My Garden in Early Summer 2005
Dividing Up The Garden Squares

Dividing your garden bed into 1 ft. by 1 ft. squares is an important part of the square foot concept. These divisions help in several ways; your garden becomes more visually appealing, managing crop rotation during replanting is easier, what little weeding you must do is easier, and less space is wasted.

You can buy really great dividers or you can make your own out of almost anything. In my case, funds are at a premium, so I always build my own. You can use almost any materials you want to make the dividers, you want to be sure whatever material you choose does not contain anything toxic that might leach into the soil, such as creasote, paint containing lead, or any other toxic chemical such as those used to pressure treat some types of wood used in construction. Another consideration is that the material should not be so wide as to cover up much of your planting area - the narrower the material the better your design will be.

Materials

My favorite material for constructing dividers is 1/2 inch cpvc pipe (the one designed for hot water or natural gas). I use cpvc instead of regular pvc pipe because it is a narrower pipe, allowing me to make dividers with a smaller ''footprint.'' For one 4x4 square, I get 2 lengths of cpvc and to connect the pieces I use 5 ''t'' connectors, 5 end caps, 5 small wood screws and some pvc glue. I make one large divider to divide the square into 4 smaller squares 2x2 feet each, then I make 4 smaller dividers to divide each of those four squares into 1x1 foot squares. This design allows me to be very flexible in laying out my planting patterns (I only use the dividers I actually need at the moment) and is extremely durable - unlike other materials I have used that usually only last a year or two, these will last a very long time. Some of mine are 5 years old and show no signs of needing to be replaced.

Making the cross connectors

To make the dividers, I first construct the ''cross'' connections that go at the center of each divider. Take a ''T'' connector (which has room for 3 pipes) and drill a small pilot hole on the side without a pipe connector. Drill a small pilot hole in the exact center of the closed end of an end cap. Coat the outside of the ''T'' connector around the pilot hole with pvc glue. Do the same for the outside closed end of the end cap. Use a small wood screw to connect the end cap to the ''T'' connector. This will create an ''X'' or ''cross'' connector. Do not get glue inside the four holes where the pipes will go later. Coat the area around the junction of the ''T'' and the end cap well with pvc glue and set aside to dry.

Making the dividers

To make the large divider, I cut 4 lengths of cpvc pipe 23 inches long. The remaining length will be made up by the cross connector. When the glue has completely dried on the cross connector, coat the end of each of the four pieces of cpvc pipe with pvc glue and slide them into the holes on the cross connector. You will need to rotate the pipe while pushing it in, and you will need to be careful not to break the glue between the end cap and the ''T'' connector. There is no need to cap the four open ends of pvc pipe when finished. Allow the glue to dry well before using the divider.

To make each of the small dividers, I cut 4 lengths of cpvc pipe 11 and 1/2 inches long. The remaining length will be made up by the cross connector. When the glue has completely dried on the cross connector, coat the end of each of the four pieces of cpvc pipe with pvc glue and slide them into the holes on the cross connector. You will need to rotate the pipe while pushing it in, and you will need to be careful not to break the glue between the end cap and the ''T'' connector. There is no need to cap the four open ends of pvc pipe when finished. Allow the glue to dry well before using the divider.

Using the dividers

To use the dividers in your 4x4 foot bed, lay the large divider so that the cross connector is in the middle of the bed. This will divide your bed into four 2x2 foot areas. Next, lay one smaller divider in the middle of each of the 2x2 foot areas. This will divide each area into four 1 foot squares. The final result is that your 4x4 foot bed is neatly divided into 16 one-square-foot areas.