backside of template with holes drilled I am just about ready to start planting my square foot garden. Until now I have used string and sticks to mark things, but then I got an idea of how I could easily make some templates from old plastic election signs. The material was easy to cut with a knife and a permanent marker would help with the design. At first I thought that I would need a whole bunch of templates, but as I got going I realized that I could actually get away with only 2 templates. First cut 2 12x12 inch pieces from the plastic signs Draw a grid: template 1: 3 rows and 3 columns template 2: 4 rows and 4 columns Mark the center of each square of the grid by drawing diagonal lines Use the electric drill and a ½" drill bit and drill a hole at each center point. Template 1 Template 1 Grid of 3 row and 3 columns (9 plants - holes circled in blue) This can also be used for 1 plant per square foot (hole circled in black and then blue) Template 2 Template 2 This one is truly a multi-use template Grid 4 rows and 4 columns (16 plants - holes circled in blue) Grid 2 rows and 2 columns (4 plants - holes circled in black) This can also be used for 1 plant per square foot (hole circled in black and then blue) I also created a template with just strips from the plastic sign. I used gardening wire to attache the strips to each other. On the back picture I twisted the wires together and tucked the ends underneath. This template can be used the same way as template 2. front back Let me know if you found this information helpful and write a comment.