MAYLANDS horticulturalist Nick Bell says if you have a square foot of space you have room for a garden, and he wants to teach Perth locals how to do it.
The concept of square foot gardens—growing lots of vegies and herbs in tiny spaces—has been kicking around in America since the ‘80s after retired soldier Mel Bartholomew put his army-engineering mind to gardening.
He invented the concept of dividing an area just over a metre into 12 squares (vaguely reminiscent of his days in military mess hall meals where peas and mash are divided by the tray).
Mr Bell says the method is extremely efficient: Dividing it into sectors lets you keep track of what’s been planted where, and which bits need fresh soil at which times.
“[Bartholomew’s] goal was to help people in poor countries improve their food production.”
A 12-box garden can grow 100 plants with three harvests a year. A square might have one big cauliflower in it, or nine beetroot, or 16 radishes.
The tech-savvy 76-year-old took an online course in square-foot gardening to learn the methods.
“You have to do a skype course with the organiser in Ohio,” he says.
“So I sat up at my computer at three in the morning and did four successive nights. There were people from Venezuela and Hawaii sitting in on this class and asking questions and sending in homework.”
Mr Bell’s teaching square-foot gardening at Garden Week, April 18 to 22 at Perry Lakes Reserve.
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
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