How to Space Vegetables
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Knowing how to space vegetables comes down to two numbers: the distance between plants in the row and the distance between rows. Extension charts give both, and they are the figures to follow when you plant a bed or a row. This guide explains how to read those two numbers, sets out figures from a county chart and a Colorado raised-bed guide, and shows where a state chart gives different figures. The charts are the starting point, so the sections below also show how to work out the plant count for a row.
Quick answer
- Use the in-row figure for the gap between plants and the between-row figure for the gap between rows.
- In a 4-foot raised bed, Colorado State gives block layouts, such as three broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower plants across the width.
- The charts do not always agree. Cabbage and lettuce figures differ between the University of California and Cornell tables.
- UC notes that its distances are standards and that many crops can be spaced more closely for intensive production.
Read the two numbers
The University of California’s Ventura County planting table has two spacing columns. One is “Between plants in rows”, and the other is “Between rows without beds”. The first sets the gap along a row, and the second sets the gap between rows when the garden is not laid out in beds. The table notes that “Planting distances shown here are standards. Many crops can be more closely spaced for intensive production.”
The footnotes matter as much as the columns. Footnote 1 says that some crops are “suggested for a small garden or may be grown in small gardens when compact varieties are grown.” Footnote 2 says that a crop can be “planted more than once for continuous harvest” in a suitable climate. Footnote 3 marks crops that are planted as “Transplants, shoots, or roots used for field planting.” Footnote 4 covers beds: “If grown in beds, plant two rows per bed. Space the beds about 32 – 40 inches apart and make the tops of the beds 18 inches wide.”
The table is adapted from a Riverside horticulture guide, and the Ventura County page gives a planting amount for each crop, such as “10 – 15 ft row” for lettuce or “3 – 4 plants” for artichoke. Those amounts tell you how much row to plant for a family of four, which is a useful check against the spacing figure.
A county chart for common crops
The table below copies the spacing figures for a selection of crops from the UC page. It leaves out the planting windows and the notes, and it keeps the footnote numbers where a crop carries one.
| Crop | Amount to plant (UC) | Between plants in rows (inches) | Between rows without beds (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broccoli (footnotes 1, 2, 3) | 15 – 20 ft row | 9-12 | 36 |
| Cabbage (footnotes 1, 3) | 10 – 15 plants | 24 | 36 |
| Carrots (footnotes 1, 2) | 20 – 30 ft row | 2 | 24 |
| Lettuce (footnotes 1, 2) | 10 – 15 ft row | 12 head, 6 leaf | 24 |
| Beets (footnotes 1, 2) | 10 – 15 ft row | 2 | 18 (footnote 4) |
| Cucumbers | 6 plants | 24 | 48 |
| Tomatoes (footnotes 1, 3) | 10 – 20 plants | 18-36 | 36-60 |
| Peppers (footnotes 1, 3) | 5 – 10 plants | 24 | 36 |
| Summer squash (footnote 1) | 2 – 4 plants | 24 | 48 |
| Sweet corn (footnote 1) | 20 – 30 ft in 4 rows | 12 | 36 |
| Pumpkins | 1 – 3 plants | 48 | 72 |
| Watermelons | 6 plants | 60 | 72 |
The pattern is clear across the table. Vining and sprawling crops take the most room, with pumpkins and watermelons at 72 inches between rows. Root crops take less room between rows, with beets at 18 inches and carrots at 24 inches in the UC column. Tomatoes show a range instead of one figure, which means the chart leaves the choice of spacing to the grower.
Spacing in a raised bed
Colorado State University Extension gives a different layout. Its guide says “The following tables are guides for planting a family vegetable garden in a block-style layout.” It also describes the bed: “It is based on a raised bed system with boxes four feet wide and rows typically running across the bed (four feet long).” Instead of one figure for a row, the guide gives the number of plants across the bed and the distance between rows.
| Crop | Block spacing as stated by Colorado State |
|---|---|
| Broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower | 3 plants across a 4-foot block, rows 18 inches apart |
| Lettuce (leaf and soft head) | Rows 7 to 9 inches apart |
| Spinach | Rows 6 inches apart |
| Chard and kohlrabi | Rows 7 to 9 inches apart |
| Dry onions | 4 to 6 inches between plants, rows 4 to 6 inches apart |
| Green onions | 2 to 3 inches between plants, rows 2 to 3 inches apart |
| Leeks | 4 to 6 inches between plants, rows 4 to 6 inches apart |
| Peas | Rows 8 inches or more apart |
| Potatoes | 3 to 4 plants across a 4-foot bed, rows 15 inches apart |
| Sweet corn | 9 inches between plants, in a block of at least 4 rows |
| Eggplant | 3 plants across a 4-foot row, rows 18 to 24 inches apart |
| Peppers | 3 plants across a 4-foot row, rows 18 inches apart |
| Tomatoes | 24 inches between plants, trellised in a single row |
| Cucumbers | 6 inches between plants, trellised in a single row |
The block layout is useful because it turns a bed into a grid. A 48-inch block with three broccoli plants across it works out to about 16 inches per plant across the width (our arithmetic: 48 divided by 3). The guide also notes that “Some may spread outside of the raised beds, so you should direct vines to grow away from pathways.” The same guide says corn “must be planted in block with 4+ rows wide” for pollination.
Colorado State gives planting dates for a specific climate. It bases its dates on frost dates typical of the Front Range, and it asks readers to “adjust the planting dates using local average” frost dates elsewhere. For bed size and soil volume, see our page on how much soil a raised bed needs. For plant pairings within a bed, see our page on companion planting and layout in raised beds.
Where the charts disagree
The Cornell table, published in May 2017 under the title “Recommended Spacing & Expected Yield for Garden Vegetables in New York”, gives different figures for several crops. The table below sets the Cornell figures next to the UC figures for the same crop. Where a figure is not on the Cornell table, the cell says “not stated”.
| Crop | UC: between plants in rows | Cornell: between plants in row | UC: between rows | Cornell: between rows |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Broccoli | 9-12 | 4-5 | 36 | 36 |
| Cabbage | 24 | 12-18 | 36 | 24 |
| Lettuce, leaf | 6 (leaf) | 2 | 24 | 36 |
| Beets | 2 | 3-4 | 18 (footnote 4) | 24 |
| Cucumbers | 24 | 6 | 48 | 18 |
The differences are large for some crops. Cabbage is 24 inches apart in the row on the UC chart and 12 to 18 inches on the Cornell chart. For cucumbers, UC gives 24 inches in the row and 48 between rows, while Cornell gives 6 inches in the row and 18 between rows. The sources do not explain the gap, but the Cornell table is written for New York, and the UC footnotes show that spacing depends on whether a crop is grown in beds.
The sources here do not say which chart is right for a given garden. Where a regional chart exists, it is the better reference, since neither chart in this guide is written for every region.
Work out how many plants fit a row
A spacing figure becomes useful once you turn it into a plant count. The method is simple: divide the row length in inches by the in-row spacing. A 10-foot row is 120 inches (our arithmetic: 10 times 12). For lettuce at the UC figure of 12 inches between heads, that gives 10 heads (120 divided by 12). The same row at the 6-inch figure for leaf lettuce gives 20 leaves.
For a row of beets, the UC figure of 2 inches between plants is much tighter than the Cornell figure of 3 to 4 inches. In a 10-foot row, the UC spacing gives 60 plants (120 divided by 2), and the Cornell spacing gives 30 to 40 (120 divided by 3 or 4). The Cornell table’s own plant count for a 10-foot row is 30, which matches the wider end of that range.
Spacing for seeds and transplants
The UC table marks which crops are set out as transplants. Its footnote 3 covers “Transplants, shoots, or roots used for field planting.” The Colorado guide also separates the two methods in its cucumber table, with a planting time for direct seeding and a separate one for transplants.
The UC table also marks some crops as suited to continuous harvest. Its footnote 2 says those crops “can be planted more than once for continuous harvest” in a suitable climate.
How we chose
We chose three pages that give spacing figures for home gardens: the University of California’s Ventura County planting table, the Colorado State University Extension raised-bed guide, and the Cornell table for New York gardens. We opened each on 2026-10-22. The UC page was reached through its printable address, and the regular page address returned a 403 status. The Cornell table is a PDF whose text layer is partly out of order, so we kept only the rows where the figures lined up under their column headings. We also left out product pages and seed-packet listings.
What we could not verify
Each of these charts gives standard figures, and none is written for one variety. Spacing for compact or trellised varieties is partly covered in the UC and Colorado notes, but it is not a full list. The UC table is a Riverside guide adapted for Ventura County, and the Colorado figures come from a guide written for the Front Range. The Cornell table is from 2017.
What the sources do not say
None of the three pages says how much space a crop needs for the best yield in your own soil or climate, so the sources do not settle the question of intensive spacing. They also do not give a single rule that applies to every raised bed, because the Colorado guide gives block layouts for one bed size only. The row counts in this guide are our arithmetic from the stated figures, not source figures.
Frequently asked questions
What does “between rows without beds” mean?
It is the UC column for a garden laid out in rows with no raised beds. Footnote 4 explains the bed case: “If grown in beds, plant two rows per bed.” In that layout, the beds are spaced “about 32 – 40 inches apart” and each bed top is 18 inches wide. The two columns therefore answer different layouts, so check which one matches your garden.
Can I space plants closer than the chart says?
Yes, within limits. UC says “Many crops can be more closely spaced for intensive production.” It does not say how close is too close, and it treats its figures as standards. The sources in this set do not recommend closer spacing as a default.
Why do two charts give different spacing for the same vegetable?
The charts are written for different places and purposes. The UC table notes that some crops are suggested for small gardens when compact varieties are grown. The Cornell table is from 2017 and is for New York. The sources do not explain each gap, so the honest approach is to use the figure from a chart for your own region if one exists.
How many lettuce plants fit in a 10-foot row?
At the UC figure of 12 inches between heads, a 10-foot row holds 10 heads (120 divided by 12). At the 6-inch figure UC gives for leaf lettuce, the same row holds 20 leaves. These are our calculations from the stated figures, and the UC table gives “10 – 15 ft row” as the amount for a family of four.
Do the same spacing figures apply to seeds and transplants?
The spacing figure is the same, but the way you reach it is different. UC marks transplanted crops with footnote 3, which covers crops “used for field planting” as transplants, shoots or roots. Direct-sown crops are not covered by footnote 3. The Colorado guide gives separate planting times for cucumber seeds and transplants, so check the timing for each method.
Sources
- https://ucanr.edu/node/125645/printable/print (opened 2026-10-22)
- https://extension.colostate.edu/resource/sample-planting-guide-for-raised-bed-garden (opened 2026-10-22)
- https://dlc.cce.cornell.edu/pluginfile.php/376627/mod_resource/content/1/Recommended%20Spacing%20and%20Expected%20Yield%20for%20Garden%20Vegetables%20in%20NY.pdf (opened 2026-10-22)
