Practical Math in the Garden

Focus: Students will experience mathematical concepts in a practical and tactile way
through planning and planting a garden using the Square Foot Gardening method.
Concepts practiced include addition, subtraction, and standard measurement (including
area and perimeter).

Background Information: Square foot gardening is the practice of planning and creating
small but intensively planted gardens. The practice combines concepts from other organic
gardening methods, including a strong focus on compost, densely planted raised beds and
biointensive attention to a small, clearly dened area (Wikipedia). Its practice of planting
seeds in an array within each square foot makes garden planning a very concrete exercise
for elementary math students.

From MySquareFootGarden.net:

To calculate how many plants per square, look on the back of the seed
packetignore the row spacing, just look at the plant spacing:

3! plant spacing = 16 per square

4! plant spacing = 9 per square


6! plant spacing = 4 per square

#
12! plant spacing = 1 per square

Questions:
Why do these planting patterns produce the correct spacings?
When would one use multiplication when calculating the number of crops?
When would addition be used?
What advantages would this system have over traditional row planting?
What are the disadvantages?


Materials: 12x12 paper squares (2 per student), rulers, graph paper, pencils, seed
packets, and a garden bed divided into square foot sections.

Procedure:
1) On a 12 paper square, have each student draw a seed in the center of the paper. They
will measure to determine the amount of space on each side of the seed to the edge of
the square. (6). Then, arrange the squares in an array. Now, how much space is
between each seed? (12). Note that the 12 between seeds is a combination of 6 in
one square and 6 in another.
2) Return each square to its owner. Now, on the reverse side, how can they arrange seeds
in a way that gives each seed 6 of space, rather than 12? Students may work
collaboratively with rulers to seek a solution. (see solution on p.2). After a time,
discuss solutions with the whole group.
3) Repeat steps to nd solutions for 4 and 3 spacings.
4) Provide a variety of seed packets and allow students to discover the plant spacings of
each one. As a whole group, design a 4x8 garden. Allow students to decide how
each space will be lled. How many of each plant will you have?
5) Students will plan another 4x8 garden individually or with a partner.

Extensions:
A variety of other factors can be taken into consideration when designing a garden:
plant heights
direction of the sun (will taller plants shade shorter plants?)
amount of light needed by plant
companion planting (i.e., tomato avor is enhanced when planted next to basil.
Marigolds repel certain garden pests, so many gardeners plant them on the outer
edges)
theme gardens! A pizza garden may include roma tomatoes, banana peppers, basil,
garlic, oregano, etc.
visual impact. plant colors, textures, owers, etc. may inuence your design.

Resources:
Bartholemew, Mel, All New Square Foot Gardening. Cool Springs Press, 1990.
http://www.mysquarefootgarden.net - instructions for designing and planting a square foot
garden.