The idea behind square foot gardening is to grow more in less space. That is to reduce the size of your garden to a size that is more manageable in terms of maintenance as well as more productive per square foot in terms of yield. According to Mel Bartholomew, author of Square Foot Gardening, a 4’x  4’ area divided into sixteen 1’x 1’ planting areas is ideal.

Start by amending the soil with equal parts of compost (several different kinds), peat moss and vermiculite. A 4’x  4’ (16 sq. ft.) area would need 8 cubic feet of material for 6” of amended soil. Then, depending on the vegetable, plant 1 to 16 seeds (or plants) per square. Start with cool weather vegetables and as you harvest each square you can replant with other crops. Plant taller varieties on the north side so they won’t shade the others and then you can construct supports on one side for them.