Creación de sistemas normativos en la sociedad

One of the advantages of square foot gardening is that it can be practiced profitably on relatively small spaces. A square foot garden takes only 20 percent of the space of a conventional garden. Even the quarter-acre lot of suburban homes is usually adequate.

That lot, about 11,000 square feet, is usually divided so that the house and garage take about 3,000 square feet, the driveway another 1,000, and the front and side yards 3,000. This leaves about 4,000 for the backyard. If you converted half of that (2,000 square feet) into a cash garden, you'll have room for almost 1,400 square feet of growing area while the remaining 600 square feet are in paths and non-productive areas. At an average yield of $5 per square foot, your cash garden could produce $7,000 a year for you.

Thus, the question you must answer is not about the space you have and need, but how much money you want to make, how much time you want to spend, and whether you can find a good market for your cash garden.

If your financial needs are modest, only part of your backyard may be needed for gardening; if you're very ambitious, you may want to use the entire backyard, even if you have more than 4,000 square feet, or you may even want to arrange for additional land.

The basic square foot system utilizes a four-foot square with a walking aisle on all four sides. Since the object of a cash garden is to have as much growing area as possible, you could give up a little convenience and arrange those squares end on end to form a long garden that's four feet wide. You'll have t o walk around a long bed, but it will avoid a lot of non-productive space.

In the same backyard, these beds will take up 750 square feet, with 506 square feet used for growing. At $5 per square feet, this garden will yield $2,530.

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A $5,000 Garden

House

Width of Aisles

The aisles can be as narrow as twelve inches, but most people feel more comfortable with aisles fifteen or eighteen inches wide. A rough layout of your yard and garden bed location will help you to decide on aisle width and bed length. In general, you'll use 60 to 70 percent of the garden area as productive growing areas.

Sun

If you have a small yard and nowhere else to garden, your choice of a site is limited. (On the other hand, it makes for a very easy decision.)

If you have a large yard, though, or you're considering gardening in some other location, your single most important consideration should be sun, sun, and more sun. D o not select a shaded area.

You'll be continually fighting the problem, and your production will be diminished. In fact, your site should not be even close to the shade of trees or shrubs, because they grow rapidly and soon will throw your garden into partial shade. The length of time you have full sun is most important. At least six to eight hours a day are needed for growing warm-weather or summer vegetables such as tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, peppers, and eggplant. Less is needed for cool-weather or spring crops of lettuce, beets, carrots, radishes, and onions. Four to six hours are enough.

Soil

Other considerations are not as important as sun. Take soil, for example. Unless you have several acres or your land slopes greatly, your soil will be fairly uniform throughout your property. Since the square foot system involves building up your soil in raised beds, you won't have t o worry about your soil as you would in conventional gardening. This is explained in detail in chapter eleven.

Water

Another factor to consider is the availability of water. You won't want to lug water or run hoses a long distance, so pick a location that's close t o a water spigot. If you have a large piece of property, and you're putting your garden way out back, seriously consider running a large (at least diameter), heavy-duty hose or buried pipe to the garden area.

Drainage

If your prospective site puddles for several hours after a heavy rain, it probably has poor drainage and may be a bad choice. If you must select a site where water flows onto it, there are several possible remedies, such as ditching and terracing, t o divert the flow away from the garden. This is much easier than providing drainage within the area. Instead of starting off with a problem, though, try to pick a n area that drains readily, and you'll be way ahead of the game.

If drainage is a problem, dig a ditch around your garden area to carry water away from it.

Location

It's helpful t o put your garden close t o your house. You'll find it easier to care for the garden. Also, since you can see the garden from inside the house, it's easier t o spot trouble such as munching rabbits.

You'll also find that the more often you look at the garden, the more often you'll go out to tend it. Since a square foot garden is so beautiful, every time you see it, you'll want to get out there for a closer look. With every short visit you will spot minor problems or a crop that's ready to be picked. Your garden will benefit from this added attention. In the long run, this will mean a larger cash harvest for you.

Security

If you can't put the garden close to the house, think about the security of the area you're selecting. Is it fenced in? Is it near a thoroughfare? Is it protected from neighborhood children? Is there much vandalism in your area? If your yard isn't already fenced, investing in a fence may be cost-effective in the long run.

Slope

If you have a lot of land, and have a choice of slope-that is, if part of the land slopes to the south and another part slopes to the north-garden the slope that points towards the sun. That spot will be the warmest and it will warm up earlier in the spring. You'll be able to plant sooner, and to a cash gardener that means more money. Most people don't have this choice, but if you're one of the lucky few, make the best use of this advantage.

When deciding where to put your garden, look over your entire property. There may be areas that you might have overlooked during the first go-around, as well as areas that could be used if your garden were split up. Many people turn their side yard or even their front yard into a cash garden. A square foot garden certainly is attractive and would enhance any yard, regardless of its location.

Other Land

If you have a small yard and don't want t o use it for gardening, there's no reason why you have t o use your backyard. Why not someone else's? Some friendly neighbor who always wanted an attractive garden, or who might want to earn some extra money by renting you a piece-or even all-of his backyard? This is a particu- larly welcome solution if you live in a heavily wooded area that gets very little sun, or if your landscaping doesn't adapt well to a large garden. You can also rent empty lots or side lots. Or you may be able t o find someone who already has a large garden and wouldn't mind having you as a friendly tenant.

You might not even have to pay rent if you go about it the right way. Companionship and common interests are both persuasive reasons. You might also be able to barter or trade some of your services for use of that land. Why not help take care of the yard? Or supply that family with all the vegetables they can eat, harvested fresh from your garden?

Accessibility

One last thing t o keep in mind is accessibility to your vehicle. You have t o pull up to load your harvest a couple of times a week, and you won't want to lug it very far. In addition, since you'll be building some wooden frames and bringing in a lot of soil, manure, and other supplies, your garden should be fairly close to the driveway or an area where a truck can easily back up.