Digging in and Setting Up - Square Foot Method

I visited the local Menards (hardward store) and picked up some hot pink mason's line to start marking out the garden.  I'm going to stick closer to Square Foot Gardening principals regarding plant spacing so I want to be more accurate with my seed placement.  What is Square Foot Gardening?  Mel Bartholomew, the originator of the idea explains it:


"a system of laying out, planting, and maintaining a productive, attractive garden in any amount of space.  The garden is based on a grid of 1-foot by 1-foot squares, with single seeds or plants placed in carefully determined spacings."  Mel goes on to say, "The square foot system lets you make the most of your garden space to conserve the amount of water, soil conditioners, and labor needed to produce a maximum amount of food in that space.  A square foot garden takes only one-fifth the space and work of a conventional single-row garden to produce the same harvest."   


Here are a couple of links to some good Square Foot Gardening websites:

Mel Bartholomew's Site:
Square Foot Gardening Foundation

Also one from Tim Beckman from Indianapolis, Indiana:
Tim's Square Foot Garden