Square Foot Garden Planner
Plan your raised beds visually — know exactly how many plants fit and where to put them.
Your Garden Beds
Plant Spacing Reference
| Plant ▲ | Plants / Sq Ft ▲ | Spacing ▲ | Depth ▲ | Days to Harvest ▲ |
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Your Garden Summary
Totals across all beds — updates as you plan.
Place plants in your grid above to generate a shopping list.
Plants per square foot based on Mel Bartholomew's Square Foot Gardening method.
The Method Behind the Planner
A proven system that maximizes yield from a small space — no wasted soil, no guesswork about spacing.
The Basics
Square foot gardening (SFG) was developed by Mel Bartholomew in the 1970s and popularized in his book Square Foot Gardening. The method divides a raised bed into a grid of 1-foot squares, each planted with one type of vegetable at a density determined by the plant's mature size. Large plants like broccoli or cabbage get one per square; small plants like radishes or carrots get 16 per square.
Compared to traditional row gardening, SFG uses 20% of the space and water, produces less waste, and generates fewer weeds because the dense planting shades out weed seeds. A single 4×4 foot bed can feed one adult with salad greens all season.
The All-Purpose Mix
Bartholomew's signature "Mel's Mix" fills raised beds with a blend of one-third each: coarse vermiculite, peat moss (or coco coir), and blended compost. This lightweight, moisture-retaining mix drains perfectly and never needs tilling. You simply refill squares with fresh compost after each harvest.
Plants Per Square Foot — Quick Reference
| Plant | Per Sq Ft | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tomato (standard) | 1 | Needs cage or trellis |
| Pepper | 1 | Full sun required |
| Lettuce | 4 | Cut-and-come-again |
| Spinach | 9 | Cool-season only |
| Radish / Beet | 16 | Fast-growing |
| Carrot / Onion | 16 | Thin to final spacing |
| Bush bean | 9 | Direct sow |
| Broccoli / Cabbage | 1 | Large mature size |
Crops like cucumbers, pole beans, peas, and small squash varieties can grow vertically on a trellis attached to the north end of your bed (so it doesn't shade shorter plants). Vertical growing effectively doubles the usable square footage of a raised bed while keeping the bed floor clear for root crops and greens.