Garden Row Calculator

This garden row calculator works out how many rows fit in your garden and how many plants each row holds. Choose a crop to use its typical in-row spacing and row spacing, or enter your own, then give the length of your rows and the width of the garden across them. The calculator returns the number of rows, plants per row, the total plant count, the total length of row you will be planting, and how many plants fit in every 10 feet of row, which is handy when you are buying seed or transplants.

How to use the garden row calculator

1. Choose the crop. The list uses typical spacing from our plant database. Choose custom spacing if your seed packet gives different figures or you want wider paths.
2. Enter the row length. This is how long each row will run, in feet.
3. Enter the garden width across the rows. This is the distance the rows are spread over, measured at right angles to the rows.
4. Read the result. The headline number is the total plants. The table shows rows, plants per row and the total length of row.

How the calculation works

Row gardens have two spacings. In-row spacing is the distance between plants within a row. Row spacing is the distance between the center lines of neighboring rows, which includes the path you walk along.

Rows = garden width (in) ÷ row spacing (in), rounded down
Plants per row = row length (in) ÷ in-row spacing (in), rounded down
Total plants = rows × plants per row

Rounding down keeps plants and rows half a spacing in from the edges, so plants at the ends are not crowded against a fence or path.

Worked example: bush beans

A garden 20 feet long and 10 feet wide, planted with bush beans at 4 inches apart in rows 18 inches apart. The garden is 120 inches wide, which fits 6 rows. Each row is 240 inches long, which fits 60 plants. That is 360 bean plants across 120 feet of row.

Worked example: tomatoes

The same 20-by-10-foot garden planted with tomatoes at 24 inches apart in rows 4 feet apart fits only 2 rows of 10 plants, or 20 tomatoes. Large crops use space very differently from small ones, which is why it helps to plan each crop separately.

Worked example: sweet corn

Corn at 12 inches apart in rows 30 inches apart fits 4 rows of 20 plants in the same garden, 80 plants in all. Four or more short rows side by side is better than one long row for corn, because it is pollinated by wind, and pollen falls more reliably on neighboring plants in a block.

Typical row spacing for common crops

Varieties differ, so use the spacing on your seed packet when it gives one. Compact bush varieties can be planted closer than vining or full-size types.

Choosing row spacing

Row spacing is partly about the plants and partly about you. Plants need enough room between rows for their leaves and roots, but the path also needs to suit how you work.

• Hand tools only: about 18 inches is enough to walk and hoe between rows of small crops.
• Kneeling to weed and harvest: around 2 feet is more comfortable.
• Wheelbarrow or cart: leave at least one path of about 3 feet.
• Tiller between rows: make the spacing a few inches wider than the tiller.
• Large sprawling crops: squash, pumpkins and melons need 4 to 8 feet between rows, or they will cover the paths entirely by midsummer.

If you plant mostly small crops, consider wide rows instead of single rows. Plant a band 12 to 24 inches wide with the in-row spacing in every direction, then leave a path. You get far more plants from the same area, with fewer paths to weed. Our comparison of square foot and row gardening explains the tradeoffs.

Which way should rows run?

On level ground, many gardeners run rows north to south. As the sun moves from east to west through the day, both sides of each row get light, and tall crops shade their neighbors less. If you run rows east to west, put tall crops such as corn, pole beans and trellised tomatoes on the north side of the garden so they do not shade shorter crops.

On a slope, run rows across the slope, following the contour, rather than up and down it. Rows across a slope slow runoff and reduce soil erosion. Rows running downhill act like channels, carrying water and soil away in heavy rain.

Planning a row garden

1. Measure the space. Use the garden size calculator to find the growing area.
2. List your crops and how much of each you want. A family that eats a lot of beans needs more row length of beans than of radishes.
3. Allocate width. Give each crop enough rows, based on its row spacing. Large crops take up width quickly.
4. Group by height and season. Keep tall crops together on the north side. Plant early crops such as peas and lettuce where they can be followed by later crops.
5. Calculate plants and seed. Use this calculator for plant counts, then the seed quantity calculator to work out how many seeds to buy.
6. Sketch it. A simple plan on graph paper helps you rotate crops next year.

Seed and transplant quantities for rows

The “plants per 10 feet of row” figure in the results makes buying easier. Seed catalogs often state how much seed sows a given length of row. If a packet sows 25 feet of row and you need 120 feet of bush beans, you need about five packets. For small seeds sown thickly and thinned, such as carrots, sow more seed than the final plant count, then thin to the recommended spacing once seedlings are up.

For transplanted crops such as tomatoes and peppers, the plant count is simply the number of transplants to buy or grow, plus a couple of spares in case of losses.

Succession planting in rows

Rows make succession planting simple. Instead of sowing all your lettuce, beans or radishes at once, sow one row every two to three weeks. This spreads the harvest so you are not overwhelmed for one week and empty-handed the next. When an early crop such as peas or spring lettuce finishes, pull it and sow a later crop in the same row. Our plant database lists days to maturity to help you judge what has time to finish.

Hilling and special row crops

Some crops need extra room between rows for a reason. Potatoes are “hilled” as they grow: soil or mulch is pulled up around the stems to cover developing tubers and keep them from turning green in the light. That needs room to draw soil from between the rows, so potato rows are typically about 30 to 36 inches apart. Leeks are often planted in a trench and hilled too.

Vining crops such as cucumbers, pole beans and peas can be grown in a single row along a trellis, which saves a lot of space compared with letting them sprawl. Give the trellis row enough room on each side to reach in and pick.

Keeping rows weed-free

The biggest drawback of row gardens is the amount of bare ground between rows, which weeds love. A few habits keep it under control:

• Hoe little and often. A sharp hoe run between rows once a week, while weeds are tiny, takes minutes.
• Mulch the paths. Straw, shredded leaves or cardboard covered with wood chips between rows suppresses weeds and keeps soil moist. The mulch calculator works out how much you need.
• Mulch around plants. Once seedlings are a few inches tall, mulch close around them too.
• Do not let weeds set seed. One weed going to seed can produce thousands of seeds for next year.

Watering row gardens

Overhead sprinklers waste a lot of water in row gardens, because they soak the paths as well as the rows. A drip line or soaker hose laid along each row puts water where the roots are and keeps paths dry, which also means fewer weeds. The drip irrigation calculator sizes a system by row length, and the garden watering calculator shows how much water the garden needs each week.

Common mistakes

• Rows too close for the crop. Seedlings look tiny, but tomatoes and squash quickly cover narrow paths.
• Rows too far apart for small crops. Wasting wide paths on carrots and lettuce means more weeding for less food. Use wide rows instead.
• One long row of corn. Plant corn in a block of several short rows for better pollination.
• Rows running downhill. They channel water and erode soil. Run rows across the slope.
• Planting everything at once. Stagger sowings for a steady harvest.

Getting more from rows: intercropping and relay planting

Rows can be far more productive than a simple one-crop-per-row layout suggests. Two old techniques make better use of the space between and along rows.

Intercropping means growing a fast crop alongside a slow one. Radishes sown in the same row as carrots come up quickly, mark the row while slow carrot seeds germinate, and are pulled before the carrots need the room. Lettuce or spinach can be sown between rows of young broccoli or cabbage and harvested before the larger plants close the gap.

Relay planting means sowing the next crop before the current one finishes. For example, transplant young squash or bean seedlings at the base of a pea row in late spring. When the peas fade in early summer heat, the next crop is already established and ready to take over the row.

Both techniques work best with crops of different heights, root depths and timing, and with soil kept rich with compost, because more plants are drawing on the same ground. The days-to-maturity figures in the plant database help you match fast and slow crops.

Rows for larger plots

Once a garden grows beyond a few hundred square feet, rows become more attractive. They are easy to plant with a seeder, to cultivate with a wheel hoe or tiller, and to irrigate with a drip line per row. For larger plots, consider grouping crops into blocks of several rows with similar needs, such as a block of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant, which all like warmth and similar feeding, and a block of brassicas that can share a row cover. Leave a wider access path every few rows, so you can reach every row without walking on planted soil.

Frequently asked questions