Sounds like your off to a good start. Though I would like to mention that if your are planning to not have rows on in your plot then you might need to consider the width. I built raised beds by tilling the ground underneath then adding in soil above. Though I have heard good things with using cardboard to suppress weeds, though if your bed will only be 6-8in, that might not be enough room for all the roots. Good luck with your new garden.

I suggest #3 having done this several times now.

You need a weed barrier before you add more dirt, that's what the cardboard/newspaper is for. Then after you put the new soil in you might consider putting more newspaper on top around your plants to keep new weeds down. You can put mulch on top of that. You don't need to add newspapers on top but your 8x12 size is big and would eliminate need to weed.

Size: 8x12 needs a walkway down the middle to access the plants. 4' is the suggested maximum width to reach across.

Layout: I've done square foot gardening as well as row gardening. SFG was fun but I "grew" out of it, lol.

Tilling: the newest thinking is not to till because it disturbs the good microbes in the soil. I'm in favor of anything that requires less labor. just keep adding good soil on top and mulch.

Tomatoes: a class all their own. They don't do well in Florida "soil" because of the nematodes living there. I've tried raised beds, amending/adding good stuff and nematodes always invade. I now only grow tomatoes in pots sunk in the ground.

Good luck!

Denise

I'm not sure I know the difference between square foot gardening and rows. I suppose I'll do rows so that I can get between them when needed. Of course, I'm planning a lot of different plants that call for different amounts of space between them so we'll see. Thanks for the advice. Maybe I will plant the tomatoes in pots instead.

Square Foot Gardening helps because it tells you how much space to give to each kind of veggie. You start out by dividing your garden bed into 1'x1' spaces (using string) and then plant each veggie in that space. I can't remember now how many of each veggie went in but for example you could plant 12 radishes in a 1' space but only 1 tomato plant.

It sounds overly complicated if you are an experiencd gardener but 20 years ago it gave me a framework to start with when I had a empty backyard and no clue how to start making a veggie garden. Gets you past the "paralyzed with too many choices" stage.

I'm sure every library has the book.

Denise

SFG book

Well, I went ahead and pulled up most of the remaining sod yesterday afternoon. This should also help keep my timbers or block (whichever I choose)in place as I'll have a few inches of turf build up around the sides. My wife is going to go to the library this afternoon and look for a book on square foot gardening.

I would double check on planting carrots. They are grown in the winter down here and prefer cooler temps.

~Kat~

Some carrots can be grown nearly year round. Check out Purple Haze Carrot on Google. I've never seen a purple carrot before!

Regarding timbers vs blocks, some timbers are pressure treated, increasing the odds of those chemicals leaching into your soil/veggies.
I haven't really searched for any scientific documents or evidence supporting this but I do stay away from pressure treated lumber in my raised bed plots.

i wouldn't recommend planting carrots now. i sowed my last batch in feb, and that might have been too late.

I agree with not using pressure treated timbers .
We use those on the ranch and they are treated with copper .
The wood has all kinds of warning labels on it including always using gloves to avoid getting any cuprous sulphate on your skin .

Cement blocks can leach into soil and possibly add alkalinity- usually unwanted in our already naturally highly alkaline Florida soils .

I like the sand bag idea from another post .

What about adding mushroom compost ?

Finished my beds and planted the whole thing this morning. I did go with pressure treated 6x6s stacked 2 high. Didn't log on and see the posts above in time. They are now nailed to the ground with 2ft pieces of rebar and not going anywhere. Oh, well I might save a few bucks on seven dust. I filled it with 2 yards of really nice looking top soil and some mushroom compost.

Thanks for the advice about the carrots. I can use that space for other things. I planted tomatoes, okra, squash, zuchini, bush beans, collards and the carrots. Only a few of each of course. I may end up pulling some plants out if things get too crowded. For all the work I've put in, the 12x8 ft garden seems pretty small.