Square Foot Spacing, Crop by Crop
The published square foot gardening charts disagree more than most gardeners expect. Each guide takes one crop: what every source says, in its own words, why they differ, our own number with the reasoning behind it, how many fit in each bed size, and a bed plan you can open in the planner.
Data reviewed: . The date the figures and quotes in these guides were last read from their primary sources.
Tomato
How Many Tomato Plants per Square Foot?
- What the sources say
- 1 per square to 1 per 2x2 block (4 squares), by type
- What our planner counts
- 1 per square
Pepper
How Many Pepper Plants per Square Foot?
- What the sources say
- 1 per square, all three charts agree
- What our planner counts
- 1 per square
Beans
Bush vs Pole Beans in a Square Foot Garden
- What the sources say
- bush 9, pole 8 per square, all three charts agree
- What our planner counts
- bush 9, pole 9 per square
Cucumber
How Many Cucumbers per Square Foot?
- What the sources say
- 2 per square in the two charts that give a figure
- What our planner counts
- 1 per square
Looking for another crop?
The full spacing chart gives our per-square figure for all 40 crops the planner knows, and the comparison page shows every crop where the published charts disagree.