Free tool
Square-foot garden planner
Sketch your raised bed as a grid, drop a crop into each square, and get an instant plant tally and shopping list.
Grid size (squares)
One square = roughly 30 × 30 cm (one square foot).
Between 2 and 8 each way.
Pick a crop, then tap a square
Choose “Erase” to clear squares. Tapping a filled square again clears it.
0 of 16 squares planted.
Total plants in this plan
—
Pick a crop and tap a square to begin
Plant counts are square-foot-gardening guidance for UK beds. Large crops such as tomato and kale are grown one to a square and will spread into the squares around them, so leave their neighbours free or plant something low beneath them.
How to use it
Set the grid to match your bed — each square stands for roughly 30 × 30 cm, so a 1.2 × 1.2 m raised bed is a 4 × 4 grid of sixteen squares. Adjust the columns and rows (2 to 8 each) to suit a longer or narrower bed. Then pick a crop from the palette and tap the squares you want to plant it in; tap a filled square again, or choose Erase, to clear it. The plant tally and shopping list update as you go, and your layout is saved in your browser so it's still there when you come back.
How the planting maths works
Square-foot gardening squeezes more into a small bed by giving each crop the spacing it actually needs rather than long, half-empty rows. The planner reads each crop's spacing and converts it to plants per square: 16 for fine roots like radish and carrot, 9 for beetroot, onions, spinach and peas, 4 for the likes of leeks and basil, and 1 for big plants such as lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes and kale. Multiply that by the number of squares you filled and you have the total number of plants — and seeds or sets — to buy. Figures are guidance for UK gardens; thin a little more generously on heavy clay or in a cold, exposed spot. For the bed itself, see our guide to building raised beds, and use the yield calculator to turn your plant count into an expected harvest.
Frequently asked questions
- How many plants fit in a square foot?
- It depends on the crop's spacing. The classic square-foot densities are 16 per square for small roots like radish and carrot, 9 for onions, beetroot, spinach and peas, 4 for plants like leeks and basil, and just 1 for large crops such as lettuce, strawberries, tomatoes and kale. This planner uses each crop's spacing to work the figure out for you.
- What size is a square in square-foot gardening?
- One square is roughly 30 × 30 cm — the metric stand-in for one square foot. A common UK raised bed of 1.2 × 1.2 m is a tidy 4 × 4 grid of sixteen squares, which is why that's the planner's default. Build the bed at 1.2 m wide at most so you can reach the middle from either side without stepping on the soil.
- Do big crops like tomatoes really only get one square?
- Yes — a tomato, courgette or kale plant is grown one to a square but its leaves will sprawl into the squares around it. Either leave those neighbours empty or under-plant with something low like lettuce or radish that you'll harvest before the big crop fills out.