Crop Spacing: A Worked Guide to Plants Per Bed

Crop spacing is the distance you leave between vegetable plants in a bed, and it decides how many plants fit. This guide works the Crop Spacing Calculator formula step by step, with the page tomato and lettuce examples and a second bed size worked in full.

What crop spacing means

Crop spacing uses two distances, not one. In row spacing is the distance between plants along one row. Between row spacing is the distance between one row and the next row. The first decides how many plants stand in each row, and the second decides how many rows fit across the bed.

The calculator holds preset spacings for 14 vegetables, and each preset gives one in row figure and one between row figure. Bed length runs along the rows, and bed width runs across the rows. Plants per row comes from bed length and in row spacing. Rows come from bed width and between row spacing. Multiply the two results and you have plants per bed.

The page formula step by step

The calculator works in three steps, and each step rounds down to a whole number. A part row does not exist in a real bed, so the calculator uses floor division. Floor division means divide, then drop any fraction.

Step 1: rows equals floor of bed width divided by between row spacing. Step 2: plants per row equals floor of bed length divided by in row spacing. Step 3: plants equals rows times plants per row.

Work in one unit system throughout. A bed 3 m long is 300 cm long, and a bed 1.2 m wide is 120 cm wide, so use 300 and 120 when the spacings are in centimetres.

The Crop Spacing Calculator takes the two spacings and the bed size, and shows the plant count and a planting plan. It also offers straight rows or staggered rows. This guide works straight rows throughout.

Worked example 1: tomatoes in a 3 by 1.2 m bed

Tomatoes use a preset of 60 cm in row spacing and 90 cm between row spacing. The bed is 3 m long and 1.2 m wide, which is 300 cm by 120 cm.

Plants per row equals floor of 300 divided by 60, which is 5. Rows equals floor of 120 divided by 90, which is 1, because a second row would need 180 cm of width. Plants equals 1 times 5, which is 5. One row of 5 tomato plants fills the bed under this preset.

The page FAQ gives a wider range for tomatoes, about 45 to 60 cm in the row, with 75 to 90 cm between rows. The preset of 60 by 90 cm sits at the wide end of that range.

Worked example 2: lettuce in a 3 by 1.2 m bed

Lettuce uses a preset of 25 cm in row spacing and 30 cm between row spacing. The bed is the same 3 m by 1.2 m bed, which is 300 cm by 120 cm.

Plants per row equals floor of 300 divided by 25, which is 12. Rows equals floor of 120 divided by 30, which is 4. Plants equals 4 times 12, which is 48.

The page FAQ says lettuce can stand 20 to 30 cm apart for heads, and closer for cut and come again leaves. The preset of 25 cm in row sits inside that range for heads.

The standard bed at a glance

The table below puts the two page examples side by side, with carrots added at 5 cm in row and 30 cm between rows. Plants per row equals floor of 300 divided by 5, which is 60, and rows equals 4, so plants equals 4 times 60, which is 240.

Crop	In row spacing	Between row spacing	Plants per row	Rows	Total plants
Tomatoes	60 cm	90 cm	5	1	5
Lettuce	25 cm	30 cm	12	4	48
Carrots	5 cm	30 cm	60	4	240

A second bed size: 6 by 1.2 m

Now double the bed length and keep the width the same. The bed is 6 m long and 1.2 m wide, which is 600 cm by 120 cm. The row count stays the same, while plants per row doubles, and the total doubles too.

Tomatoes: plants per row equals floor of 600 divided by 60, which is 10. Rows equals floor of 120 divided by 90, which is 1. Plants equals 1 times 10, which is 10.

Lettuce: plants per row equals floor of 600 divided by 25, which is 24. Rows equals floor of 120 divided by 30, which is 4. Plants equals 4 times 24, which is 96.

Carrots: plants per row equals floor of 600 divided by 5, which is 120. Rows equals floor of 120 divided by 30, which is 4. Plants equals 4 times 120, which is 480.

This pattern holds only because the longer length divides evenly by each in row spacing here. A spare strip shorter than one in row spacing gives no extra plant.

Crop	In row spacing	Between row spacing	Plants per row	Rows	Total plants
Tomatoes	60 cm	90 cm	10	1	10
Lettuce	25 cm	30 cm	24	4	96
Carrots	5 cm	30 cm	120	4	480

How to use the calculator

The page gives five steps, in the same order as the worked examples above.

First, choose a crop to load its typical spacing, or enter your own spacings from a packet or a variety note.

Second, enter the bed length and width, in the same unit system as your spacings.

Third, choose straight or staggered rows. Straight rows are the layout worked in this guide.

Fourth, read the plant count and plan, and check it against your own hand sum before you plant.

Fifth, thin direct sown crops to the in row spacing.

The calculator opens with tomato spacing as its default, in row 60 cm and between rows 90 cm, with a bed of 3 m by 1.2 m. That default matches the tomato example worked above.

The thinning rule for direct sown crops

Direct sown crops are sown where they will grow, in the bed itself. Seeds sown in a row often stand closer together than the final spacing. The page rule is simple: thin direct sown crops to the in row spacing.

Thinning means removing the extra young plants so the plants that stay stand at the in row spacing you entered. For carrots at 5 cm in row spacing, thin until plants stand 5 cm apart. For lettuce at 25 cm, thin until plants stand 25 cm apart. The between row spacing does not change during thinning.

Work the plant count from the final spacing, not from the sowing spacing.

What intensive spacing means

The page FAQ asks what intensive spacing is, and answers it in one sentence. Intensive spacing is planting in offset rows or a grid at the in row spacing, without wide paths, as in raised beds.

First, the plants stand in offset rows or a grid, rather than in widely spaced single rows. Second, the spacing in every direction is the in row spacing. Third, there are no wide paths inside the bed.

The page FAQ adds a related rule for raised beds. In beds you can reach from the sides, you do not need paths between rows, and you can plant at in row spacing in every direction.

The page assumptions

Spacing varies by variety. Compact and dwarf types need less room than tall or spreading types, so check the variety note and edit the spacing when it differs.

Close spacing suits rich soil and good watering. Plants that stand close together share the same soil and water, so a bed with poor soil or patchy watering suits a wider spacing better.

Vining crops can be trained vertically to save space. A vining crop that climbs a support uses less bed ground than the same crop left to spread across the bed.

Crop figures are starting points to edit, not universal constants. The preset for each crop is a typical figure, reviewed in November 2026.

Do not round up when you check a count. A bed that holds 4 rows and a spare strip does not hold a fifth row. Round down at each step, and do not mix units inside one sum.

The Plant Spacing Calculator covers a single spacing, the Plants per Square Foot Calculator covers plants per square foot, the Garden Bed and Path Layout Calculator covers bed and path layout, and the Garden Area Calculator covers measuring the garden area.

Frequently asked questions

Q: What is crop spacing?

A: Crop spacing is the distance between vegetable plants in a bed, given as two numbers, in row spacing along a row and between row spacing between rows.

Q: How do I work out how many plants fit in a bed?

A: Rows equals floor of bed width divided by between row spacing. Plants per row equals floor of bed length divided by in row spacing. Plants equals rows times plants per row.

Q: How many tomato plants fit in a 3 by 1.2 m bed?

A: 5 tomato plants, in one row of 5.

Q: How many lettuce plants fit in a 3 by 1.2 m bed?

A: 48 lettuce plants, in 4 rows of 12.

Q: What is intensive spacing?

A: Intensive spacing is planting in offset rows or a grid at the in row spacing, without wide paths, as in raised beds.

Q: Do I need to thin direct sown crops?

A: Yes. Thin direct sown crops to the in row spacing, so the plants that stay stand at the spacing you entered in the calculator.