Enter your bed size and choose a crop to see exactly how many plants fit — and get a visual layout grid. Compare row spacing, square foot, and intensive planting to find the approach that works for you.
We'll show you both row spacing and square foot layouts side by side — so you can see exactly how much space each method wastes or saves in your bed.
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| Method | Spacing | Plants | vs Row | Est. yield |
|---|
| Crop | Row spacing | Square foot | Intensive |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🍅 Tomato | 75 × 60 cm | 45 × 45 cm | 38 × 38 cm |
| 🥒 Zucchini | 100 × 90 cm | 60 × 60 cm | 50 × 50 cm |
| 🥬 Lettuce / Salad | 30 × 25 cm | 20 × 20 cm | 15 × 15 cm |
| 🌿 Spinach | 30 × 15 cm | 15 × 15 cm | 10 × 10 cm |
| 🥕 Carrot | 20 × 8 cm | 8 × 8 cm | 5 × 5 cm |
| 🟣 Beets | 25 × 10 cm | 10 × 10 cm | 8 × 8 cm |
| 🥦 Broccoli | 60 × 45 cm | 45 × 45 cm | 35 × 35 cm |
| 🫛 Pea | 60 × 8 cm | 10 × 10 cm | 7 × 7 cm |
| 🫘 Green Beans | 60 × 20 cm | 20 × 20 cm | 15 × 15 cm |
| 🧅 Onion | 30 × 10 cm | 10 × 10 cm | 8 × 8 cm |
| 🥔 Potato | 70 × 30 cm | 30 × 30 cm | 25 × 25 cm |
| 🌿 Herbs (mixed) | 30 × 20 cm | 15 × 15 cm | 12 × 12 cm |
| 🫑 Pepper | 60 × 45 cm | 35 × 35 cm | 30 × 30 cm |
| 🥒 Cucumber | 90 × 60 cm | 45 × 45 cm | 38 × 38 cm |
| 🥦 Kale | 75 × 60 cm | 45 × 45 cm | 38 × 38 cm |
| 🌽 Sweetcorn | 75 × 45 cm | 35 × 35 cm | 30 × 30 cm |
* Row spacing = row gap × plant gap within row. Square foot and intensive use equal x/y spacing. Spacing shown is plant centre-to-centre.
Overcrowding is one of the most common mistakes in home vegetable gardens — and one of the most costly. Plants packed too tightly compete for water, nutrients and light, leading to weaker growth, reduced yields, and far greater susceptibility to diseases like powdery mildew and botrytis that spread quickly through dense foliage.
But the opposite problem — underplanting — wastes growing space and leaves potential food production on the table. The right spacing depends on the crop, your growing method, and the quality of your soil.
Traditional row spacing was designed for mechanised farming — wide pathways between rows allowed tractors and equipment to pass through. In a home garden, this wastes significant space. It is the easiest method to manage and gives excellent airflow between plants.
Square foot gardening, popularised by Mel Bartholomew, spaces plants equidistant in all directions. This eliminates wasted row space and typically fits 25–40% more plants into the same area while maintaining good airflow and access.
Intensive planting pushes spacing to the minimum the crop can tolerate. Done well in deeply improved soil with consistent irrigation, it can double or even triple plant counts compared to row spacing. It requires more attention to feeding and watering, and good soil is non-negotiable.
More plants in a given area does not always mean proportionally more yield — plants do compete even at recommended intensive spacings, and individual plants may be slightly smaller. However, the net result is generally significantly more total food per square metre.
For small-leaved crops like lettuce, spinach and herbs, the yield gain from intensive planting is dramatic. For large-fruiting crops like zucchini and squash, the minimum spacing is determined more by disease management than space — going too close invites fungal problems that can wipe out an entire crop.
What is the minimum spacing for tomatoes?
The absolute minimum centre-to-centre spacing for tomatoes is around 38 cm (15 inches) for compact varieties. For indeterminate (climbing) varieties on a stake, 45–60 cm is safer to maintain airflow and reduce blight risk. Tightly spaced tomatoes need excellent ventilation and regular removal of lower leaves.
Can I mix crops with different spacings in the same bed?
Yes — this is called interplanting or companion planting. You can pair a wide-spacing crop like zucchini with a compact crop like lettuce or radishes in the gaps. The key is ensuring neither plant shades the other excessively. The EdenVatika Crop Rotation Planner can help you identify compatible families.
Does intensive planting work in raised beds?
Raised beds are actually ideal for intensive planting because you can optimise the soil precisely — deeper root zones, better drainage, and richer organic matter allow plants to handle closer spacing. A raised bed with deeply improved soil can support 50–100% more plants than in-ground growing.
How does spacing affect disease risk?
Poor airflow between closely-spaced plants increases humidity around foliage — the primary condition for fungal diseases like powdery mildew, downy mildew and botrytis. Wider spacing lets air circulate and leaves dry quickly after rain or watering. If you choose intensive spacing, ensure you water at the base (not overhead) and remove affected leaves promptly.
How many plants fit in a standard 1.2 × 2.4 m raised bed?
It depends entirely on the crop. Using square foot spacing: tomatoes — about 12–15 plants; lettuce — 30–60 plants; carrots — 200–300 plants; zucchini — just 3–4 plants. The calculator above will give you exact figures for your chosen crop and bed size.
Know your ideal spacing before you plant — then record exactly what went in, where, and when. Build a garden history that improves every year.
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