Garden Bed Layout Calculator

Garden Bed Layout Calculator

Planning exactly how many plants fit in a garden bed keeps you from over-ordering seedlings or under-planting valuable growing space.

Formula (Grid Layout)

1. Plants Per Row = floor(Bed Length / Spacing)
2. Number of Rows = floor(Bed Width / Spacing)
3. Total Plants = Plants Per Row x Number of Rows

Example

A 96" x 48" bed with 12" plant spacing:

8 plants per row x 4 rows = 32 plants

Grid vs. Offset (Staggered) Layout

This calculator uses a straightforward square grid layout - some gardeners instead use a staggered "offset" or hexagonal planting pattern, which can fit roughly 15% more plants into the same bed area, since offset rows let each plant nestle into the gaps left by the row before it. The grid layout calculated here is a solid, simple baseline for planning purposes.