What is row spacing vs. in-row spacing?

Row spacing is the distance from the center of one row to the center of the next row. In-row spacing is the distance between individual plants within the same row. Both are measured center-to-center. For example, lettuce is often grown with 12-inch row spacing and 6-inch in-row spacing.

What are typical spacings for common vegetables?

Carrots: 2–3 in in-row, 12 in rows. Lettuce: 6 in in-row, 12 in rows. Tomatoes: 18–24 in in-row, 36 in rows. Beans (bush): 4–6 in in-row, 18–24 in rows. Onions: 4 in in-row, 12 in rows. Always check your seed packet for the recommended spacing.

Does the calculator account for edge spacing?

Yes. The first plant starts at half the row spacing from each bed edge, and subsequent plants are placed at full intervals. This mirrors standard practice where you center the pattern within the bed rather than planting right at the edge.

How is this different from Square Foot Gardening?

Square Foot Gardening (SFG) assigns a fixed number of plants per 1-foot square and works best in raised beds. This calculator uses traditional row planting — you control both row spacing and in-row spacing independently, which works for any bed size and is how most seed packets give instructions.

Can I use this for square-foot grids?

Yes. Set both row spacing and in-row spacing to the same value (e.g., 12 in × 12 in for a 1-plant-per-sq-ft grid, or 6 in × 6 in for a 4-plant-per-sq-ft grid) and the calculator produces a square grid layout.

Why does the plant count differ slightly from manual calculation?

The tool places the first row at half the row-spacing from the bed edge (centered planting). Plants are counted as the number of full spacings that fit plus one, using floor math to avoid partial spacings that would push a plant beyond the bed boundary.

Seed Spacing Calculator

Enter your bed size, row spacing, and in-row spacing to instantly see how many seeds or plants fit and get a visual grid layout.

Bed & Spacing Settings

Measurement Unit

Bed Dimensions

Length (in)

Width (in)

Length = direction rows run. Width = across rows.

Plant Spacing

Row spacing (in)

Between rows

In-row spacing (in)

Within a row

Quick Presets

Spacings in inches. Click to apply.

Enter your bed dimensions and spacing, then click Calculate.

Summary

The Seed Spacing Calculator figures out exactly how many seeds or transplants fit in any garden bed using traditional row planting or square-foot grid spacing. Enter your bed length and width, set the distance between rows and the spacing between plants within each row, and the tool calculates total plant count along with the number of rows. Switch between inches and centimeters and see a scaled visual diagram of the planting layout.

How it works

Enter your garden bed length and width.
Set the spacing between rows (center-to-center distance between adjacent rows).
Set the in-row spacing (center-to-center distance between plants along a row).
Choose inches or centimeters for all measurements.
Click Calculate to see the number of rows, plants per row, and total plant count.
A visual grid diagram shows the planting layout scaled to your bed.

Use cases

Plan seed orders before the growing season.
Space vegetables like carrots, beans, and lettuce correctly.
Compare tight vs. wide spacing to decide how many plants to buy.
Calculate transplant counts for tomatoes, peppers, and brassicas.
Lay out rows in a new in-ground or raised garden bed.
Teach proper spacing when starting a community garden plot.
Estimate how many seed packets are needed for a full bed.
Cross-check seed packet spacing recommendations against bed size.

Frequently Asked Questions

Last updated: 2026-06-11 · Reviewed by Nham Vu