Following a workshop hosted at Unakho focused on square foot gardening, together with the participants in the workshop, we managed to complete the implementation of the on site water wise vegetable gardens kindly sponsored by PPECB. During the workshop, the lesson plan involved teaching the Gugulethu community all aspects of maximising the space available to grow food within a limited space. At the end of the workshop we also managed to complete the implementation of the gardens at Unakho children's home who cares for 30 orphaned children.
Before we cover square foot gardening principles, see the adorable video below where we managed to capture the final touches being made at Unakho where the children got involved with mulching of the beds.
Square Foot Gardening Educational Workshop
Square Foot Gardening
Square foot gardening is an effective way to maximise food production within a limited space. This provides numerous benefits to a garden whereby plants act as living mulch and maximise use of organic pesticides. To begin, divide your garden into 30cm by 30cm quadrants to start benefiting from square foot gardening. Then you work out how many plants based on type i.e spinach, cauliflower etc. that you can plant within this space.
We simplify this explanation by creating visual posters that are placed on the walls and laminated (for reuse in the garden. Please see below guide that we use to support learning of square foot gardening.
We want to extend our thanks to PPECB, an independent service provider of quality certification and cold chain management services for producers and exporters of perishable food products. for making it possible for us to install and teach the community on all aspects of sustainable vegetable gardening.