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Square Foot Gardening High-Value Veggies

Page 15

by Mel Bartholomew


  Lovejoy, Sharon, 100

  mint, 36

  ‘Chocolate’, 97

  mulch, 23

  Murphy, Elizabeth, 110

  muskmelon, 30, 69

  mustard, 110

  mustard greens, 30, 54

  nasturtium, 117

  okra, 23, 29, 31, 86, 110

  onion, 55–56, 103, 111, 113

  red, 30

  scallion, 119

  white, 30

  yellow, 30

  oregano, 40

  ornamental gardens, 96–97

  pansy, 117

  parsley, 44

  curly, 97

  parsnips, 28, 30, 46, 111

  pea, 77, 109, 111, 119

  snow, 31, 77, 119

  sugar snap, 31, 77, 99, 119

  pepper, 99, 109, 110, 115

  bell, 29, 31, 89, 103, 105

  hot, 23

  ornamental, 97

  red bell, 113

  pinks, 117

  plant costs, 24–25

  pole bean, 23, 29, 31, 85, 101, 115

  potato, 29, 31, 91–92, 101, 103, 105, 111, 115

  red, 31

  russet, 31

  yellow, 31

  produce diversity, 15–17

  pumpkin, 30, 57, 101

  radicchio, 30, 65, 103

  Variegato di Castelfranco, 107

  radish, 31, 79, 101, 105, 109, 111, 115, 119, 121

  Black Spanish, 107

  Daikon, 31, 71, 111

  rain barrels, 22–23

  rainwater collection systems, 22–23

  regional variations, 17

  return on investment (ROI), 9, 30–31

  rose, 117

  rosemary, 23, 35, 97

  row covers, 114

  sage, 42

  scallion, 119

  seeds

  cost of, 24–25

  top vegetable, 108–109

  shade

  tips for, 120

  vegetables for, 121

  soil

  amendments for, 19

  tips or, 110

  vegetables for clay, 111

  vegetables for drought, 110

  vegetables for sandy, 111

  yield and, 114

  Solanaceae family, 122

  spilanthes, 107

  spinach, 28, 30, 53, 99, 105, 119, 121

  Square Foot Gardening

  lans costs and, 24

  produce cost numbers and, 13

  soil amendments and, 19

  squash, 99, 109, 110

  blossoms of, 117

  summer, 9, 30, 64, 113

  winter, 28, 30, 52, 99, 115

  strawberry, 30, 63

  succession planning, 114

  summer squash, 30, 64, 99, 110, 113

  sunchoke, 107

  supermarkets

  farmers’ markets vs., 14–15

  USDA cost per pound for, 13–14

  sweet potato, 31, 83

  Swiss chard, 29, 31, 88, 105, 110, 121

  ‘Bright Lights’, 97

  tarragon, French, 39

  thyme, 30, 34

  tomato, 47–48, 101, 103, 105, 109, 110, 115

  cherry, 28, 30, 47

  Green Zebra, 107

  heirloom, 28, 30, 47

  hybrid, 28, 30, 47

  Roma, 30, 47–48

  tools, 17–18

  Toothache Plant, 107

  turnip, 28, 30, 50, 111, 119, 121

  unusual vegetables, 106–107

  USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 13

  value

  bottom ten produce, 29

  children’s gardens, 100–101

  container gardens, 104–105

  fascination gardens/unusual vegetables, 106–107

  fast-growing vegetables, 118–119

  formula for determining, 8–11

  grilling vegetables, 102–103

  health benefits, 98–99

  high yield vegetables, 114–115

  ornamental gardens, 96–97

  personal preferences and, 11

  produce by return on investment, 30–31

  return on investment formula, 9

  top seeds, 108–109

  top ten produce, 28

  vertical growing, 114

  viola, 117

  violet, 117

  water

  costs and, 18, 21–23

  low-water need produce, 23

  strategies for minimizing use, 22–23

  watermelon, 30, 62, 101

  weather, 17

  weight loss, 112–113

  winter squash, 28, 30, 52, 99, 110, 115

  yield

  tips for boosting, 114

  vegetables for highest, 114–115

  zucchini, 30, 64, 103, 113, 115

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  MEL BARTHOLOMEW’S PATH to arguably the most influential backyard gardener was an untraditional one. A civil engineer by profession and frustrated gardener by weekend, Bartholomew was convinced unmanageable single-row gardening was a waste of energy and output. After his research yielded responses such as, “But that’s the way we’ve always done it,” Bartholomew condensed the unmanageable single-row space to 4 x 4 feet, amended the soil, and bingo—he developed a gardening system that yields 100 percent of the harvest in 20 percent of the space.

  Bartholomew’s Square Foot Method quickly gained popularity and strength, ultimately converting more than one million gardeners worldwide. Square Foot Gardening, the highest-rated PBS gardening show to date, launched in 1981 and ran weekly for five years, followed later by a weekly Square Foot Show on the Discovery Network. In 1986, the creation of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation and the A Square Yard in the School Yard program brought the technique to an estimated three thousand schools nationwide.

  As fan mail and testimonials from thousands of gardeners across the country arrived, Bartholomew realized that his Square Foot Method was relevant on a global scale. Converted into Square Meter Gardening, Bartholomew seized an opportunity to bring the dietary benefits of his revolutionary system to millions of malnourished Third World citizens. His global humanitarian effort, orchestrated through the Square Meter International Training Centers in Lehigh, Utah, and Homestead, Florida, trained international humanitarian organizations and leaders in the Square Meter Method. Since its launch, Bartholomew’s global outreach initiative has spread from Africa to Asia to South America and is recognized as a resounding success by nonprofit human interest groups.

  And there are no signs of slowing down. Bartholomew’s global outreach continues throughout the world while closer to home, and attention has shifted to increasing the Square Foot presence in the California school system. Bartholomew is determined to continue and strengthen the well-established Square Foot programs and institutions across the nation and the globe.

  Bartholomew operates his nonprofit Square Foot Gardening Foundation in Eden, Utah.

  © 2016 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.

  Text © 2016 Mel Bartholomew

  First published in 2016 by Cool Springs Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.,

  400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA. Telephone: (612) 344-8100 Fax: (612) 344-8692

  quartoknows.com

  Visit our blogs at quartoknows.com

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners. All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication. Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied. We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book.

  Cool Springs Press titles are also available at discounts in bulk quantity for industrial or sales-prom
otional use. For details contact the Special Sales Manager at Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc., 400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA.

  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

  Digital edition: 978-0-76035-078-2

  Softcover edition: 978-1-59186-668-8

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Bartholomew, Mel, author.

  Title: Square foot gardening high-value veggies : homegrown produce ranked by value / Mel Bartholomew.

  Description: Minneapolis, MN : Cool Springs Press, 2016.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2015040351 | ISBN 9781591866688 (pb)

  Subjects: LCSH: Vegetable gardening--Economic aspects. | Square foot

  gardening. | Rate of return.

  Classification: LCC SB320.9 .B37 2016 | DDC 635--dc23

  LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015040351

  Acquiring Editor: Mark Johanson

  Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm

  Art Director: Cindy Samargia Laun

  Book Design and Layout: Simon Larkin

  Cover Photography: Paul Markert

  SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTORS: W. Atlee Burpee & Company, Shawna Coronado, Rosalind Creasy, Chelsey Fields, Carolyn Henry-Johanson, Janine Larson, Sharon Lovejoy, Elizabeth Murphy, Jason Stoneburner

 

 

 


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