Many years ago there was a gardening show on PBS that pretty much used square foot gardening in their in-ground, New England garden. That was where I learned to grow this way. While I don't grow veggies this way anymore - (I use pots) - I successfully gardened in both above-ground and in-ground.

Sure you can. Square Foot Gardening is an incarnation of high-intensive growing that people have been practicing for centuries in one form or another.

Gator, you can absolutely grow in the ground.

Thanks everyone. A key component in square foot gardening in the ground is to dig out 6 to 12 in of Earth and then fill that void with your mix of soil that is recommended by Mel Bartholomew in his book about it. So is that really what I need to do? Remove 6 to 12 in of Earth and then refill that void with his mix?

I don't even recommend Mel's mix for a raised SF garden!! For various reasons, it is pretty inadequate for a soil mix with a variety of structural and water holding issues. Just an organically enriched, well draining garden soil will work equally as well and probably much better.

SFG is not about the soil mix but everthing to do with intensive planting and successional cropping.

Thank you, gardengal. So if I understand, you are recommending like a store or nursery-bought, organic "Garden Soil"?

Is there something wrong with your indigenous garden soil? I would just mix in a decent percentage of compost or other OM and call it good. That's what 95% of the population does :-)

I would only recommend importing store-bought soil if you did not have sufficient quantities of your own soil to work with, like flling raised beds or creating berms.

I have not seen the soil yet in my garden plot as we have not been assigned our plot yet. I am expecting it to be clayey as most of the soil elsewhere in the community is clayey. I am in Charlotte NC. I am expecting I will need to improve the soil; however, I am not knowledgeable.

Jamie, when one double digs, does one add any supplements to the soil? No compost or vermiculite or coco coir?

Yes, you add compost and mix it with the native soil. Basically, you dig out a 1 ft. trench that is as deep as your shovel and as wide as your bed (30 inches for example). You carry that soil to the opposite end of the bed. You then take a garden fork (or even your shovel and break up the soil in the bottom of the trench. The next step is that you dig out a second trench the same dimensions as the first, mix that soil with compost and fill in the first hole. You proceed down the bed like that.

If you need other amendments, you mix them in when you mix in the compost.

Here are some videos that demonstrate the technique,

https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=double+digging+garden

It can be a lot of work at first but it pays off. And as long as you maintain the beds properly, you don’t need to repeat the process often at all.

You never want to add vermiculite or coco coir to an inground garden. They don't help and can hurt.

I have watched several of the videos. Seems like a great method. I believe my plot has been worked in the past, so maybe this method of double digging may not be the best. Maybe I am better to just add compost and fertilizer....

Is it a plot in a public garden? If so, do they till it or anything before the season starts? At the one in this area, they do break up the soil in them in early Spring and after that it's all up to the grower who's working the plot. That might make whatever option you choose a lot easier.

I am not sure yet. We will see. Thank you for the input.