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Thin with Scissors: Instead of pulling up excess plants which can disturb the root systems of the plants you want to grow you snip them off with scissors.

Climbing peas and beans are planted in two mini-rows of 4 per square. As an exception to this there are a few larger plants that span two squares. Instead each square has either 1, 4, 9 or 16 plants in it depending on the size of the plant – easy to position in each square by making a smaller grid in the soil with your fingers.

Plant in Squares: To keep the planting simple there are no plant spacings to remember.

Don't Walk on the Soil: This is now common practice with raised bed gardening but back in the 1970s it was revolutionary to suggest that you wouldn't need to dig your soil if you didn't tread on it.

This starts the raised beds completely weed-free as well as being water retentive and full of nutrients.

Use a Specific Soil Mix: One third each of compost, peat moss and vermiculite.

Beds are between 6 and 12 inches deep which gives the plants plenty of rich nutrients, while maintaining good drainage.

Create Deep Raised Beds: Typically 4 feet by 4 feet, with a square foot lattice placed on top to visually separate the crops.

Over the years the SFG system has evolved into a precise set of rules: Add a one-foot square grid on top and it became easy to space and rotate crops. It soon became clear that getting rid of rows and using intensive deep-beds could dramatically cut the amount of maintenance the garden required. In particular he found the average gardener was spending hours weeding the big gaps between long rows of plants, creating unnecessary work for themselves.

It was only natural that he would apply his analytical skills to the problems he encountered. In 1975 Mel Bartholomew had just retired as an engineer and decided to take up gardening as a hobby.

SFG was developed as a reaction to the inefficiencies of traditional gardening.