Vegetable Spacing Chart: How Far Apart to Plant Every Veggie
Quick answer: Most vegetables need 12-18 inches between plants and 24-36 inches between rows. But some (like lettuce at 6 inches) pack tight, and others (like squash at 36 inches) demand serious room. The full chart below covers 25+ vegetables with exact spacing, depth, sun needs, and harvest timelines. For custom layouts, try the plant spacing calculator.
I killed an entire row of broccoli my second year gardening because I planted them 8 inches apart. The seed packet said 18. I figured that was conservative. It wasn't. By July, the plants were fighting for light, the heads came in half-sized, and aphids moved into the damp, airless canopy like they owned the place.
Spacing isn't a suggestion. It determines airflow, light penetration, root competition, and ultimately whether your plants produce food or just take up space.
The Complete Vegetable Spacing Chart
This chart covers the most common garden vegetables. Spacing is measured center-to-center (from the stem of one plant to the stem of the next). Row spacing is the distance between the centers of parallel rows.
All depths are for direct-sowing seeds. If you're transplanting seedlings, plant at the same depth the seedling sat in its pot -- except tomatoes, which you bury deeper (more on that below).
| Vegetable | Plant Spacing | Row Spacing | Seed Depth | Sun | Days to Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basil | 12" | 18" | 1/4" | Full | 60-70 |
| Beans (bush) | 4" | 18-24" | 1" | Full | 50-60 |
| Beans (pole) | 6" | 30-36" | 1" | Full | 60-70 |
| Beets | 4" | 12" | 1/2" | Full/Part | 55-65 |
| Broccoli | 18" | 24-36" | 1/2" | Full | 80-100 |
| Cabbage | 18" | 24-30" | 1/2" | Full | 70-100 |
| Carrots | 2-3" | 12" | 1/4" | Full/Part | 70-80 |
| Cauliflower | 18" | 24-30" | 1/2" | Full | 55-80 |
| Corn | 10-12" | 30-36" | 1-2" | Full | 60-90 |
| Cucumbers | 12" | 48-60" | 1" | Full | 50-70 |
| Eggplant | 18-24" | 30-36" | 1/4" | Full | 65-80 |
| Garlic | 6" | 12" | 2" | Full | 240-270 |
| Kale | 18" | 24" | 1/2" | Full/Part | 55-75 |
| Lettuce (head) | 10-12" | 18" | 1/4" | Part/Full | 45-80 |
| Lettuce (leaf) | 4-6" | 12" | 1/4" | Part/Full | 30-45 |
| Onions | 4-6" | 12-18" | 1/2" | Full | 90-120 |
| Peas | 3" | 18-24" | 1" | Full/Part | 60-70 |
| Peppers | 18" | 24-30" | 1/4" | Full | 60-90 |
| Potatoes | 12" | 30-36" | 4" | Full | 70-120 |
| Radishes | 2" | 12" | 1/2" | Full/Part | 22-30 |
| Spinach | 6" | 12" | 1/2" | Part/Full | 37-45 |
| Squash (summer) | 24" | 36-48" | 1" | Full | 50-65 |
| Squash (winter) | 36" | 60-72" | 1" | Full | 80-110 |
| Tomatoes | 24-36" | 36-48" | 1/4" | Full | 60-85 |
| Zucchini | 24-36" | 36-48" | 1" | Full | 45-60 |
These numbers assume in-ground or raised bed planting with traditional rows. If you're doing square foot gardening, the spacing is tighter because you eliminate wasted row paths entirely.
Why Spacing Matters More Than You Think
Three things go wrong when plants are too close together.
Light competition. Plants that can't spread their leaves fully produce less food. A tomato plant crammed next to another tomato shades its own lower branches. Those branches stop producing. I've seen properly spaced tomato plants out-produce crowded ones 3 to 1 in the same bed.
Airflow and disease. Fungal diseases -- powdery mildew, blight, leaf spot -- thrive in damp, stagnant air. When leaves overlap and stay wet after rain or watering, you're building a disease incubator. Proper spacing lets air circulate between plants and dry the foliage. This alone eliminated the powdery mildew problem I had on my squash for three straight years.
Root competition. Below ground, roots spread roughly as wide as the canopy above. Crowded plants compete for the same water and nutrients, which means everything grows slower and produces less. This is especially brutal for heavy feeders like tomatoes, corn, and squash.
Spacing Adjustments for Raised Beds
If you're growing in raised beds (and you probably should be -- see my guide on how to fill a raised bed), you can tighten spacing slightly compared to traditional rows.
The reason: raised bed soil is typically richer and looser than ground soil, roots grow more efficiently, and you're not walking between rows (so no need for 36-inch row paths). Here's how I adjust:
| Adjustment | Traditional Rows | Raised Bed |
|---|---|---|
| Plant spacing | As charted | Same or 10-15% tighter |
| Row spacing | As charted | Reduce by 25-33% |
| Example: Tomatoes | 24-36" plant / 36-48" row | 24" plant / 30" row |
| Example: Lettuce | 6" plant / 12" row | 6" plant / 8" row |
| Example: Peppers | 18" plant / 30" row | 18" plant / 20" row |
One caveat: if your raised bed is less than 10 inches deep, don't crowd plants more than normal. Shallow soil means roots compete faster. My 8-inch beds can't handle the same density as my 12-inch beds. Check the soil volume calculator if you're building new beds and want to size them right.
Spacing Tips by Plant Type
Vining crops (cucumbers, squash, melons)
These need the most room -- or a trellis. A single zucchini plant can spread 4-6 feet in every direction. If you're short on space, grow cucumbers vertically on a trellis and cut the footprint from 12 square feet to 2.
Winter squash is the biggest space hog in the garden. One butternut squash plant needs about 24 square feet. I grow mine outside the raised beds entirely -- they get planted at the edge and vine out across the lawn.
Root vegetables (carrots, beets, radishes)
Spacing for root crops is non-negotiable. Carrots at 3 inches apart grow straight and full-sized. Carrots at 1 inch apart produce pencil-thin, forked roots. I thin my carrot seedlings ruthlessly at 2 weeks -- if it hurts to pull them, you're doing it right.
Radishes are the easiest crop to space because they grow so fast. Plant them 2 inches apart, harvest in 25 days, and use that space for something else. They're the perfect gap-filler between slow-growing crops.
Tall crops (corn, tomatoes, pole beans)
Think about shade direction. I plant my corn on the north side of the bed so it doesn't shade everything else. Tomatoes on stakes or cages take up less ground space than sprawling tomatoes, but they still cast significant shadows.
Pole beans on a trellis are one of the most space-efficient crops you can grow. 6-inch spacing along a trellis means a 4-foot section of trellis gives you 8 plants in just 2 square feet of ground space.
Leafy greens (lettuce, spinach, kale)
These are the most forgiving on spacing. Leaf lettuce can be grown as a cut-and-come-again crop at just 4-inch spacing. You harvest the outer leaves and the plant keeps producing from the center. I get 3-4 harvests from a single planting this way.
Kale, on the other hand, wants its space. Those 18-inch plants at maturity are no joke. One kale plant produces enough for my family of three for months, so I only plant four per season.
Common Spacing Mistakes
Trusting the seed packet minimum. Seed packets often list the absolute minimum spacing. I treat those as the floor, not the target. When a packet says "12-18 inches," I plant at 18. The extra space pays for itself in healthier, more productive plants.
Ignoring the mature size. That cute tomato seedling in a 4-inch pot will be a 5-foot bush in two months. I've watched people plant transplants based on their current size and then panic when everything crashes together by midsummer. Space for what the plant will become, not what it is now.
Skipping thinning. Direct-sown crops like carrots, beets, and lettuce almost always come up too thick. You planted extra seeds because not all of them germinate -- that's smart. But once they sprout, you have to thin. It feels wasteful. Do it anyway. Two well-spaced beet plants produce more food than six crowded ones.
Forgetting vertical space. A $10 trellis converts a 6-foot ground sprawl into a 1-foot footprint. Cucumbers, peas, pole beans, and small melons all climb happily. I grow 80% of my cucumbers vertically now and the fruit is cleaner, straighter, and easier to find.
How to Measure Spacing Efficiently
You don't need a tape measure for every plant. Here's what I use:
- Your hand span (most people: 7-9 inches) -- perfect for lettuce and beet spacing
- A 12-inch ruler -- one ruler between plants works for most medium crops
- A yardstick -- lay it across the bed for tomato and squash spacing
- A marked planting board -- I drilled holes at 3", 6", 12", and 18" intervals in a scrap piece of wood. Press it into the soil, drop a seed in each hole, move the board down the row. Entire bed planted in 10 minutes.
FAQ
How close together can I plant tomatoes?
The absolute minimum is 18 inches for determinate (bush) varieties on cages. For indeterminate (vining) tomatoes, 24 inches with pruning or 36 inches without. I've tried 18-inch spacing with indeterminate tomatoes -- it works if you prune aggressively and are prepared for more disease pressure. At 24 inches with single-stem pruning, I get the best yield per square foot.
Should I plant in rows or grids?
Grids (staggered or offset planting) fit about 15% more plants per square foot than straight rows because you eliminate unused corners. For raised beds, I always use grids. For in-ground gardens with a tiller, rows are more practical. The plant spacing calculator supports both layouts.
Can I plant different vegetables closer if they're companions?
Some companion planting pairs can be closer than usual -- like basil between tomatoes (basil stays short and fills the understory). But most companion planting spacing follows the same rules. The benefit is pest deterrence and pollination, not saved space. The one exception: the "three sisters" method (corn, beans, squash together) uses custom spacing that's different from growing any of them alone.
What happens if I plant too far apart?
Wasted space, more exposed soil (which means more weeding), and you grow less food than your garden can support. Too far apart isn't dangerous like too close is -- you just leave yields on the table. If you have more space than plants, mulch the gaps to suppress weeds.
Do spacing requirements change for container gardening?
Yes. Containers are more restrictive than raised beds because roots hit walls. Add 2-3 inches to the chart spacing for containers, and make sure the container is deep enough. A 5-gallon bucket fits one tomato plant. A 10-gallon fabric pot fits one tomato comfortably or two peppers.
Next Steps
- Use the plant spacing calculator to lay out your exact bed with plant counts and a visual grid.
- If you're building new beds, the soil volume calculator tells you exactly how much soil to buy for any size.
- Read how to fill a raised bed for the right soil mix, cost breakdown, and filling technique.