Sq Ft Gardening w/o raised beds

[dogmom327]

I really like SFG and I want to apply it effectively to our garden space (planting in the ground since we have great soil--not raised beds). I'm trying to figure out an effective and cost-efficient way to divide up the space since I can't easily run sting, etc. like I did when I had raised beds.

Has anyone found a good way to mark out the squares so I can stay organized?

[changingseasons]

I think in his first book he didn't use raised beds. I watched one of his old videos, and he just had wide boards laid out in between the different sections to walk/kneel on.

I used string last year, and I'm taking it off this year because I want to turn the soil. I'm just going to use my fingers to draw out the squares when I plant (my sections are 4'x4', so it's not too hard to eyeball it.) Or you could put little stakes in at the edges where your lines would be. Or stakes and string...

[dogmom327]

Thanks! Drawing on the ground might be my best option. We tried stakes and string last year but the string kept breaking and it was huge pain when it came time to dismantle the garden for the year. I just need lots of spacing cues. I'm spatially challenged

[DashsMama]

I don't do square foot gardening but rather biointensive. which is similar. I plant things tightly and in succession and need to know where one planted section ends and another begins. To mark the planted areas I just use thin straight sticks I've gathered from my yard. I lay a stick down and poke in a couple short sticks on either side to keep it in place. It works fine unless the kids come by and borrow a stick. lol

I have a couple raised beds that were here when we bought the house, but honestly, I much prefer to just plant straight in the ground. I'm working on getting a couple more beds up and going this year and they'll all be mounds on the ground.