More Classic Quiz Answers

Santi Rogers,Kansas City,MO
Question: After learning, studying, and implementing SFG in your own yard, what have you experienced?

Healing!!!!!!!! I am originally from california and due to a life threatening health issue I decided to take a vacation to the heartland to get away for awhile. I ended up stopping in Kansas City and moved into an apartment at a complex on large acreage. I was introduced to a quadriplegic resident who began to share with me his love for gardening and gave me a grand tour of his garden plot near his apartment. He asked if he could pay me to be his hands and tend to his garden. I was so physically ill I didn’t feel my work would be worthy of a wage. I told him we could be partners and my pay would be his company and some of the produce. Almost everyday I was in the garden for hours and often was invited in his home to eat healthy meals. Within weeks I was on my way to complete recovery. Since then I got to start a large community garden where I live and have also had the opportunity to help start over 22 backyard gardens. I have met life long friends and learned valuable information that will keep me healthy and others.

Gina Dykes Denver,CO.
Question: New Opportunities: Whether the SFG is done on a small scale, i.e. a personal garden to the large scale farming the SFG is adaptable in any climate all around the world. Humanitarian projects have been successfully completed in developing countries using the SFG method. A large space is not required to have a profitable farming/gardening enterprise using the SFG system. The possibilities are endless when applying the entire concept of the SFG outside the garden and in the everyday life situations. This system is changing how any idea or situation can have an alternative perspective. When we grow inside the SFG box, we are thinking “outside the box.”

Classic Quiz Answers

Q:The All New SFG book describes Ten Major New Improvements to the Original Square Foot Garden method. In your own words, describe those ten items here and tell why each is important
F. New Boxes – Above the ground You assemble easy to build bottomless boxes out of common lumber that most big box stores will cut to length into 4 foot lengths. Don’t care for the wood look? Use brick, blocks, or stone. There is one garden I know of that is a series of dinner plates standing on edge overlapping each other. Very colorful and recycling grins all in one. The boxes define the garden space. You will fill with the perfect soil, plant and enjoy. No back-breaking shovel, no bone rattling rototiller, no weeds. It is easy to tend the garden because it is contained and you can reach each square. Beverly Servadio of CA
Q: When purchasing bags of compost, what are the advantages to buying several types You need as many ingredients as possible -
no one compost has all the nutrients. The more types of compost you have the better chance of having a nutrient rich Mel's Mix.
Steve Earls of FLA
[Image] Steve Earls' SFG

Q: How can you make the world a better place through the use of sharing SFG with others?For me, this starts one on one. As A Master Gardener Volunteer, I am teaching SFG to an office community garden called the USDA peoples garden. All ready 2 in the group are creating SFGs at their homes. The word is shared exponentially.
Jeanne Quartz of OH

Boy Scouts Celebrate 100 Years with SFG

 Amie Hall of CT has been instrumental in aiding the Boy Scouts of America in her community to receive grants for materials to make SFG box kits. The project was in celebration of the 100 year anniversary of scouting this year.  The Scouts cut, drilled and packed the wood box kits that also included Mel's Mix.   With the money they brought in from these sales they were able to buy materials for 20 more kits that they donated to local churches, needy families, libraries and schools.

Mike Somich's SFG Public Display

Mike Somich of Brevard, NC has recently received an SFG Display Grant.  Here are the photos showing the setting up process and location he chose.

Mike's home in NC

Mike made his own compost for his Mel's Mix

                                         SFGF shipped Mike a 4x4 vinyl box and grid

                       Displayed right in Mike's front yard with an SFG sign soon to come

Diane's Excitement for the New SFG Display Grant

I have offered several classes at my home with the first activity being a "scavenger hunt" through my garden. The participants are given a check list and a pencil and instructed to find the listed items in my garden, e.g., wood grid, plastic clothesline grid, vertical support, bag of compost, bag of vermiculite, etc. (A bucket of cookies is hung in my garden, too. That's the last on the list to find. When they find the cookies and finish their list, they come in for the class. I have cool drinks to go with the cookies, and then we're ready to start the class. They are given about 10 minutes to complete the "scavenger hunt." The adults seems to love it. When we sit down for the "class" portion of the meeting, participants already have SEEN what I am talking about. I frequently have people ask if they can stop by my house and take a look at my garden. They are always welcome, BUT we live "in the boonies" (some say!), so our home is not convenient to visit.

Just this past Thursday I was teaching a garden club in my area and mentioned your e-mail to them. After the meeting I was actually offered a place to set up a teaching garden in a park in Van Wert. This would be in conjunction with a beautiful children's garden that is currently being maintained by several individuals and groups in the area. They would like to see this used by children as well as adults. Diane Morris, OH

New Teacher's Website

Chris Hawkshaw of England is one of our most recently certified teachers. She has put together a very nice website that you should all see. Just click on this link www.squarefootgardenveggiesuk.com

Burleson's Gardening Manual

Wayne & Connie Burleson have produced a gardening manual with pictures of African gardens. It is really good and even includes directions on harvesting seeds for future planting. They offer its use to anyone. You can view it at http://www.scribd.com/doc/32115700/Gardening-Manual-2010

Lillian's Great Ideas

Lillian is a brand new certified teacher. She has put together some great ideas for teaching presentations. Read her description of her SFG Gardens and see photos of her teaching ideas:
"My garden is a joy and the source of a deep sense of pride for me. I built all my garden boxes (six of them) myself and they actually look presentable! We have LOTS of deer in our area and I didn’t want to have to struggle with them (they were here first, after all), so I built an enclosure for each box with rabbit fencing stapled on two sides and shade cloth that attaches to the frame with hooks and grommets, but is easy to detach and flip up to access the box on the other two sides. (The shade cloth was a lifesaver this summer with the extreme drought conditions). I extended my watering system to add an underground drip system into each box so that my garden wouldn’t suffer if I went away for a few days, but I keep automatic watering to a minimum and add extra for plants that need it. I then surrounded by boxes with pea gravel because the deer don’t like to walk on it. All my efforts have been wildly successful. I had some really great crops of tomatoes, okra, eggplant, lettuces, radishes, several varieties of peppers, and lots of herbs! For someone who’s killed just about every houseplant I’ve ever had, this has been AMAZING! On a very personal level, my SFG has really changed my perspective. I feel much more connected to the earth and it provides me with a feeling of peace and joy when I spend time tending or harvesting my plants. In these insecure times, my garden has also provided a sense of security and prosperity. My garden has also been a great way to step up my efforts to be healthier. Not only do I KNOW my produce is organic, I also know it’s grown from non-genetically modified seed. It’s also SO much more convenient to walk out my back door and collect a few things for lunch or dinner than to drive 10-25 miles to park, shop, and pay for them! Finally, no matter what is going on in my life, I get to start every day by looking out my bedroom window at my garden. The best part of my day usually happens right there! "





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Humanitarian Efforts by the Burlesons

We just returned from a 5 month teaching
session in Africa (Malawi, Rwanda and Ethiopia). The
gardens preformed better than expected. Teachers were also
trained to keep spreading these methods among those in need.
You can see some of our success on our travel blog-site at
http://www.newwaystofeedtheworld.blogspot.com.

Wayne & Connie
Humanitarian Food Gardening Project

Welcome!

Hello to all teachers of SFG across the world! Welcome to your new blog. Here you will be able to ask questions, make comments and share ideas with one another. You are part of the SFG gardening sensation that is sweeping our country and even the world. Did you know that "Square Foot Gardening" is the largest selling gardening book of all time? Last year, Mels' website received over 3 million hits! You are an integral part of Mel's vision which is:
To improve living conditions for all peoples
To bring the opportunity of gardening to everyone thus improving their personal circumstances and standard of living
Use a natural and earth-friendly way of growing keeping the world a better place for all.
What a worthwhile venture you have embarked upon as you have taken the time to become certified with SFGF. Not only have you expanded your knowledge and improved your skills for your own garden but you can now share that with others.