What is plant spacing?
Plant spacing is the distance between two adjacent plants. It controls how many plants fit in a bed, how much each plant gets in sun, water, and nutrients, and how a mature planting looks. Too tight and plants compete; too loose and you waste space and have bare patches.
For square spacing (the simplest layout), each plant occupies a square patch with side equal to the spacing distance:
plants ≈ area / spacing²
How to use
- Bed area — measure your bed in square feet (length × width).
- Spacing — the recommended distance between plants in inches. Check the seed packet or plant tag.
- Number of plants is calculated instantly.
For a 10 ft × 4 ft bed (40 sq ft) with 12-inch spacing: each plant occupies 1 ft² → about 40 plants.
Common spacings
| Crop | Spacing | |---|---| | Lettuce | 8 in | | Carrots | 3 in | | Tomatoes | 24 in | | Peppers | 18 in | | Onions | 4 in | | Strawberries | 12 in | | Basil | 12 in | | Marigolds | 8 in |
These are starting points — adjust for variety, soil quality, and intensive vs. row planting.
Square vs. triangular spacing
This calculator assumes square spacing (plants on a grid). For triangular spacing (offset rows, used in intensive gardening), you can fit roughly 15% more plants in the same area. Multiply the result by 1.15 for a triangular estimate.
FAQ
What if my bed isn't rectangular?
Compute the area however you want (l × w, or a sum of sub-rectangles, or for circles π × r²) and enter the total in square feet.
Do I count rows or the spacing within rows?
For square planting, spacing is the same in both directions. If you have a different inter-row distance, use the average for a rough estimate.
Should I subtract edges?
In small beds, plants near the edge can lean outward — you may want to use 90% of the area to leave a buffer. For large beds, the edge effect is negligible.