This Victory Garden – Saddleback College's 2009 South Coast Plaza Spring Garden Show Competition Garden- is an example of bio-intensive or square foot gardening. The idea is that a large amount of vegetables or food crops can be grown close together.
The advantages of raised beds and "square foot gardening"*.
*Square foot gardening is a term used by Mel Bartholomew in his book The New Square Foot Garden, Rodale Press 2006
Much less work. Beds are small enough to reach across sparing the use of heavy tools and equipment. The soil in the raised beds is free of weeds, is mulched and thus needs water less frequently.
Water Savings. A soil mixture is advised that has some water-holding capacities, so that the garden needs water less frequently and in much smaller quantities than other gardening methods. Water is also spared by hand watering directly at the plant roots, so that there is very little waste and tender young plants and seedlings are preserved.
Very little weeding. One benefit of this close planting is that the vegetables form a living mulch, and shade out many weed seeds before they have a chance to germinate.
Pesticide / Herbicide Free. Natural insect repellent methods like companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become very efficient in a close space and thus, pesticides are not necessary. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.
Accessibility. Raised beds can be enclosed on the bottom and lifted off the ground for those who prefer not to bend or squat or to make gardening easy for wheelchair, cane or walker users. The logic behind using smaller beds is that they are easily adapted to any area, and the gardener can easily reach across the entire garden, without stepping on and compacting the soil.
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