Lovejoy, Sharon, 100
mint, 36
‘Chocolate’, 97
mulch, 23
Murphy, Elizabeth, 110
muskmelon, 30, 69
mustard, 110
mustard greens, 30, 54
nasturtium, 117
okra, 23, 29, 31, 86, 110
onion, 55–56, 103, 111, 113
red, 30
scallion, 119
white, 30
yellow, 30
oregano, 40
ornamental gardens, 96–97
pansy, 117
parsley, 44
curly, 97
parsnips, 28, 30, 46, 111
pea, 77, 109, 111, 119
snow, 31, 77, 119
sugar snap, 31, 77, 99, 119
pepper, 99, 109, 110, 115
bell, 29, 31, 89, 103, 105
hot, 23
ornamental, 97
red bell, 113
pinks, 117
plant costs, 24–25
pole bean, 23, 29, 31, 85, 101, 115
potato, 29, 31, 91–92, 101, 103, 105, 111, 115
red, 31
russet, 31
yellow, 31
produce diversity, 15–17
pumpkin, 30, 57, 101
radicchio, 30, 65, 103
Variegato di Castelfranco, 107
radish, 31, 79, 101, 105, 109, 111, 115, 119, 121
Black Spanish, 107
Daikon, 31, 71, 111
rain barrels, 22–23
rainwater collection systems, 22–23
regional variations, 17
return on investment (ROI), 9, 30–31
rose, 117
rosemary, 23, 35, 97
row covers, 114
sage, 42
scallion, 119
seeds
cost of, 24–25
top vegetable, 108–109
shade
tips for, 120
vegetables for, 121
soil
amendments for, 19
tips or, 110
vegetables for clay, 111
vegetables for drought, 110
vegetables for sandy, 111
yield and, 114
Solanaceae family, 122
spilanthes, 107
spinach, 28, 30, 53, 99, 105, 119, 121
Square Foot Gardening
lans costs and, 24
produce cost numbers and, 13
soil amendments and, 19
squash, 99, 109, 110
blossoms of, 117
summer, 9, 30, 64, 113
winter, 28, 30, 52, 99, 115
strawberry, 30, 63
succession planning, 114
summer squash, 30, 64, 99, 110, 113
sunchoke, 107
supermarkets
farmers’ markets vs., 14–15
USDA cost per pound for, 13–14
sweet potato, 31, 83
Swiss chard, 29, 31, 88, 105, 110, 121
‘Bright Lights’, 97
tarragon, French, 39
thyme, 30, 34
tomato, 47–48, 101, 103, 105, 109, 110, 115
cherry, 28, 30, 47
Green Zebra, 107
heirloom, 28, 30, 47
hybrid, 28, 30, 47
Roma, 30, 47–48
tools, 17–18
Toothache Plant, 107
turnip, 28, 30, 50, 111, 119, 121
unusual vegetables, 106–107
USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, 13
value
bottom ten produce, 29
children’s gardens, 100–101
container gardens, 104–105
fascination gardens/unusual vegetables, 106–107
fast-growing vegetables, 118–119
formula for determining, 8–11
grilling vegetables, 102–103
health benefits, 98–99
high yield vegetables, 114–115
ornamental gardens, 96–97
personal preferences and, 11
produce by return on investment, 30–31
return on investment formula, 9
top seeds, 108–109
top ten produce, 28
vertical growing, 114
viola, 117
violet, 117
water
costs and, 18, 21–23
low-water need produce, 23
strategies for minimizing use, 22–23
watermelon, 30, 62, 101
weather, 17
weight loss, 112–113
winter squash, 28, 30, 52, 99, 110, 115
yield
tips for boosting, 114
vegetables for highest, 114–115
zucchini, 30, 64, 103, 113, 115
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MEL BARTHOLOMEW’S PATH to arguably the most influential backyard gardener was an untraditional one. A civil engineer by profession and frustrated gardener by weekend, Bartholomew was convinced unmanageable single-row gardening was a waste of energy and output. After his research yielded responses such as, “But that’s the way we’ve always done it,” Bartholomew condensed the unmanageable single-row space to 4 x 4 feet, amended the soil, and bingo—he developed a gardening system that yields 100 percent of the harvest in 20 percent of the space.
Bartholomew’s Square Foot Method quickly gained popularity and strength, ultimately converting more than one million gardeners worldwide. Square Foot Gardening, the highest-rated PBS gardening show to date, launched in 1981 and ran weekly for five years, followed later by a weekly Square Foot Show on the Discovery Network. In 1986, the creation of the Square Foot Gardening Foundation and the A Square Yard in the School Yard program brought the technique to an estimated three thousand schools nationwide.
As fan mail and testimonials from thousands of gardeners across the country arrived, Bartholomew realized that his Square Foot Method was relevant on a global scale. Converted into Square Meter Gardening, Bartholomew seized an opportunity to bring the dietary benefits of his revolutionary system to millions of malnourished Third World citizens. His global humanitarian effort, orchestrated through the Square Meter International Training Centers in Lehigh, Utah, and Homestead, Florida, trained international humanitarian organizations and leaders in the Square Meter Method. Since its launch, Bartholomew’s global outreach initiative has spread from Africa to Asia to South America and is recognized as a resounding success by nonprofit human interest groups.
And there are no signs of slowing down. Bartholomew’s global outreach continues throughout the world while closer to home, and attention has shifted to increasing the Square Foot presence in the California school system. Bartholomew is determined to continue and strengthen the well-established Square Foot programs and institutions across the nation and the globe.
Bartholomew operates his nonprofit Square Foot Gardening Foundation in Eden, Utah.
© 2016 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.
Text © 2016 Mel Bartholomew
First published in 2016 by Cool Springs Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc.,
400 First Avenue North, Suite 400, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA. Telephone: (612) 344-8100 Fax: (612) 344-8692
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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Digital edition: 978-0-76035-078-2
Softcover edition: 978-1-59186-668-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Bartholomew, Mel, author.
Title: Square foot gardening high-value veggies : homegrown produce ranked by value / Mel Bartholomew.
Description: Minneapolis, MN : Cool Springs Press, 2016.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015040351 | ISBN 9781591866688 (pb)
Subjects: LCSH: Vegetable gardening--Economic aspects. | Square foot
gardening. | Rate of return.
Classification: LCC SB320.9 .B37 2016 | DDC 635--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015040351
Acquiring Editor: Mark Johanson
Project Manager: Alyssa Bluhm
Art Director: Cindy Samargia Laun
Book Design and Layout: Simon Larkin
Cover Photography: Paul Markert
SPECIAL THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING CONTRIBUTORS: W. Atlee Burpee & Company, Shawna Coronado, Rosalind Creasy, Chelsey Fields, Carolyn Henry-Johanson, Janine Larson, Sharon Lovejoy, Elizabeth Murphy, Jason Stoneburner
Square Foot Gardening High-Value Veggies Page 15