- That sweet corn inter-planted with pole beans (an experiment) is way too close together – the yield was very small, and much of it fell over after a big rain because of the shallow restricted roots.
Recommended Spacing for Intensive Planting Methods
| Plant | Inches | Plant | Inches |
| Asparagus | 15 – 18 | Lettuce, head | 10 – 12 |
| Beans, lima | 4 – 6 | Lettuce, leaf | 4 – 6 |
| Beans, pole | 6 – 12 | Melons | 18 – 24 |
| Beans, bush | 4 – 6 | Mustard | 6 – 9 |
| Beets | 2 – 4 | Okra | 12 – 18 |
| Broccoli | 12 – 18 | Onion | 2 – 4 |
| Brussels sprouts | 15 – 18 | Peas | 2 – 4 |
| Cabbage | 15 – 18 | Peppers | 12 – 15 |
| Cabbage, Chinese | 10 – 12 | Potatoes | 10 – 12 |
| Carrots | 2 – 3 | Pumpkins | 24 – 36 |
| Cauliflower | 15 – 18 | Radishes | 2 – 3 |
| Cucumber | 12 – 18 | Rutabaga | 4 – 6 |
| Chard, Swiss | 6 – 9 | Southern pea | 3 – 4 |
| Collards | 12 – 15 | Spinach | 4 – 6 |
| Endive | 15 – 18 | Squash, summer | 18 – 24 |
| Eggplant | 18 – 24 | Squash, winter | 24 – 36 |
| Kale | 15 – 18 | Sweet corn | 15 – 18 |
| Kohlrabi | 6 – 9 | Tomatoes | 18 – 24 |
| Leeks | 3 – 6 | Turnip | 4 – 6 |
Arizona State University Master Gardener Manual: Intensive Gardening Methods.
How Close Together Can I Plant ???
This is a frequently asked question from people who are getting started with raised beds, deep mulch, square foot gardening, Ruth Stout, lasagna and other intensive gardening methods. So far the seed suppliers don’t seem to have noticed that a lot of people are going to these highly productive intensive methods – and they don’t give this info on the seed packets. I got this chart from the Arizona State University Agricultural website so it should be reliable information – and based upon my own anecdotal experience it seems to be about right. By the way that’s a great article on the basic principles of intensive gardening – Arizona State University Master Gardener Manual: Intensive Gardening Methods.
I thought this info might be timely right now as the more obsessive compulsive of us are graphing out the plans for the coming season, and for the rest of us the chart would be a handy thing to have printed out and posted up in or near the garden.
I do square foot gardening and I love it. Easy to weed, almost no weeds. easy to harvest. I even grow sweet potatoes in containers. only one exception, my cucumbers never do well in the sun…if I keep them growing in the shade they do well. I am now trying to start my plants in an indoor greenhouse with rope lighting underneath the shelves for warmth.
Beets work well if you just sprinkle the seeds on your grow bed and lightly cover them. Thin the initial growth as salad greens. Then continuously thin as the beets grow. I sprinkle about 20 per square in. Lay drip irrigation small diameter hose at time of planting so you don’t have to wet the leaves during watering. The mature crop (still in ground) gets a little stressed when neighbors get harvested, but they recover within a half day.
I personally Do plant 9 bush beans in a 5 gallon pot just kinda spread out, It worked wonderfully for my I Fully intend on doing it again this next season I try to run a test group when I try a new plant so I planted 9 cowpeas. I saved all of them for seed because I LOVED how well they did! this year part of my vertical will house all 380+/- seeds that were harvested. I use no chemicals on my garden AT ALL so that was pretty much just rain water and hose water and compost. Having them so close seemed to hold them up better when rough weather hit they were intertwined and messy and hard to really get into but it was WELL Worth it!
-Ash-
The seed packet plant spacing info is not that far off in general – just ignore the ‘row spacing’ distance and use the ‘plant spacing’ distance. No matter whose numbers you go by, you’re going to want to make adjustments from year-to-year, anyhow. And the seed packet numbers are at least specific to that variety, and since some varieties are more compact by nature (think about cabbage – ranging from varieties with 4-5″ heads, all the way up to the giant ones. I like the compact ones, and I space them 10″ apart, max, and if I remember right, that’s pretty close to the plant spacing listed on the packet. 15″-18″ wouldn’t apply to these varieties at all. Anyway, I just wanted to say, don’t be afraid to use the seed packet info as a starting place.
How did your growing bed do?what did u raise? Asking because I’m going to start building 2 double ones for one of my greenhouses on monday,have all things ready,I ‘m in the south so they should give me what I need to start flowers for sales in march.what U think?will it give me same results if I double up on lenght&width?thank you in advance for your help.
I managed tomatoes in large pots this year, but corn and snflowers, my favorite beenstalks, and cumbers around the bottom of them, need huge amounts of compost, larger spaces than most articles designate, and lots of TLC in minor weeding, mulching and watering to be successful! My poorly single squash plant grown from seeds from a Squash imported from Mexico mid-winter, is a bush!, not a vine, and is thriving now with more sunlight, and has set fruit! Hope the season is long enough and the bugs don’t eat first! Happy gardening!
The Square Foot Garden book recommends 9 bean plants per square. Your place recommends 4-6. I think I had four per square and I found that too crowded. I think I’ll only do two, maybe three per square foot this year. (Bush beans)
I actually did 9 per square in a Square foot garden a couple of years ago, and my conclusion was that the beans were productive, but that they sprawled over all of the adjoining squares.
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If your space isn’t completely covered by the time the plants are grown it isn’t intensive, because part of the method is that the crops crowd out the weeds.
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There’s certainly plenty of latitude to exercise your own judgment.
Very useful information! I suppose I fit into that obsessive compulsive category
I actually don’t usually, but I am doing more planning this year. I’m seeing the garden less as a pastime and more as an important asset this year. I think there’s a lot of that going around.