Kim - I use twine, and it works very well for me. Midway thru the season, most start breaking - so I remove them. The main purpose of the grids is to get the spacings/orientations correct.

EG

I used twine, at the start of the season works well, and I just slung them the full lenght and widths of the beds, I had heard about using plastic blinds brought from the goodwill, but as I don't drive I couldn't do this, but my twins aged 4 helpfully have distroyed 4 of our blinds throught various ingenious methods, cuting the pulls so that we can't lower them!, trying to climb them like a ladder! breaking the slats, trying to open them in the middle!! so through their selfless act! I am using this method it works well and the benefit, is the twins can see the clear markings and haven't trampled on the plants in this areas, unlike my control group of tradition rows! the hypothesis was great but the results unexpected, Sq Ft 1, traditional 0!

i to use a biodegradeble juke string,i measure off my one foot marks all the way around my boxes then tap half way in some finishing nails i had and tie off on one nail then start rapping a couple times around each nail holding tension on the string and cross horizonally over to opposing nail on other side. got tired of tie each one off twice.then when im done i went around and tapped my nails rest of way in.has worked so far dont really care how long it lasts after plants are up.its just a reference point to plant or seed squares.

Thank you everyone - I enjoyed reading your posts. And Heather38 - sounds like you've got great helpers. ;-)

I think I'll get some twine or jute tomorrow along with a few veggie starts and get to planting. The markings will make it feel very organized visually & I like that look. Asymmetrical, I'm not....

Thanks again....

Kim,

I used plain wooden lath (ash) from Lowes. It came in a bundle of 50 for about $10. I needed 24 for the four planters, and I just made it (a good percentage of them were warped or otherwise mangled).

They looked great when I first put them in, but now after a week of rain they have started to warp. Next time I think I'll go buy some cheap 50-inch vinyl window blinds and use the slats from those. Either that or some nylon twine.

{{gwi:1274572}}

Really anything will work. I used some half inch thick moulding wood (I think that's what it was...) that was like 13 cents per foot or something, so it was really cheap. Whatever you have will work fine for your grid. It's really only necessary to have when you're planting. Once your done planting, you could take it off and be fine. The only problem with that is you would have to put it back on every season.

I hammered in nails and then wound some knitting yarn around them so I never needed to cut it. So far, it's working well. I posted a link about how I did it. Scroll down when you get there.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Corner Yard - Stringing the Grid

I put in small screw eyes and used vinyl covered "plant training" wire, it was in packages of 50' @ Lowes for $3, I think. One can get it in longer lengths, I was looking for something that wouldn't deteriorate in one season. I think I will be able to release it and re-attach it if I need to.

Here is a link that might be useful: plant training wire

I picked up some 60'' vinyl blinds from my back alley next to some ones garbage. I made plant name stakes out of them also.

I also got some hardware cloth, 2 hoses, a compost screen(old baby gate), and a new kitchen broom(better than the one I was using).

I live in mil housing and lots of stuff gets thrown out when people move in or out.

I used nylon clothesline tied off to steel screw in eyelets. This looks very nice, takes up very little space, will move when a plant grows/bumps into it, and should last for a long time.

I use a nylon coated string. It's been there a year and hasn't even begun to fray or fade. The only problem I had was I accidently cut it on one when cutting a veggie near it LOL. There are nails spaced along the board and I wrap the string and wind it back down the next row. It sits several inches above the soil since my soil settled a bit into the boxes.
I like John's idea of an edible grid - how cool!

I phase-in my plantings, so I'm usually just planting a few squares at a time. I measure the squares I'm planting and then mark them by drawing a line in the dirt with my finger.

At a community garden here in B'ham, AL, a gardner was using bamboo stalks to mark off her squares. It looked nice and organic and with all of the bamboo growing rampid in certain areas, it is free.

gmreeves - we live 120 miles from each other....cool!

EG

I had leftover 1/2" PVC from failed trellises that I layed out in grids. I just cut the pieces as I needed them, and they'll stay there forever. No nails scratch me, no twine to replace, no extra cost. I like the blind slats idea, too.

Randy

I was able to find a big ball of twine that I tied to a nail, nailed down at one end, tied to another nail that was partially nailed then finished nailing.

When it comes time to removing the twine, I think I'll try John's idea of making the borders edible. Love it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardening With Care

I only need it when I'm planting, so I just either use my finger to draw them in the dirt, or temporarily lay some string.

If I'm not planting "all" of the squares, I dig a shallow (2" deep) trench where my planting left off so I know where to start.

I used fishing line which I stapled onto the box at each end at 1' intervals. i just ran the line around, i didn't want to have to tie each piece off. So far it's worked well.

Bel

I used nylon string with the same nails the OP wanted to use. It worked great for the original planting, but it's all deteriorated where it was touching the nails. I am planning a year round garden, so I need to do something different so I don't have to replace it every 3 months. I think I'll try the blinds.

Here's another option. I couldn't save the photo, so I'll have to link to the forum post.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/index.php?option=com_agora&task=topic&id=2123

It looks like they used 1x2's, notching them to interlock and notching the planter frames to hold them. Clever.

I prefer twine and nails or screws. Makes marking out my squares in the spring cheap and easy.

I put screws in the top of the box at my desired intervals and use twine.... flexible, cheap, easy to replace, wont mar plants....

My method is trimmer line secured by #10 finishing washers and zinc screws. Twirling the line around the screw seems to seal the hole in the wood from water.

It's fairly cheap, saves space. I anticipate it will last more than one season. (I'll let you all know)

Plus I like the clean look. You can see here what I mean.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Nails and twine. Works very nicely. And was quick to do and had it all on hand! (always a plus)

Deck screws and nylon twine. I put the deck screws in every foot around the perimeter and just screwed down about 2/3rds, then I go back and forth with the twine, pulling it taut and wrapping it a couple of times around each screw.

The nylon lasts all season. In the late fall I just snip it and remove it to make it easier to turn the soil.

I used some landscape fabric that I had and then spray painted the squares on the fabric ...
My first garden !!

Let's try that again ...

{{gwi:1274576}}

I use slats from a cheap set of vinyl blinds. You get a ton of them with one set of $10 blinds. Just cut the strings to liberate the slats. You can just lay them in place, but wind and cats and stuff can mess it up. So what I did was mark them and drill even spaced holes and used plastic snap rivets to hold them together. You can find them at places that sell computer and electronic parts. The resulting grid can be folded up at the end of the season for storage. It looks great, really emphasizes the "square foot" image and gives the garden a distinctive look, IMO.

I tried doing it without the grids for a while, figured I could just "eyeball" it or draw grids with my finger in the soil. To me, a nice grid makes a big difference and helps keep things on track.

Maybe I'm just cheap, but I draw lines in my plots with the side of my trowel when I plant.

I used mason's string tied to screws screwed in the top of the bed. Worked well for me.

http://georgiahomegarden.blogspot.com/2011/04/2011-garden-square-foot-gardening.html

Here is a link that might be useful: My Garden Blog

I've been using aluminum Y tent stakes pounded into the ground and then cotton butcher's string tied to those to show my squares.

This is my first year and I'm eyeballing it in a 4x6 garden I planted for my mum. Mostly working out pretty good, it's kind of a mess though - sorta like my life haha. My Dad is less of an anarchist, and is a retired engineer, his garden is neat rows with all like plants together. I tried to explain the benefits of interspersing plants for better protection from pests, and what have you but he's afraid of not knowing what's what, and he likes all the order - I had to remind myself this garden is for him after all. Pfft such a conformist. I like the edible border idea most thus far. Definitely not sacrificing materials, cost, or space to build something that's for darn sure, and getting snagged on nails sounds like something I can see myself cursing. As it is the chicken wire tries to grab me every chance it gets!