Traditional gardens are planted in long rows in the soil and generally require quite a bit of space and tending to be successful. You have to clear a space, amend your soil and be diligent in keeping weeds away. In short, conventional gardening can be kind of backbreaking, and this is why many people never create a home garden of their own.
Growing plants in a simple raised bed is also known as intensive or friendship gardening. This style of growing is based on the idea that there are a number of plants that actually like to grow close together and do better when planted this way, a simple box garden is a raised bed with 16 one foot growing boxes that offer the ability for crops to be planted in succession throughout the growing season. This type of gardening makes growing food for yourself and an entire family easy in a very small space. Even those with no backyard can be successful with this type of growing method.
What are the advantages of box gardening?
There are quite a few advantages of box gardening over traditional gardening methods including:
Toxin Free
Because of the nature of this small space gardening system, there is little or no need for chemicals for pest control or fertilization. The planting rotation is done in such a way as to avoid the use of anything artificial. In addition, friendship planting ensures that plants get everything that they need to be strong and robust, helping them repel pests and disease.
Convenient
As mentioned, box gardening can be done in a very small space, making it a convenient way for anyone to grow food. Even if you live in an apartment or have a tiny patio space, you can have a robust garden. If you have always been too busy in the past to tend a garden, this is the answer since it requires little time to tend. There are fewer weeds, and those that do appear are much easier to pull out because the soil is not packed hard by foot traffic.
Economical
When you grow a conventional garden, there tends to be quite a bit of waste. With box gardening, nothing goes to waste, and each box of robust crops provides more than enough food to feed a small family. You won’t miss the expenses associated with conventional gardens such as irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides. With this zero waste garden model, you will use all you grow!
Accessible
One of the great things about box gardening is that anyone can do it. This form of gardening makes it easy for the young or old to grow a bountiful harvest. Gardens can be adapted and raised so that those with back or knee problems or in a wheelchair can also grow a garden.
Portable
The simple design of this garden makes it easy to pick up and move. If you are interested in moving a conventional garden, it takes quite a bit of effort to find a new location and create a suitable growing space.
Healthy
Not only is growing your own produce great for your physical health but there is also a great deal of research supporting the fact that tending a garden has a host of therapeutic benefits that are enhanced by the fact that planting a garden is so easy. Spending just a little time each day taking care of your garden is relaxing and can reduce stress after a hard day’s work.
Variety
Because of the rotational nature of this type of gardening, you can enjoy a variety of fresh produce all through the growing season.
Extended Growing Season
Boxed gardens are raised slightly above the ground, in some cases quite a bit above the ground. This creates favorable growing conditions for plants which allows you to enjoy a fresh harvest well after conventional gardens have petered out for the season.
Better Soil
Conventional gardening soil often requires a great deal of amending and monitoring to get it just right. One of the best things about square box gardening is that you can control the quality of the soil from the very beginning, and keeping it healthy is pretty easy. Creating your own “best” soil mixture will give your plants everything they need to be healthy and productive.
Environmentally Friendly
Growing your own food is environmentally friendly. A tremendous amount of fuel is used to harvest, store, and transport produce to your local grocery store, not to mention all the waste used for packaging etc., Not only does growing your own food provide you and your family with fresh food, but it also reduces your carbon footprint. Now that’s something you can feel good about
-Susan Patterson
