Plant spacings in a Square Foot Garden

Plant spacings are the distance apart you plant several of the same plant. In square foot gardens, that can be expressed as #/sqft (how many plants per square foot) or simply by inches in each direction. For instance, carrots are planted 16/sqft or 3" apart, because there are 4 3" segments in a foot (so square that, 4x4=16). The only exceptions are certain vining or very large plants that do not fit into individual square feet.

Please be aware that special varieties will require different spacing than is listed here (eg. dwarf basil vs. regular). The spacings given here are for the most typical or common of the type of plant.

Reader Olin Miller (millero@NETZONE.COM) offers this general rule for spacing:
A rule of thumb for vegetables I learned many years ago is to space root crops at twice the expected diameter of the mature produce. Other vegetables should be spaced so the leaves from adjacent plants overlap only sightly. Closer spacing often results in smaller sized vegetables but doesn't necessarily reduce yield because of the increased quantity. And many leafy plants will rot at the base if planted too close. How to space vining vegetables depends on the variety and whether they are grown on cages, trellises, stakes or allowed to run free.

In the following list, all spacings are according to Mel in SFG (chapter 18) unless otherwise indicated (Mel left a few out)!

Basil: 1/sqft (according to sqft reader Kevin M. Wilson)
Beans: bush-type 9/sqft; pole-type 8/sqft (see special grid)
Beets: 16/sqft
Broccoli: 1/sqft
Cabbage: 1/sqft
Carrots: 16/sqft
Cauliflower: 1/sqft
Celery: 4/sqft (6") (according to sqft reader Doreen Howard)
Chard(Swiss): 4/sqft
Corn: 1/sqft (revised in 2/96 OG to 4/sqft)
Cucumbers: 2/sqft in a row of 4 sqft (6" apart along middle of sqft row)
Daffodils: 36/sqft
Eggplant: 1/sqft
Garlic: 4/sqft (6") (according to several sqft readers. Some say 9/sqft (4"))
Leeks: 9/sqft (see special technique in 2/96 OG)
Lettuce: 4/sqft
Marjoram: 4/sqft (according to sqft reader Kevin M. Wilson)
Muskmelons: 1/sqft (grow in row of 4 squares, on trellis)
Okra: 1-2/sqft (according to reader Sandra Walters)
Onions: 16/sqft
Oregano: 1/4sqft (according to sqft reader Kevin M. Wilson)
Parsley: 4/sqft
Peas: 8/sqft (grow in row of 4 squares on trellis, see special grid)
Peppers: 1/sqft
Potatoes: 1/sqft (see special technique in 2/96 OG)
Radishes: 16/sqft
Savory: 1/sqft (according to sqft reader Kevin M. Wilson)
Scallions: 36/sqft (2") (see special technique in 2/96 OG)
Spinach: 9/sqft
Squash, Summer: vine-type 3/4sqft (see special grid); bush-type 1/3sqft (see special grid) (see also Zucchini's revised spacing)
Squash, Winter: 1/2sqft (see special grid)
Sweet Potatoes: 2/sqft (according to sqft reader John Webster)
Thyme: 4/sqft (according to sqft reader Kevin M. Wilson)
Tomatoes: bush-type: 4/4sqft (see special grid); vine-type 1/sqft (in row of 4 on trellis)
Watermelon: bush-type 1/sqft; vine-type 1/2sqft - both kinds along trellis
Zucchini: 1/sqft (Mel from 2/96 OG)

Here are some visual layout grids. The "*"s are where to put the plant or seed. Each table represents a single square foot unless otherwise indicated.

12"x12" space (1 per square foot):

6"x6" space (4 per square foot):

*	*
*	*

4"x4" space (9 per square foot):

*	*	*
*	*	*
*	*	*

3"x3" space (16 per square foot):

*	*	*	*
*	*	*	*
*	*	*	*
*	*	*	*

pea/bean row space (1' x 4') (the *'s are the plants, the / are left empty):

Summer Squash (old method, vine-type): 1'x4' space (note each block below is 12" high by 16" wide):

Summer squash - bush-type: (3'x3') (the * is the squash, the x's are any other plants you desire in their appropriate spacing):

x	*
x
x
x	x	x	x

Winter Squash: 1'x4' space (note each block below is 1' high by 2' wide):

Tomatoes (vine-type): 1'x4' space :

2/96 OG Citation:
Bartholomew, Mel. "10 New Square Foot Secrets!". Organic Gardening. vol 43, no. 2, February 1996, p. 24+.