4 of 19

Write now Article Tools

Yes, I admit it - I am a lazy gardener. Many of my garden loving friends possess brilliant green thumbs and I covertly admire their rows of sugar peas and climbing beans, carrots, beetroot and spring onions growing alongside the sumptuous salad vegetables, lettuces, tomatoes and cucumbers all thriving and ready for picking. I much prefer sitting in an easy chair under a shady tree with a cool drink and a great novel than digging a garden. Although I love the idea of picking fresh vegetables from my very own garden, I am far too lazy for all that hard work.

And then one day, a miracle happened. I received a catalog in the mail telling me how I could "grow twice as much in half the space with half the effort". It sounded positively brilliant!Perfect for a lazy gardener like me.

"It's called square foot gardening", the brochure said. "It requires little effort and expense; it's extremely manageable; and it's simple to achieve. The only tools required are a garden trowel and a watering can". The best news of all for a lazy gardener like me, according to the brochure, this type of garden does not require weeding.

I got started right away. First of all, I measured out my garden to the size I wanted edging it with concrete blocks. Then I laid down cardboard over the soil. Next came a thick layer of mulch, then a thick layer of animal manure, another thick layer of mulch and finally some sugar cane mulch. I mixed it all together with the trowel, and watered it well with the watering can. Then I divided the garden bed into sections each measuring one square foot using thin timber strips. All the hard work was done. The brochure said that I would never need to weed my garden. I loved the idea of that. I could just imagine my garden looking even better than my green thumbed friends' gardens.

I took a trip to my local garden shop and bought a variety of vegetable and flower seedlings and planted a different type in each section of the garden. After watering the plants well with my watering can, I was ready to sit back with a cool drink and watch my garden grow. This type of magic garden requires 80% less fertilizer and 80% less watering than conventional gardens, according to the brochure. And I am assured of growing bigger and juicer tomatoes, and sweet red strawberries with this method.

My garden loving friends will be so surprised (and jealous too) when next they come to visit me.

Learn more about this author, Patricia Young.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Tips and tricks for the lazy gardener?
We want to hear your view. Write now!