About This Tool
Proper plant spacing means healthier plants and better yields. Too close and plants compete for light, water, and nutrients. Too far apart and you waste valuable garden space. This calculator tells you exactly how many plants fit in your bed.
Choose from two planting patterns: square grid (simple rows and columns) or offset/hexagonal (staggers rows to fit 15% more plants in the same space). Both are shown side by side so you can pick what works for your garden.
Quick-pick presets for common vegetables — tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, carrots, beans, and more — give you recommended spacing based on square foot gardening guidelines. Or enter custom spacing for any plant.
How to Use
1. Enter your bed dimensions (length and width)
2. Click a preset button for common vegetables, or enter custom spacing
3. See results for both grid and offset patterns
4. Offset pattern fits ~15% more plants by staggering rows
5. The visual preview shows how plants will be arranged
6. Adjust spacing to fine-tune plant count
7. Copy the result or link to save for planting day
Formula
Grid pattern:
Plants per row = floor(bed width ÷ spacing)
Number of rows = floor(bed length ÷ spacing)
Total plants = plants per row × number of rows
Offset (hexagonal) pattern:
Plants per row = floor(bed width ÷ spacing)
Row spacing = plant spacing × 0.866 (√3/2)
Number of rows = floor(bed length ÷ row spacing)
Odd rows shifted by half spacing
Total plants ≈ 15% more than grid