to prune them religiously. I prefer growing them in 4 squares with a very tall (4-5′) cage. Check the links for details.
*You can try to plant garlic now, but it grows best when planted in October/November and harvested in June.
*Green beans–if you are growing pole beans, you want to put them in the outside squares and give them a trellis. Otherwise, plant bush beans (9 per square), and still grow them in an outside square–that way they are easier to get to for harvesting. Trade them with onions, which are harvested all at once.
*To grow the pumpkin and watermelon on a trellis, plant one in 2 squares.
*I think you should grow some snap and/or snow peas. These are a family favorite!
*You will get A LOT of peppers from 10 plants. If you eat tons, this will be great. If not, maybe cut back to 8?
*I would also use your extra space for more tomatoes. But I feel you can’t have too many tomatoes. Try a few varieties to see which kind you like best.
*Your corn may need support. My friend grows this every year and plants 3 per square, alternating 2, 1, 2, 1. The next row 1, 2, 1, 2.
*Your lettuce and spinach will grow well in the spring–when they are harvested you might try planting some beets (to be used for tops or roots), green onions, more bush beans, radishes, or carrots. All of these harvest in a short time.
*I don’t have preferences on brands of fertilizer, as much as where to buy. A local ag co-op is my favorite. They tend to sell local products much cheaper than the box stores.
*Definitely double one box for potatoes. If you haven’t come up with anything for the others, try doubling up another box just temporarily. Grow the same things in two boxes (maybe peppers, parsley, and tomatoes) and see which size box you like best. If this is your first year, I really suggest starting small so you don’t get overwhelmed and just give up! 🙂
*Some other ideas to fill in empty space–zucchini (prune it, and give it 2-4 squares), and Swiss chard (eat it like spinach, but it grows all summer).
Good luck!!!