Square Foot Garden Plannerv1.0.0

Square foot gardening divides a raised bed into a grid of one-foot squares. Each square holds a specific number of plants based on the mature size and spacing needs of the vegetable. This planner automates the layout process so you can visualize your entire bed before planting.

• Enter your Bed Width and Bed Length in feet. Standard square foot garden beds are 4 feet wide. Common sizes include 4x4, 4x8, and 4x12.
• Click Add Vegetable to add rows for each vegetable you want to grow. Select a vegetable from the dropdown in each row. The planner includes over 65 common vegetables, fruits, and herbs with correct square foot gardening spacing.
• Enter the number of Squares you want to dedicate to each vegetable. The planner shows how many plants per square foot each vegetable requires based on standard spacing rules.
• Click Plan Garden to generate the layout. The planner calculates total squares available, total plants, and remaining open squares.
• Review the Plant Breakdown table for details on each vegetable including spacing category and total plant count.
• View the Bed Layout grid to see a visual representation of which vegetables go where in your bed. Each cell represents one square foot.
• Open Settings to toggle harvest day estimates in the breakdown and to display the spacing reference guide showing how many plants fit per square for each size category.
• Click Reset to clear all selections and start a new garden plan. All inputs support fractions (1/2) and decimals (3.5) for bed dimensions.

Standard spacing rules follow Mel Bartholomew's square foot gardening method: extra-large plants like tomatoes and squash get 1 per square, medium plants like lettuce get 4 per square, small plants like carrots get 9 per square, and tiny plants like green onions get 16 per square. Place taller vegetables on the north side of the bed to avoid shading shorter plants.

Plan gardens of any size with accurate plant counts and visual grid layouts. This planner works for beginners learning square foot gardening and experienced growers managing multiple beds.

• Beginner Gardening: Start with a simple 4x4 bed and select three or four vegetables. Allocate squares evenly and see exactly how many plants to buy or start from seed for the season.
• Urban and Balcony Gardening: Maximize limited space by planning a compact 2x4 or 3x3 raised bed. Allocate squares to high-yield vegetables like lettuce, radishes, and herbs to get the most food from a small footprint.
• Succession Planting: Plan which squares to replant after harvesting fast-growing crops. Allocate squares for radishes (harvest in 25 to 30 days) and lettuce (harvest in 30 to 60 days), then reassign those squares to a second planting in the same season.
• School and Community Gardens: Assign sections of a larger bed to different groups or classes. Plan a 4x12 bed with 48 squares divided among multiple vegetable types, giving each participant a clear planting assignment.
• Companion Planting: Visualize which vegetables sit next to each other in the grid layout. Place compatible plants in adjacent squares and keep incompatible plants separated by allocating them to opposite ends of the bed.
• Season Planning: Use harvest day estimates to coordinate planting schedules. Plan spring crops with 30 to 60 day harvests alongside summer crops with 60 to 90 day harvests to maintain continuous production throughout the growing season.
• Seed and Transplant Budgeting: Calculate exact plant counts before purchasing seeds or transplants. Know that a 4x8 bed with 6 squares of carrots needs 54 carrot seeds, not an imprecise estimate from a seed packet.