Inside My Square Foot Garden: What I’m Growing This Season
- Cameron Rosenthal
- Mar 29
- 6 min read
Every year, I become more obsessed with square foot gardening—it’s like having a mini food forest right in my backyard. There’s something magical about watching a small space produce fresh vegetables, medicinal herbs, and vibrant flowers with minimal effort.
If you’ve been wondering how to start a square foot garden, this guide will walk you through the process. From choosing the right raised bed to planting your first crops, I’ll cover everything you need to know to grow food efficiently in a small space.
What Is Square Foot Gardening?
Square foot gardening (SFG) is a high-yield, low-maintenance gardening method that maximizes growing space by dividing a raised bed into 1x1-foot squares.
This system:
✔ Prevents overcrowding
✔ Reduces weeding and watering
✔ Boosts plant health and yields
Whether you're a beginner gardener or an experienced grower looking to maximize your harvest, square foot gardening is an excellent way to grow more food in less space.
How to Set Up a Square Foot Garden
I recently set up my own 6.5 x 3.5 galvanized raised bed, and I’ll walk you through the exact steps I took to get started!
1. Choose or Build a Raised Bed
To start a square foot garden, you’ll need a raised bed. You can either build one from scratch using untreated cedar or redwood or purchase a pre-made metal or wooden raised bed.
I opted for a galvanized steel raised bed because it’s durable, rust-resistant, and long-lasting. If you're looking for a good option, check out this galvanized raised garden bed—it’s similar to the one I used!
📌 Pro Tip: Place your raised bed in a level, sunny spot where plants will receive at least 6–8 hours of sunlight per day.
2. Layer Organic Materials at the Bottom
Before adding soil, I created a foundation using organic materials to:
Improve drainage
Retain moisture
Provide long-term nutrients
You can use:
Cardboard or newspaper (to suppress weeds and attract earthworms)
Twigs, leaves, or straw (for aeration and organic matter)
Compostable kitchen scraps (such as coffee grounds, veggie peels, and eggshells)
This method mimics hugelkultur gardening, a technique that naturally enriches soil as organic materials break down.
3. Fill with Organic Soil
Once the organic materials were in place, I filled my bed with high-quality organic soil. A good square foot gardening soil mix includes:
1/3 compost (provides essential nutrients)
1/3 peat moss or coconut coir (retains moisture)
1/3 vermiculite or perlite (improves aeration and drainage)
If you’re looking for an organic soil blend, I recommend FoxFarm Ocean Forest Organic Potting Soil—it’s nutrient-rich and perfect for raised bed gardening.
📌 Pro Tip: Mix in worm castings for an extra boost of plant-friendly nutrients!
4. Create a Grid for Planting
The secret to square foot gardening is dividing your raised bed into 1x1-foot sections. This helps organize plant spacing, prevent overcrowding, and increase yields.
I made my grid using bamboo sticks I had on hand, but you can also use:
✔ Twine or string
✔ Wooden slats
✔ Metal rods
For an easy-to-use option, check out this reusable garden grid that helps you create perfectly spaced squares!
5. Start Planting!
Now for the fun part—planting! Each square in a square foot garden is designed to hold a specific number of plants based on their spacing requirements:
🌱 1 per square: Tomatoes, peppers, kale, basil
🥬 4 per square: Lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach
🥕 9 per square: Carrots, radishes, beets
For vining plants like cucumbers and peas, plant them near an arbor or trellis—this saves space and boosts airflow.
📌 Pro Tip: Use companion planting to maximize space and repel pests. For example, plant marigolds near tomatoes to deter aphids!
What to Plant in a Square Foot Garden: Best Vegetables, Herbs & Flowers
If you’re wondering what to plant in a square foot garden, here’s a peek at what’s growing in mine—and why I chose each one!
The Edibles: Fresh, Flavorful & Homegrown
A square foot garden is perfect for high-yield vegetable gardening, allowing you to grow a diverse mix of crops without overcrowding. Here are some of my favorite vegetables and herbs to plant in a raised bed garden.
🥕 Carrots
There’s nothing like pulling a fresh, homegrown carrot from the soil and eating it straight from the garden (after a quick rinse, of course). Since carrots grow deep, not wide, they’re perfect for square foot gardening—16 per square!
🌿 Best Carrot Varieties for Raised Beds:
Purple Dragon (beautiful deep purple hue)
Cosmic Purple (heirloom with a spicy-sweet taste)
Napoli (great for early harvests!)
📌 Pro Tip: Use this seed tape for easy, perfectly spaced planting!
🌱 Celery
Celery takes patience, but homegrown celery has a richer, more intense flavor than store-bought. I plant four per square and keep them well-watered for the crunchiest stalks.
🌿 Best Celery Variety:
Tango Celery (tender, sweet, and easy to grow!)
🥦 Cauliflower
Cauliflower is a little tricky, but totally worth it. It needs a full square to itself, and I cover the heads with leaves as they grow to prevent yellowing. Homegrown cauliflower is sweeter and more flavorful than store-bought!
🌿 Best Cauliflower Variety:
Snowball Self-Blanching (perfect for beginners!)
📌 Pro Tip: Use floating row covers to protect your cauliflower from pests!
🥬 Lettuce
I plant four heads per square for a cut-and-come-again salad garden. This means I can harvest fresh leaves as needed, and they keep growing back!
🌿 Best Lettuce Varieties:
Buttercrunch (soft, sweet leaves)
Romaine (great for wraps and Caesar salads!)
Red Sails (adds color to your garden!)
📌 Pro Tip: Keep lettuce cool and crisp with shade cloth in hot weather!
🌿 Basil, Cilantro & Chamomile
Herbs are a must-have in my garden! They don’t take up much space, and they make everything taste (and smell) better.
✔ Basil – I plant one per square and pinch it often to keep it full and bushy. Perfect for summer pesto!
✔ Cilantro – Bolts fast in heat, so I succession plant every few weeks for a steady supply.
✔ Chamomile – I use the dried flowers for tea, and it attracts pollinators like crazy!
📌 Pro Tip: A stackable herb drying rack makes it easy to preserve fresh herbs!
The Healers: My Go-To Medicinal Flowers
One of my favorite parts of gardening is growing flowers with healing properties. They add beauty to my space while also providing ingredients for teas, tinctures, and skin remedies.
🌼 Calendula
If I had to pick one must-have medicinal flower, it would be calendula. It’s anti-inflammatory, healing, and perfect for salves, oils, and teas. Plus, it blooms like crazy!
✔ Planting: 1 per square
✔ Uses: Skin salves, tea, infused oils
📌 Pro Tip: Harvest calendula flowers with a flower snip (I prefer hoof clippers) to encourage more blooms!
🌿 Feverfew
This tiny daisy-like flower is incredible for headaches and migraines. I let it spread a little because the bees love it, and it adds a wildflower feel to my garden.
✔ Planting: 1 per square
✔ Uses: Herbal tea, migraine relief
🐝 Bee Balm
A powerhouse for pollinators! Bee balm attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees—while also doubling as a medicinal herb for colds and sore throats.
✔ Planting: 1 per square
✔ Uses: Herbal tea, respiratory relief
The Protectors: Pest-Repelling Flowers
I love using companion planting as natural pest control. These flowers repel bad bugs while attracting pollinators to help everything thrive.
🌼 Marigolds
The ultimate companion plant! Marigolds repel aphids, nematodes, and other pests, making them a must-have in any organic vegetable garden.
✔ Planting: 1 per square
✔ Companion Plants: Tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers
📌 Pro Tip: Try Giant Marigold seeds—they’re great for deterring pests!
Why I Love Mixing It All Together
One of the best things about square foot gardening is that you don’t have to separate your veggies, herbs, and flowers. Instead, they work together in harmony!
🌱 The herbs keep pests away from the veggies.
🌸 The flowers attract pollinators to boost growth.
🥕 The veggies provide fresh, homegrown food.
And honestly? It’s just so pretty. There’s something magical about walking out to my raised bed garden, seeing chamomile flowers next to bright lettuce, or watching bees dance around the bee balm while I pick basil.
Want to Start Your Own Square Foot Garden?
If you’re thinking about trying square foot gardening, I highly recommend it! It’s:
✔ Low-maintenance
✔ Super productive
✔ Perfect for small spaces
Plus, it’s a great way to get kids involved in growing food!
🌿 Are you setting up a square foot garden this season? Drop a comment below and let me know what you’re planting! 🌱💚
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