It was a simple idea that caught on like wildfire, and now we can all benefit. Fairfield Boy Scout Troop 88 is offering to install a guaranteed no-excuses Square Foot Garden in any yard for $188. The do-it-yourself version is only $100.88 (both versions include the official Square Foot Gardening book), with  proceeds going to local churches and organizations offering programs to help the needy.
     What’s a Square Foot Garden? Picture a piece of graph paper, four squares across and four squares down, each of those squares measuring 12 inches. This 4’ X 4’ square will become your powerhouse to health as you effortlessly grow a variety of nutrient-dense, vibrant veggies, fruit, flowers and herbs. This very popular idea rapidly grew from a simple 2010 concept celebrating 100 years of scouting by facilitating 100 feet of community gardens, but it turned out to be an idea that people loved, so in this, the project’s third year, the scouts’ goal is the installation of 100 Square Foot Gardening boxes in Fairfield and surrounding towns.
     The scouts’ first introduction to Square Foot Gardening came during kitchen workshops led by Fairfield’s Amie Guyette Hall, a.k.a The Square Foot Gardening Health Coach, where they learned about the health benefits of whole food. Under the dedicated adult leadership of Troop 88’s Phil Magnusson and parent carpenter Noel Cahill, the boys are putting to use life skills learned in part during their middle school Tech Ed woodshop class, working in teams or patrols, marking, measuring and drilling holes in the 4’ lengths of green Douglas fir, counting and packaging wood screws, cutting and folding weed cloth, sorting sections of wooden lath and wrapping up ready-to-install Square Foot Gardening kits. This year the kits will include pre-bagged Mel’s Mix, ordered directly from The Square Foot Gardening Foundation, a non-profit organization with a bold mission: To end world hunger.
The kits are now available, ready to assemble, or you can choose to have the scouts install them for you at an unbeatable price. How much easier can it be? The scouts of Troop 88 have become community teachers and leaders. Won’t you let them bring a few square feet of inexpensive, effortlessly healthy eating to your backyard? 

Your Square Foot Gardening Kit Includes:

• Materials for one (1) 4’ x 4’ raised bed garden box complete with four (4) pre-drilled green Douglas fir 2”x 6”x 4’ boards, weed cloth, Mel’s Mix, lath, wood screws and The All New Square Foot Gardening Book. DIY:  $100.88

• Scout Installed:  $188.00 for towns within a 10 miles radius of Fairfield. For towns outside this radius an additional travel charge may apply.

For more information, or to order your Square Foot Garden, contact Phil Magnusson, T88.org, at 203.209.0014 or [email protected]. Proceeds go to local churches and organizations that support those in need, through Square Foot Gardens.
Amie Guyette Hall (FromYourInsideOut.com) is a certified health coach, certified Square Foot Gardening Teacher (SquareFootGardening.org) and founder of her town’s three middle school gardens. She is the radio show host of  “The Green Gate – Your Doorway to Great Food and Healthy Living” on FTNS.co.