Plant Spacing in Square Foot Gardens (2024)

FAQs

What is the spacing for square-foot gardening? ›

Example: you want to cover an area of 120 square feet with a spacing of 10". For 10" spacing the plants per square foot is 1.45. Multiply 1.45 x 120 and you get 174 plants needed.

The easy way to determine spacing between different plants is to use the average of their mature sizes. As an example, when planting a 5-foot-wide hydrangea planted next to a boxwood that grows up to 3 feet wide, space the plants 4 feet apart.

With the square-foot gardening method, you plant in 4x4-foot blocks instead of traditional rows. Different crops are planted in different blocks according to their size; for example, 16 radishes in one square foot, or just one cabbage per square foot. A lattice is laid across the top to separate each square foot.

Plants must be spaced closer together to form a full, dense screen. Low hedge plants (3 to 4 feet high) should be spaced about 18 inches apart. Tall hedge plants will need to be spaced 3 to 4 feet apart. Low ground cover plants may be spaced in regard to how fast a complete cover is wanted.

Square foot gardening is an efficient and space-saving technique that involves dividing your garden into small, manageable squares. Each square is typically one foot by one foot and is planted with a specific number of plants depending on their size.

As a general rule, put tall veggies toward the back of the bed, mid-sized ones in the middle, and smaller plants in the front or as a border. Consider adding pollinator plants to attract beneficial insects that can not only help you get a better harvest, but will also prey on garden pests.

There are two basic rules when arranging plants in the beds: 1) space the individual plants so that they touch each other when they reach their mature size, and 2) overlap the masses of plants and connect them so that they flow without space between them. Avoid gaps or large open areas between masses.

SFG recommends planting one indeterminate tomato per square in the grid. We're assuming you're attaching your trellis to the north end of your raised bed and that the tomato is planted in those adjacent squares.

How many plants can you have in a 10x10? ›

Most cultivators utilize roughly 70% of a room's floor space as the canopy. In this scenario, a 10 x 10 room can hold up to 70 plants. Efficient facilities take advantage of tiered growing systems. Each tier increases production capabilities and can triple a room's canopy.

You generally get more yield in a small space if you plant an herb, fruit, or vegetable garden in wide rows. In “How To Grow More Vegetables”, intensive gardening guru, John Jeavons, says you'll need about 200 sq. ft. per person to grow enough vegetables and soft fruits for the growing season at intermediate yields.

Distance between plants in the shrub row should be 3-5 feet for deciduous species; if juniper is used for a shrub row, space plants 5-7 feet apart. For interior rows, space evergreens 8-12 feet apart and deciduous trees 10-14 feet apart.

Some of these detriments, according to Bartholomew, are the amount of space single-row production requires, the large amount of soil amendments needed, and the amount of seed used to plant the rows.

Generally speaking, 200 square feet of garden space per person will allow for a harvest that feeds everyone year-round. For an average family of four, plan for an 800 square-foot garden—a plot that's 20 feet by 40 feet in size should do the trick. If your family is larger (or smaller), scale up or down as needed.

Certainly you can apply the principals of square foot gardening without doing a raised bed . The raised beds do serve a function and help produce better vegetables. With a raised bed you build your bed on top of your existing topsoil and add more soil to fill in your raised bed.