Skip to content
Home & GardenAnswersNot Affiliated with Homes & Gardens or Better Homes & Gardens

Garden chart

Vegetable Spacing Chart: In-Row and Between-Row Distances

Spacing is a trade-off between yield per plant and yield per square foot. Wider spacing gives you bigger individual plants and easier airflow (less disease); tighter spacing gives you more food from the same bed but more competition for water and nutrients. The numbers below are good defaults for average garden soil; loosen them further in dense clay and you can tighten them slightly in loose, well-fed raised-bed mix.

Vegetable Spacing Chart: In-Row and Between-Row Distances
VegetableIn-row spacingBetween rowsNotes
Tomato (indeterminate)24–36 in36–48 inStake or cage; crowding invites blight
Tomato (determinate/bush)18–24 in30–36 inCompact habit tolerates tighter spacing
Pepper12–18 in24–30 inCloser spacing shades fruit from sunscald
Bush bean3–4 in18–24 inThin after germination, don't transplant
Pole bean4–6 in30–36 inNeeds trellis or pole 6+ ft tall
Carrot2–3 in12–18 inThin seedlings; crowded roots stay stubby
Beet3–4 in12–18 inThin twice; thinnings are edible greens
Lettuce (head)10–12 in12–18 inLoose-leaf types can go tighter, 6–8 in
Spinach3–4 in12–14 inBolts fast in heat regardless of spacing
Broccoli18–24 in24–36 inNeeds room for side-shoot production
Cabbage18–24 in24–36 inLarge heads need full spacing to size up
Cucumber (vining)12 in on trellis48–60 in on groundTrellising cuts footprint dramatically
Zucchini/summer squash24–36 in36–48 inOne or two plants feed a family
Winter squash/pumpkin36–48 in60–96 inVines sprawl far; plan for it
Onion (bulb)4–6 in12–18 inCloser spacing yields smaller bulbs
Garlic4–6 in12–18 inPlant cloves pointed end up, 2 in deep
Corn8–12 in30–36 inPlant in blocks of 4+ rows for pollination
Radish1–2 in6–12 inFast crop; good for succession sowing
Kale12–18 in18–24 inWider spacing extends harvest window
Potato10–14 in30–36 inHill soil over stems as they grow

Notes

  • Square-foot gardening uses different math — it assigns each crop a number of plants per 12x12 in square rather than a linear row spacing.
  • In raised beds with amended soil, you can generally use the tighter end of each range because roots don't have to search as far for nutrients.
  • Spacing too tight is the single most common cause of powdery mildew and blight in home vegetable gardens because airflow drops.

Put this into practice

More charts like this