Square Foot Gardening 4 of 5: Filling the boxes

Before placing the 4-foot-square boxes for my Square Foot Garden, I laid landscape cloth where each box would be. This would smother out any weeds in the soil underneath.

Then Muscleman Ed and I mixed the soil for two boxes at a time. We loaded equal parts vermiculite, baled peat moss and compost onto a large tarp, picked up the corners and slid the ingredients until they were combined, then dumped it in the boxes. (Be aware that this stuff is really heavy, so it's good to have help.)

The day after my helper went home, I watered in the soil and nailed 4-foot stakes across the boxes to form the planting grid. (Cue the Wonder Woman music.)

Everything I planted was from seed. Each square foot contains different vegetables, flowers and herbs arranged so they help each other resist insects and diseases. This is called companion planting. Craft sticks are handy markers. But get it down on paper first and stick to your plan.