Plants Per Square Foot Chart
Our free plants per square foot chart and garden planner tells you exactly how many plants fit in your raised bed. Enter your bed size, pick a crop, and see instant totals for 8 popular garden crops â from 1 tomato per square foot to 16 carrots per square foot.
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Your results
| Crop | Per sq ft | Spacing | Your bed |
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Estimates: plant counts use common square-foot gardening spacing guidance (Mel Bartholomew method). Spacing needs vary by variety, soil, and climate, so adjust for your specific plants.
How to use this calculator
Measure your bed's length and width in feet and enter them above. Then pick the crop you want to grow — or choose Custom to enter your own plants-per-square-foot value from a seed packet. Results update instantly as you type.
The planner shows how many one-foot squares your bed contains, how many plants of your chosen crop that means, and a full chart with plant counts for all eight common crops at your bed size. A 4-by-8-foot bed, for example, gives 32 squares — 32 tomato plants at 1 per square, or 512 carrots at 16 per square.
Use the chart to divide one bed among several crops: just multiply each crop's squares by its plants-per-square-foot value. Try different bed sizes and crops to test layouts before you buy seeds or seedlings.
How it works
Square-foot gardening, the method popularized by Mel Bartholomew, divides a raised bed into 1-foot squares and plants each square with a fixed number of one crop. The math is simple: total squares = bed length (ft) × bed width (ft), rounded down to whole squares, and plants needed = total squares × plants per square foot.
The calculator assumes a fully planted bed with no paths between rows, and uses common spacing guidance: 1 plant per square for tomatoes and peppers, 2 for cucumbers, 4 for lettuce, 9 for onions, beans, and spinach, and 16 for carrots. These are estimates for planning — check your seed packet, since spacing varies by variety, soil, and climate.
Frequently asked questions
What is a plants-per-square-foot chart?
A plants-per-square-foot chart lists how many plants of each crop fit in one 12-by-12-inch square of a garden bed, based on the square-foot gardening method. For example, the chart used here gives 1 plant per square for tomatoes, 4 for lettuce, 9 for onions, and 16 for carrots. Enter your bed size in the calculator to apply these spacings to your whole bed at once.
How many tomato plants fit in a 4x8 raised bed?
Thirty-two. A 4-by-8-foot bed contains 32 one-foot squares, and tomatoes are planted 1 per square, so 32 times 1 equals 32 tomato plants. Space them at least 12 inches apart, and give indeterminate varieties a cage or trellis for support.
Can I grow different crops in the same bed?
Yes. That is exactly what square-foot gardening is designed for. Just assign each crop its own squares: in a 32-square bed, for example, you could give tomatoes 8 squares (8 plants), lettuce 8 squares (32 plants), and carrots 16 squares (256 plants). Put taller crops on the north side so they do not shade shorter ones.
Are these spacing numbers exact?
They are common spacing guidance based on the square-foot gardening method popularized by Mel Bartholomew, not exact science. The seed packet for your specific variety is the best authority: some compact tomato or pepper varieties tolerate tighter spacing, while large heirlooms may need more room. Treat the results as estimates and adjust for your variety, soil, and climate.
Does the calculator account for paths between beds?
No. It measures only the planting surface of the bed itself. If you are planning a whole garden area, leave 12 to 18 inches of path between beds, and size each bed so you can reach the middle from either side. Four feet wide is the usual maximum.