Bed Planting Plan
Work out what fits before you buy the plants. Same spacing rules this calculator uses.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/plant-spacing-calculator
The plot
- Season
- Date
- Bed
- Sun / shade
- Last frost date
- Notes
Plan each bed
| Bed / row | Crop | Spacing (in) | Rows | Plants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Square-foot spacings
- 12 in spacing
- 1 plant per sq ft
- 6 in spacing
- 4 per sq ft
- 4 in spacing
- 9 per sq ft
- 3 in spacing
- 16 per sq ft
- Offset rows fit
- about 15% more
- How the count is worked out
- rows x plants per row
- Packet spacing means
- the size at MATURITY
Before you plant
- Spacing read off the packet, not guessed from the seedling size
- Rows planned so you can reach every plant without standing on the bed
- Tall crops placed where they will not shade the short ones
- Anything that needs support staked before it needs it
- Successional sowings dated, not just the first one
- Last frost date checked for anything tender
- Labels written now - you will not remember which row is which
- A few spares raised in case some fail
The gap that looks wrong is usually right
Almost everyone plants too close. A bed that looks sparse in spring is a bed with air moving through it in August, and air movement is most of what keeps mildew off. If you cannot bear the empty space, fill it with fast salad you will pull long before the main crop needs the room.