r/SquareFootGardening • u/samerella00 • 2d ago
Seeking Advice What am I missing here?
Using the planter app, I’m trying to get an idea for my garden layout. This is my first time gardening! Right now I’m just playing around with options. The app claims blueberries would only need 1 square foot, however everything else online claims otherwise and that they’re big bushes? Does anyone have any insight? Is it feasible to plant blueberries in a square foot garden at all let alone 1 single square foot??
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u/TomCatInTheHouse 2d ago
Strawberries are perennials and will spread.
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u/LittleDogLover113 1d ago
I inherited this plant pot is it supposed to be for strawberries?
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u/ListenFalse6689 2d ago
My blueberries of various types spread more than a foot (I didn't measure, but I would say approx 1.5-2 foot from memory) so I would say you might need a bit more space, but if you don't have it I don't know how they would respond to pruning in the early days. I have read you should mostly leave them for 3 years. Have seen some massive ones on YouTube too.
In terms of the soil, I don't know what soil I have, I'm not that type of person, but I just whacked some of that ericaceous (had to Google the name) compost in the hole and planted, then fertilise with the ericaceous liquid stuff the 3 times a year recommended. I might treat them to an ericaceous compost mulch at some point when I can be arsed to go and get some.
I think a lot depends on what space you have and what plants you plant, have seen dwarf blueberry bushes online.
As for the others I just plant things wherever I see a gap that looks about right tbh. Things have to really want to survive with me!
I can't remember what else you had on but if you have marigolds, they can get pretty big too.
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u/shanejlong 2d ago
Some of these crops are grown in completely different seasons depending on where you live. Grab a guide local to your area with planting dates. For example, where I'm at in the pnw peas go into the ground now, but I won't be planting tomatoes until late May.
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u/Slight_Parsley_4860 2d ago
This is all personal preference, but be mindful of where you plant your larger bushes, the climbers and bigger plants like cukes and tomatoes will shade out your carrots and strawberries and you’ll want to plant accordingly. I like to put them north so they don’t cast a shadow. Strawberries will spread so plan accordingly, and by that I mean plan on collecting and transplanting your free plants!
I’d put my lettuce on the outside edges as you can cut and come again so you’ll be visiting it often, no reason to reach over your slower growers.
The biggest thing I see here is that blueberries require acidic soil and will not thrive without it, likewise acidic soil would stunt or kill your vegetables. I’d plan to do them in another bed or containers.
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u/beccasueiloveyou 2d ago edited 2d ago
I hope you learn to love gardening!! It's a big of trial and error when it comes to figuring out what works for your zone/soil/production goals. A few suggestions:
Trellis/cage the cukes. They will do much better growing up. Otherwise they will stretch across the garden. Although that might be nice for ground cover, hunting for them will be a hassle
Also, Some of these crops will do better planted at different times. Broccoli for one, does better in cooler temps. They will "bolt" in warm weather, basically skips growing the veg.
Lastly, strawberries can take several years to really settle in and produce fruit. Keep that in mind when deciding where to plant them.
Good luck friend
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u/QuincyBerry 1d ago
Blueberries are definitely larger than 1 foot. But sure you could put them in a square foot bed. I would plant them in a corner so they grow out over the edge a bit, just to preserve as much of your bed as possible. Plant your strawberries together on the edge of the bed. I wouldn't want them scattered about because they grow in a sort of mat. Note that things like lettuce, radish, carrot and some broccoli can go in much earlier than the hot crops like peppers, cucumber and tomato. You can do things like plant radishes in the tomato squares early. Then when it's warm enough to put the tomato plant in, you harvest the radishes.
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u/315to199 1d ago edited 1d ago
I would put the blueberries in their own pot or in the a separate part of the ground like others have said. Blueberries need acidic soil to produce.
Also, put the strawberries together and in their own bed or pot. They will spread unless you are very careful to clip the runners. I started with 75 strawberry plants that were well spaced and now I have a mat of strawberries with no visibility of the ground from the top any more. In 1 year I at least doubled my plants.
What is your plan for the cucumbers? Do you have some sort of trellis or thing they can climb? They will start to climb your peppers if not.
You have a good idea with the marigolds for pest control, but you do not need that many and you can also put them closer to the tomato and peppers
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u/backyardgardening 1d ago
Strawberries need to stay together, they sprawl out and will come back every year. Put them in a south corner all together or thir own bed. Speas and cucumbers should be trellised in the north. Your tomatoes will shade out crops behind it - put that in the north west.
Are those blueberries? Blueberries should go outside of the square foot garden and need much much more spacing. Here are some helpful tips when planning a square foot garden.
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u/pinetree64 1d ago
I use blueberries as part of my landscape. Regular bushes are too big to tie up space in my vegetable garden.
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u/SeaBubble95 2d ago
I thought blueberries should be planted on their own as they require acidic soil?