Page 1. AFREEGUIDEFROMROOTBED The Small Plot Grow a summer of food in a 4 by 8 bed

Page 2. STARTHERE You don't need a farm. You need eight feet. One raised bed, four feet by eight, can grow more tomatoes, beans and greens than a family of four can eat. This guide walks you through a whole season, from an empty patch of yard to a basket on the kitchen table. It's the guide we wish we'd had when we started. No jargon, no special tools, and nothing you can't do on a weekend. 2

Page 3. INSIDE Five steps to your first harvest 1 Pick your spot Six hours of sun, close to a hose. 2 Build the bed Four boards, twelve screws, one afternoon. 3 Fill it right The soil mix that does most of the work for you. 4 Plant the plan What goes where, and when. 5 Water, wait, pick Ten minutes a day, and the best part. 3

Page 4. STEP1 Pick your spot Most vegetables want six hours of direct sun. Watch your yard for a day: the spot that's still bright at 3 pm is your spot. Keep it within reach of a hose. A bed you have to carry water to is a bed you'll stop watering in July. TIP Long side facing south, so the tall plants at the back don't shade the short ones. 4

Page 5. STEP3 Fill it right Skip the bags of "garden soil." Fill the bed with this mix and you'll rarely need fertilizer: 60 percent topsoil 30 percent compost 10 percent pine bark A 4 by 8 bed, 11 inches deep, takes about a cubic yard. Most garden centers deliver it for less than the cost of bags. TIP Top up with two inches of compost every spring. That's the whole maintenance plan. 5

Page 6. STEP4 Plant the plan Here's what grows when, for most of the country. Start seeds indoors (light green), plant out (dark green), then harvest (orange). JFMAMJJASOND Tomatoes Bush beans Lettuce Zucchini Basil Carrots 6

Page 7. THESTAROFTHEBED Two tomato plants are plenty Put them at the back, stake them the day you plant them, and pinch off the side shoots once a week. You'll be giving them away by August. 7

Page 8. STEP5 Water, wait, pick Water the soil, not the leaves, first thing in the morning. Push a finger in: if it's dry two inches down, water. That's it. Pick often. Beans and zucchini make more the more you pick, and lettuce is best cut a few leaves at a time. TIPA soaker hose on a $20 timer does the watering for you while you're away. 8

Page 9. THEPAYOFF What one bed grows in a summer 40 pounds of tomatoes 12 pounds of beans 20 heads of lettuce 9 zucchini, at least ∞ basil Not bad for eight feet of yard and ten minutes a day. 9

Page 10. FROMROOTBED Ready to build your bed? Our cedar bed kit has everything for a 4 by 8 bed: precut boards, hardware and a soil plan for your zip code. Shop the bed kit