[tempestjewel]

How seeds are stored can influence germination too. I didn't buy any new seeds this year and everything from last year worked (I didn't plant spinach- lead miners changed my mind about growing it!). I ordered all of my seeds from Territorial Seed originally. I store them in jars with silica packets in a cool spot in our garage.

We did square foot gardening at a rental, but our climate isn't good for that method. It doesn't freeze hard enough in the winter to control disease and pests, and the soil is quickly nutrient depleted. The first year the garden was gorgeous, but we quickly had pest and growth issues, which I found was from all the rain we get leaching nutrients from the soil! Hence why I am religious about using homemade fertilizer and plant spacing now that we have more room to do so!

I have done crimson clover as a cover crop the past two years and it leaves the soil so nice in the spring, instead of super compacted from all the rainfall. It is so easy to pull, too.