SFG in a Circle

Hello,

I moved into a new home recently. Now for the good and bad. We have a much bigger backyard, however, most is covered with bermuda grass. There are 4' circles for trees and there are 2 of them that don't have anything in them.

Has anyone tried an SFG in a circle? I figure I can still make grids, however, I will have some leftovers on each side. I was planning on putting in some Georgia Sweet Onions in the excess space. Will that be enough room for the onions? I figure I will have about 6"-8" at the widest area and plan to put about 6-8 onions in each of the 4 excess regions. Thanks in advance.

That sounds like a beautiful plan. I like to plant spring onion sets around my other plants anyway to confuse pests when you are done please post some pics.

Shannon

I think a circular garden would look very attractive and would be a
greater focal point in a yard. Can you post pics of it as your garden
grows for us to see?

AZDYJ2K wrote:Hello,

I moved into a new home recently. Now for the good and bad. We have a much bigger backyard, however, most is covered with bermuda grass. There are 4' circles for trees and there are 2 of them that don't have anything in them.

Has anyone tried an SFG in a circle? I figure I can still make grids, however, I will have some leftovers on each side. I was planning on putting in some Georgia Sweet Onions in the excess space. Will that be enough room for the onions? I figure I will have about 6"-8" at the widest area and plan to put about 6-8 onions in each of the 4 excess regions. Thanks in advance.

Given the Mission Statement at the top of the page, I would start by saying it's SQUARE Foot Gardening, not Circle Foot Gardening......bear with me before you start getting angry here. The fundamentals of spacing all depend on squares. Therefore, the easiest shape of your bed is a square...for calculating math. I am into eating pie, not multiplying by it....lol.

However, I really think this is an interesting idea for the more experienced gardener to try. Rectangles obviously have squares inside them, and I think that's all that matters. With your pie pieces or curved pieces, you would definitely need to know your math to uphold a key principle of the technique......getting the most of your space. But, I suppose there has to be room for "artistic license."

Just the other day, I had a dream that I built a Choo-Choo Train Garden for my kids. It was a hybrid shape blending both the shape of a train and a couple pyramid gardens to build things up into the smokestack and cabin of an old steam engine. I wondered what/how I would plant the odd corners near the edges. I figured some small things like lettuces, carrots and radishes that don't need full squares to grow only a couple plants. Now, I'll never undertake such a challenge because it's so elaborate. But, I have to admit, it would sure look cool.

And, I suppose your circle garden would look fabulous, too!

But, I think it's important to mention to the newer people to the system......get a season or two under your belt. Get the fundamental techniques down. Then, if you have a funky shape that would lend aesthetically to your landscape, I wouldn't shy away from giving it a shot....as long as the other principles of SFG remain in tact. There is likely a lot of room for creativity here someday. I'm intrigued by the idea and would love to see pictures of things if you try this.

I think the sfg concepts are being adhered too. After all the circle is first being squared off and planted according to principles. Then just the left over spots are being filled in on an existing locations just as we would if we planted in the holes of concrete boxes. There is nothing in sfg that suggests we waste existing gardening space.


Kay

walshevak wrote:I think the sfg concepts are being adhered too. After all the circle is first being squared off and planted according to principles. Then just the left over spots are being filled in on an existing locations just as we would if we planted in the holes of concrete boxes. There is nothing in sfg that suggests we waste existing gardening space.


Kay

I agree. I was not trying to be a jerk about it at all. The more I think about it, the more I'm intrigued. But, it's definitely an advanced concept.

AZDYJ2K wrote:Hello,

I moved into a new home recently. Now for the good and bad. We have a much bigger backyard, however, most is covered with bermuda grass. There are 4' circles for trees and there are 2 of them that don't have anything in them.

Has anyone tried an SFG in a circle? I figure I can still make grids, however, I will have some leftovers on each side. I was planning on putting in some Georgia Sweet Onions in the excess space. Will that be enough room for the onions? I figure I will have about 6"-8" at the widest area and plan to put about 6-8 onions in each of the 4 excess regions. Thanks in advance.

Yeah go ahead and plunk a box there, round or square, fill it with Mel's mix, grid off the way you want, (though sq. foot is ideal). Send us some photos and lets see what you got going on !!!

I will definitely have to use the circles since I don't have another viable choice at the time. I might mix it up a bit and plant some herbs around the edges. Thanks for the feedback and encouragement. I'll post some pictures soon!

I think you can get 5 full squares and a bunch of odd little shapes if you grid if off... No reason not to try....

AZDYJ2K,
Herbs in those non-conformist sections would be a nice way to emphasize the square foot grid in the center of those circular beds. Especially if you use some sprawly type herbs like thyme or even upright herbs that were kept trimmed, like basil and oregano. Even the onions would do the same thing.

ashort wrote:I think you can get 5 full squares and a bunch of odd little shapes if you grid if off... No reason not to try....

Your math is better than mine. I was thinking I could get more but I think you're right.
I should make up for some on the edges though.

A circle garden sounds fun.
I'm in support of anything that keeps the bermuda grass out of the garden! I can't stand bermuda grass. I am finding that there is a lot more in my yard than we thought. We got our house in Dec of 09 and they must have dumped a bunch of rocks over everything in the back yard just before selling to make it look nicer. Anywhere that gets some water a little clump of grass pops up through the rocks. So far not much in the garden, but our tree rings are a constant battle even with thick mulch. We have found all sorts of pavers, flagstone, and when digging for the trees found out there used to be a pool in the backyard (confirmed by neighbor)!

I'm with the others, if you do it, pictures are a must! Good luck

As long as you are spacing the plants according to the recommendations, a circle bed will do just as great as a square one. Hope you have lots of fun designing your circle bed.
( a circle is a square without corners)

AZDYJ2K wrote:snip..... There are 4' circles for trees and there are 2 of them that don't have anything in them.

Has anyone tried an SFG in a circle? I figure I can still make grids, however, I will have some leftovers on each side. I was planning on putting in some Georgia Sweet Onions in the excess space. Will that be enough room for the onions? I figure I will have about 6"-8" at the widest area and plan to put about 6-8 onions in each of the 4 excess regions. Thanks in advance.

Shouldn't that be called a Pi-r-S'edFG?

Good golly I would have some fun with circles. My first experience with small gardens were my Knot Gardens for herbs (at first). When we were building it became my only garden and I loved it. Do go with the grid to get started but I loved making spaces with string and pegs to outline the knot. Even more than the geometric comfort that draws people to my SFGs now (when it doesn't look like tent city), people would just stop and gaze at the knots and what was planted in them to define them (I would probably end up using the onions to define the boundaries of the knots) Whatever you do with the onions, enjoy your garden~

Debs....feeling the need for fewer corners somewhere.

BackyardBirdGardner wrote:
But, I think it's important to mention to the newer people to the system......get a season or two under your belt. Get the fundamental techniques down. Then, if you have a funky shape that would lend aesthetically to your landscape, I wouldn't shy away from giving it a shot....as long as the other principles of SFG remain in tact. There is likely a lot of room for creativity here someday. I'm intrigued by the idea and would love to see pictures of things if you try this.

Funny thing AZD has been a SFG forum member since last May.
Fundamentals are important to understand and when understood can be manipulated to a degree.
I am doing a round garden too!