Seed and plant spacing calculator
Enter the size of your bed, row or patch and how far apart the plants go. The calculator counts the plants for a square grid or a triangular (offset) layout and draws the result.
32 plants
4 rows of 8, plants 12 in apart, rows 12 in apart.
- Area
- 32 sq ft
- Plants per sq ft
- 1
- Triangular layout
- 30 plants
What each option does
A bed or patch fits rows across a rectangle and plants along each row. Rows counts plants in a number of separate rows of the same length. An area of any shape divides the area by the space each plant needs, which suits irregular plots. Pick a crop to fill in spacing from extension guides, mostly Virginia Cooperative Extension (the closer end of each range); seed packets may differ, so adjust freely.
Square or triangular?
In a square grid every plant sits at the corner of a rectangle: plants = area ÷ (in-row spacing × row spacing). In a triangular layout each row shifts by half a spacing, so plants nest into the gaps. With equal spacing all round the rows can sit 0.866 (√3 ÷ 2) times the spacing apart, and an open area holds about 15% more plants than a square grid. In a small bed the shifted rows can lose a plant at the ends, so the square grid sometimes wins; the calculator shows both.
Edges
Keeping half a spacing clear means no plant is closer to the bed edge than to its neighbour, which suits beds next to paths. Planting right to the edge fits an extra row and column when roots and leaves can spill over.
Sources
- Jadrnicek S, Hessler A. Virginia’s Home Garden Vegetable Planting Guide: Recommended Planting Dates and Amounts to Plant. Virginia Cooperative Extension 426-331, 2025 (Table 5). pubs.ext.vt.edu
- Whiting D, O’Meara C, Wilson C. Vegetable Planting Guide. Colorado State University Extension, GardenNotes #720, 2018, reviewed 2024. extension.colostate.edu
Questions
Do I sow at the final spacing?
Usually you sow more thickly and thin to the final spacing once seedlings are up, because not every seed germinates. Count plants at the final spacing.
What spacing should I use in a raised bed?
Colorado State University gives equal block spacing for beds, such as 4–6 in for beets, and says to use the closer end only in rich soil.
Can I mix metric and imperial?
Choose one system; switching converts the numbers you have typed.