Really?! I only need a 4’x8’ space for my garden?

​Yes! Our Lawn to Lunch gardens utilize square foot gardening. This means that instead of planting in long rows, our Lawn to Lunch gardeners plant in 1’x1’ sections. Keeping the garden just 4 ft wide, means that you can easily reach into the middle of the garden from each side and eliminates the need for alleys. Eliminating alleys and using planting space more efficiently, means our gardens can be 80% smaller than the average home vegetable garden!
 
Having a smaller garden space has many benefits. Smaller gardens can fit in so many more places. Square foot gardening makes gardening much more accessible for those living in town compared to a traditional garden. Square foot gardens also tend to have more ‘curb appeal’ which is helpful wherever you live!

Photo credit: Deb Bieker

Having a garden that you can easily reach the middle of without having to enter the growing area, also means that your garden will have less (or no!) compaction. Compaction is one of the leading problems in home gardens. Compacted soil makes it harder for roots to grow and for water to soak into the soil. Did you know that the human foot applies the same amount of pressure to the soil as a tractor tire?! So every step we take in the garden has a significant impact!
 
Smaller gardens also mean the garden can oftentimes be placed closer to your house where you will see it every day.  Most of us are much more likely to tend to a garden that is in our regular line of sight. We are also much more likely to enjoy our gardens when we see them regularly.  
 
And finally, less empty space = less weeds to pull. And who wants to spend more time pulling weeds?! In addition to being smaller, square foot gardens are planted in such a way that the vegetable plants themselves quickly shade out those ornery weeds!

To register for an Operation: Lawn to Lunch Garden Kit including videos on key gardening topics, click here.